Contents
Preface
1. The Misunderstood Role of Constituent Instructions in American Political History
The Conventional Wisdom on Constituent Instructions
Actionable Communications and Their Pathways to American Legislators
Plan of the Book
Constituent Instructions in the Colonial Era
The Confederal Congress and Instructions
The Founders, the Constitution, and Constituent Instructions
State Constitutions and Constituent Instructions
3. The Public Debate over Constituent Instructions
The Pure Delegate Orientation
The Conditional Delegate Orientation
Primary Assemblies and Constituent Instructions
Was There a Meaningful Difference between “Instruct” and “Request”?
Public Intellectuals and the Right of Instruction
The Public and the Right of Instruction
Instructions in American Popular Culture
General Expectations
Calls for Instructions
Town Meetings
Mass Meetings
Local Representative Bodies
Impediments to Issuing Instructions
Actionable Communications Sent to State Legislators
State Lawmakers and the Right of Instruction
The Response of State Legislators to Instructions
Actionable Communications Outcomes
Political Parties and Instructions
Organized Interest Groups and Instructions
The Philosophical Problem: State Legislatures as Primary Assemblies
Other Reservations about the Right of State Legislatures to Issue Instructions
Practical Problems: The Mechanics of Issuing Instructions to Members of Congress
Partisan Problems: Political Parties and State Legislative Instructions to Congress
Potential Senate Candidates and Instructions
Data on Actionable Communications to Congress
State Legislative Instructions and Requests to Congress
The Subjects of Actionable Communications
How U.S. Senators Responded to Instructions
The Political Repercussions of Not Obeying Instructions
Instructions and Requests as Signals
Supplement: U.S. Representatives and Instructions
Four Revisions to the Conventional Wisdom on Constituent Instructions
Implications for Representation and Federalism
Placing Constituent Instructions in Historical Perspective
Appendix A: Actionable Communications to State Legislators by State, 1778–1900
Appendix B: Actionable Communications to Congressional Delegations by State, 1790–1899
Notes
Index