Elizabeth Sanders
Invention of the United States Senate is a tour de force. It is a meticulous, primary-source-based analysis of the interplay of political theory, lived experience, and state and class interests on decisions about the composition and powers of the U.S. Senate. It also analyzes the way 'ordinary' politics in the first few Congresses cemented some tendencies and caused the abandonment of others. This book will be a very important addition to the literature of American political development and Congress. Historians and contemporary scholars of Congress will find it invaluable for graduate and advanced undergraduate classes.
Ross K. Baker
Daniel and Stephen Wirls have presented a rich and provocative study of the origins of America's most fascinating but least-understood institution. Like skilled molecular biologists, they have cracked the genetic code of the United States Senate and the many strands that went into its creation. The book is an intellectual triumph and a delight to read.
Calvin Jillson
No other book that I know of focuses so intently on the origins of the Senate. None, certainly, covers the ground so well. The scholarship is through, up-to-date, and sound.
— Calvin Jillson, Southern Methodist University
From the Publisher
No other book that I know of focuses so intently on the origins of the Senate. None, certainly, covers the ground so well. The scholarship is through, up-to-date, and sound.—Calvin Jillson, Southern Methodist University
Daniel and Stephen Wirls have presented a rich and provocative study of the origins of America's most fascinating but least-understood institution. Like skilled molecular biologists, they have cracked the genetic code of the United States Senate and the many strands that went into its creation. The book is an intellectual triumph and a delight to read.—Ross K. Baker, Rutgers University
Invention of the United States Senate is a tour de force. It is a meticulous, primary-source-based analysis of the interplay of political theory, lived experience, and state and class interests on decisions about the composition and powers of the U.S. Senate. It also analyzes the way 'ordinary' politics in the first few Congresses cemented some tendencies and caused the abandonment of others. This book will be a very important addition to the literature of American political development and Congress. Historians and contemporary scholars of Congress will find it invaluable for graduate and advanced undergraduate classes.—Elizabeth Sanders, Cornell University
Calvin Jillson
No other book that I know of focuses so intently on the origins of the Senate. None, certainly, covers the ground so well. The scholarship is through, up-to-date, and sound.
Elizabeth Sanders
Invention of the United States Senate is a tour de force. It is a meticulous, primary-source-based analysis of the interplay of political theory, lived experience, and state and class interests on decisions about the composition and powers of the U.S. Senate. It also analyzes the way 'ordinary' politics in the first few Congresses cemented some tendencies and caused the abandonment of others. This book will be a very important addition to the literature of American political development and Congress. Historians and contemporary scholars of Congress will find it invaluable for graduate and advanced undergraduate classes.
— Elizabeth Sanders, Cornell University
