Southern Lawmaking

Abstract

This chapter conceptualizes the potential for southern influence. It begins by detailing standard accounts of congressional lawmaking and influence, and then turns to a discussion of southern exceptionalism. It outlines a theory of southern representation that focuses on how lawmakers from a heterogeneous region balanced their diverse constituent and individual demands with the distinctive imperatives and constraints unique to the South. The chapter suggests that standard accounts of congressional lawmaking need to be modified to accommodate the distinctive identity and goals of southern lawmakers across different historical and institutional contexts. It concludes by outlining a research strategy, inspired by the analytical approaches of V. O. Key and Richard Hofstadter, which allows the evaluation of theoretical expectations, identifies the mechanisms by which southerners were able to influence the national political agenda, and assesses the importance of their influence for American political development.