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Product Identifiers

PublisherUniversity of Virginia Press

ISBN-100813946905

ISBN-139780813946900

eBay Product ID (ePID)13050078815

Product Key Features

Number of Pages278 Pages

LanguageEnglish

Publication NameSenate : from White Supremacy to Governmental Gridlock

Publication Year2021

SubjectUnited States / 20th Century, History & Theory, American Government / General

TypeTextbook

AuthorDaniel Wirls

Subject AreaPolitical Science, History

SeriesConstitutionalism and Democracy Ser.

FormatTrade Paperback

Dimensions

Item Height0.6 in

Item Weight11.7 Oz

Item Length9 in

Item Width6 in

Additional Product Features

Intended AudienceScholarly & Professional

LCCN2021-014324

Reviews"Thought-provoking and well-researched, this chronicle of the Senate's shortcomings is a stark assessment of the chamber as a bastion of support for white supremacy. Wirls tells an effective story of how an institution that has been highly touted, particularly by those occupying it, is really an impediment to effective democracy, and he makes a cogent case for reform. "--David J. Siemers, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, author of The Myth of Coequal Branches: Restoring the Constitution's Separation of Functions, Wirls takes a hard look at the Senate, past and present. Steeped in deep institutional knowledge, he analyzes how the Senate's small size, base of apportionment, and rules of procedure distort congressional representation--particularly around issues of race--and bias national government toward policy deadlock. Wirls exposes institutional myths and challenges readers to rethink and reform the Senate's role in the American constitutional system., Thought-provoking and well-researched, this chronicle of the Senate's shortcomings is a stark assessment of the chamber as a bastion of support for white supremacy. Wirls tells an effective story of how an institution that has been highly touted, particularly by those occupying it, is really an impediment to effective democracy, and he makes a cogent case for reform., The Senate: From White Supremacy to Governmental Gridlock should be read by scholars not only of the Senate and Congress but also by all scholars of American politics. Indeed, the book corrects much of our misunderstanding of the US Senate and fundamentally challenges beliefs about the institution's ability to act as a deliberative body capable of protecting minority rights. It furthers our understanding of how deeply racialized the underpinnings of American institutions actually are. The book would be appropriate for graduate students in an American politics seminar but could also be easily incorporated into under- graduate classes on Congress, race and ethnic politics, and even introductory courses on American politics. Beyond the classroom, the book will be of broad interest to scholars seeking to understand the historical roots of gridlock in the modern Senate. It is essential reading for all instructors of American politics.

Dewey Edition23

TitleLeadingThe

Grade FromCollege Graduate Student

IllustratedYes

Dewey Decimal328.73071

Table Of ContentAcknowledgments Introduction: The Senate and American Democracy 1. Creating Something Exceptional? Power and Purpose in the Design of the Senate 2. Equal Representation: The Perpetual Great Compromise 3. Equal Representation?s Inexorable Clash withPolitical and Racial Equality 4. The Right of the Living Dead: Staggered Terms,Continuing Bodies, and Constitutional MythsSenators Tell Themselves and America 5. The Filibuster: From Southern Citadel to theSixty-Vote Senate 6. "Cooling the Coffee": More Myths Senators TellThemselves, and the Filibuster?s Clash with EffectiveGovernment and the Constitution 7. The Supermajority Senate Curtailed: Nuclear Optionsand Mushroom Clouds of Hypocrisy Conclusion: Constitutional Repair and Reparations Notes Index

SynopsisIn this lively analysis, Daniel Wirls examines the Senate in relation to our other institutions of government and the constitutional system as a whole, exposing the role of the "world?s greatest deliberative body" in undermining effective government and maintaining white supremacy in America. As Wirls argues, from the founding era onward, the Senate constructed for itself an exceptional role in the American system of government that has no firm basis in the Constitution. This self-proclaimed exceptional status is part and parcel of the Senate?s problematic role in the governmental process over the past two centuries, a role shaped primarily by the combination of equal representation among states and the filibuster, which set up the Senate?s clash with modern democracy and effective government and has contributed to the contemporary underrepresentation of minority members. As he explains, the Senate?s architecture, self-conception, and resulting behavior distort rather than complement democratic governance and explain the current gridlock in Washington, D.C. If constitutional changes to our institutions are necessary for better governance, then how should the Senate be altered to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem? This book provides one answer., In this lively analysis, Daniel Wirls examines the US Senate in relation to other American institutions of government and the constitutional system as a whole, exposing the role of the 'world's greatest deliberative body' in undermining effective government and maintaining white supremacy in America., In this lively analysis, Daniel Wirls examines the Senate in relation to our other institutions of government and the constitutional system as a whole, exposing the role of the "world's greatest deliberative body" in undermining effective government and maintaining white supremacy in America. As Wirls argues, from the founding era onward, the Senate constructed for itself an exceptional role in the American system of government that has no firm basis in the Constitution. This self-proclaimed exceptional status is part and parcel of the Senate's problematic role in the governmental process over the past two centuries, a role shaped primarily by the combination of equal representation among states and the filibuster, which set up the Senate's clash with modern democracy and effective government and has contributed to the contemporary underrepresentation of minority members. As he explains, the Senate's architecture, self-conception, and resulting behavior distort rather than complement democratic governance and explain the current gridlock in Washington, D.C. If constitutional changes to our institutions are necessary for better governance, then how should the Senate be altered to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem? This book provides one answer.

LC Classification NumberJK1161.W573 2021