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The Evolution of American Legislatures: Colonies, Territories, and States, 1619-2009
Peverill SquireThe institutional development of American legislatures, beginning with the first colonial assembly of 1619, has been marked by continuity as well as change. Peverill Squire draws upon a wealth of primary sources to document this institutional history. Beginning with the ways in which colonial assemblies followed the precedents of British institutions, Squire traces the fundamental ways they evolved to become distinct. He next charts the formation of the first state legislatures and the Constitutional Congress, describes the creation of territorial and new state legislatures, and examines the institutionalization of state legislatures in the nineteenth century and their professionalization since 1900.
With his conclusion, Squire discusses the historical trajectory of American legislatures and suggests how they might further develop over the coming decades. While Squire's approach will appeal to historians, his focus on the evolution of rules, procedures, and standing committee systems, as well as member salaries, legislative sessions, staff, and facilities, will be valuable to political scientists and legislative scholars.
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Cover
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Title
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Copyright
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Dedication
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Acknowledgments
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Contents
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1. Tracing How American Legislatures Changed Over Time
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Evolution and Legislatures
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Measures of Legislative Evolution
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Diffusion Models and Legislative Evolution
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Tracing American Legislative Evolution
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2. The Colonial Assemblies and the Beginnings of American Legislatures
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The Establishment of Institutional Boundaries
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Legislative Evolution: Increasing Internal Complexity
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Explanations for the Organizational Evolution of the Colonial Assemblies
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Conclusions
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3. The Original State Legislatures
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The Interregnum and the Rise of the Provincial Congresses
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The State Constitutions and the State Legislatures
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Continuities with the Colonial Assemblies in Rules and Committees
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Legislative Service between 1776 and 1789
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The Continuing Evolution of the New State Legislatures
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Conclusions
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4. The Missing Link: Territorial Legislatures
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The Development of Territorial Legislatures
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The Frontier Context of the Territorial Legislatures
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The Organizational Development of Territorial Legislatures
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Conclusions
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5. The Odd Evolutionary Cases
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The Vermont Legislature
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The Kentucky General Assembly
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The Spin-off Legislatures: Maine and West Virginia
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The Congress of the Texas Republic
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California and the Creation of a State Legislature with No Predecessor
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Tennessee and the General Assembly of the State of Franklin
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The Oregon Provisional Legislatures
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Utah and the General Assembly of Deseret
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The Legislatures of Hawaii
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The Free State Legislature of Kansas
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The Legislative Assembly of San Francisco
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The General Assembly of the Indian Stream Republic
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Conclusions
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6. The Institutionalizing of State Legislatures in the Nineteenth Century
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From Territorial Assemblies to State Legislatures: Continuities
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A Brief Digression on State Legislatures in the Confederacy
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The Institutionalizing of State Legislatures
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Conclusions
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7. The Professionalizing of State Legislatures since 1900
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Aggregate Changes in State Legislatures since 1900
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Professionalization and the Evolution of State Legislatures since 1900
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Conclusions
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8. Where Does Legislative Evolution Go from Here?
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Are State Legislatures Deinstitutionalizing?
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Are State Legislatures Deprofessionalizing?
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Legislative Evolution to This Point and into the Future
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Notes
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Abbreviations
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References
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Index
- 978-0-472-02840-5 (ebook)
- 978-0-472-03583-0 (paper)
- 978-0-472-11831-1 (hardcover)