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Sizing Up the Senate

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1999 book by Frances E. Lee and Bruce I. Oppenheimer

Sizing Up the Senate: The Unequal Consequences of Equal Representation, by Frances E. Lee and Bruce I. Oppenheimer, is a 1999 book that analyzes the behavior of US senators based on the size of the states that they represent.

It demonstrates that small-state senators are much more likely to engage in pork barrel politics than large-state senators and are much more likely to have leadership positions. Sizing Up the Senate also empirically demonstrates that small states receive more money per capita from the federal government by the spending formula for block grants.

It is a political science book, but its first chapter deals with the history of the creation of the Senate and argues that the Senate was created not by federalist theory but out of the refusal of small states to go along with the US Constitution unless they were granted equal suffrage in one body of the national legislature. Upon publication, it was awarded the D.B. Hardeman Prize for the best book on Congress. Since 1999, the book has grown in popularity and is well known among congressional scholars, having been cited over 250 times in contemporary political science.

Reviews

The book received reviews in publications including the American Political Science Review, Political Science Quarterly, and The American Prospect.

Contemporary applications

Since 2018, the authors' findings have been applied to a variety of issue topics in the mainstream media. CNN cited the book in an article concerning smaller states' influence of appointees to the Supreme Court of the United States. The Washington Post also used its findings in article addressing civility across the country.

See also

Publication data

Sizing Up the Senate: The Unequal Consequences of Equal Representation (1999). Frances E. Lee and Bruce I. Oppenheimer, University of Chicago Press, ISBN 0-226-47006-7

References

  1. Blue, Jalen (22 January 2019). "Olympics and Judaism subject of Sports and Society event with political scientist Bruce Oppenheimer Jan. 31". Vanderbilt University. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  2. "Google Scholar". scholar.google.com. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  3. Bailey, Michael (June 2002). "Sizing Up the Senate: The Unequal Consequences of Equal Representation. By Frances E. Lee and Bruce I. Oppenheimer. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1999. 304p. 17.00 paper". American Political Science Review. 96 (2): 427–428. doi:10.1017/S0003055402530240. ISSN 1537-5943. S2CID 145756095.
  4. Harris, Fred R. (September 2000). "Sizing Up the Senate: The Unequal Consequences of Equal Representation by Francis E. Lee and Bruce I". Political Science Quarterly. 115 (3): 489–490. doi:10.2307/2658156. JSTOR 2658156.
  5. Lazare, Daniel (September 25, 2000). "Review: Sizing Up the Senate: The Unequal Consequences of Equal Representation". The American Prospect. 11 (21): 77.
  6. Brownstein, Analysis by Ronald (July 10, 2018). "Small states are getting a much bigger say in who gets on Supreme Court". CNN. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  7. Christopher Ingraham (2021-11-24) . "The case against civility, in five charts". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. ISSN 0190-8286. OCLC 1330888409.
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