Examines the history of the filibuster, particularly the ways in which the discourse surrounding attempts to eliminate the filibuster exemplify certain fundamental contradictions in American political mythology. Concludes that popular democracy and the American form of republican government are as contradictory as they are collaborative. Sees the…

Contending that Senator Patrick McCarran of Nevada was the real force behind the communist witch hunts of the lage 1940s and early 1950s, this essay explores McCarran's legislative legacy. The first section examines McCarran's background and the legislative bodies over which he held sway. The second section delineates his legislative "Grand…

Discusses the process of moving state capitals (between 1776 and 1812) to achieve equal representation through geographic centrality. Presents contemporary arguments for the process including the belief that central location of the capital promoted better attendance by all state representatives. Describes how the system was replaced by numerical…

Chronicles the development of the legislative reference services of the Library of Congress and briefly describes the current Congressional Research Service, which resulted from legislative acts passed in 1946 and 1970. (CLB)

Analysis of the Wisconsin woman suffrage campaign of 1910-1920 suggests that public relations belonged not only to political or business practices, but was equally a process by which the masses achieved their own best interests in nineteenth and early twentieth century social reform movements. Woman suffragists were led by women, and the public…