Congress: The First Branch

by Benjamin Ginsberg, Kathryn Wagner Hill

Overview

An introduction to the U.S. Congress, from seasoned political historians and teachers

In this accessible overview of the United States Congress’s past and present, Ginsberg and Hill introduce students to the country’s most democratic institution. This text surveys Congressional elections, the internal structure of Congress, the legislative process, Congress and the President, and Congress and the courts. Congress: The First Branch offers a fresh approach to the First Branch grounded in a historical, positive frame.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780300249613
Publisher:	Yale University Press
Publication date:	08/20/2019
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	352
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Benjamin Ginsberg is the David Bernstein Professor of Political Science at Johns Hopkins University and Chair of the Hopkins Center for Advanced Governmental Studies. Kathryn Wagner Hill is director of the Center for Advanced Governmental Studies at Johns Hopkins University.

Table of Contents

1 Congress: The First Branch 1

2 A Brief History of Congress: From First Branch to Second Fiddle 37

3 Congressional Elections 78

4 Political Parties and the Organization of Congress 122

5 The Legislative Process: The Rise of the New Order in Congress 152

6 Congress, the President, and Domestic Policy: Who Governs? 183

7 Congress and Foreign Policy 213

8 Congress and the Bureaucracy: Who Makes the Law? 239

9 Congress and the Courts 261

10 Reflections on Congress 290

Notes 301

Index 327

Editorial Reviews

The authors offer a lively, historically grounded treatise that reminds citizens, students, and fellow congressional scholars that Congress is not broken."—Timothy LaPira, James Madison University

“This is an impressive textbook. The authors present Congress as both more positive and more historically grounded than other texts.”—Michael S. Lynch, University of Georgia

"A singular achievement! Chronicling Congress’s powers, practices, and development, the authors lament its declining role in the Constitutional framework and demonstrate why Americans should spring to the First Branch’s defense."—Douglas B. Harris, author of Choosing the Leader: Leadership Elections in the U.S. House of Representatives

"Against the tide of national congress-bashing, Congress: The First Branch offers an important defense of the many virtues of our national legislature as the best embodiment of America’s pluralistic, democratic values."—Lee Drutman, author of The Business of America is Lobbying

From the Publisher