The Development of Representation in American Political Institutions. Issue 4 (8th December 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Butcher, Jordan; Gooch, Aric Dale
• Is Part Of: Legislative studies quarterly. Volume 46:Issue 4(2021)
• Page Start: 1059
• Page End: 1086
• Publication Date: 2020-12-08
• Subjects: representation -- Congress -- Articles of Confederation -- Constitution -- delegate -- trustee; Legislative bodies -- Periodicals; Parlement; Procédure législative; Système parlementaire; Étude comparée (Descripteur de forme); Périodique électronique (Descripteur de forme); Ressource Internet (Descripteur de forme); 328
• DOI: 10.1111/lsq.12322
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0362-9805

Abstract

Abstract : At the forefront of American democracy lies the representative. There has been ample debate over congressional representation and how members of Congress are to act in response to their constituents. We take on the task of assessing the path to congressional representation by analyzing eight institutional dimensions of representation during the founding. We uncover why term limits, recall, annual terms, small constituencies, and the right of instruction were rejected under the Constitution after they had been so highly regarded a short time earlier. The Federalists sought to promote their view of good representation through institutional design, rejecting prior views of representation used in state governments. Instead, the Constitution was designed to encourage representatives to serve according to their own judgment as trustees. This analysis contributes to our understanding of how institutions were created to shape representation and provides insight into the development of the electoral connection.