On Capitol Hill: The Struggle to Reform Congress and Its Consequences, 1948 2000

By Julian E. Zelizer

Book Overview

Thirty years after the Watergate Babies promised to end corruption in Washington, Julian Zelizer offers the first major history of the demise of the committee-era Congress and the rise of the contemporary legislative branch. Based on research in more than a hundred archival collections, this book tackles one of the most enduring political challenges in America: barring a wholesale revolution, how can we improve our representative democracy so as best to fulfill the promises of the Constitution? Whereas popular accounts suggest that major scandals or legislation can transform government institutions, Zelizer shows that reform is messy, slow, and involves many institutions coming together at the right time. The short period of reform in the 1970s--one that rivaled the Progressive Era--revolved around a coalition that had worked for decades, a slow reconfiguration of the relationship among political institutions, shifts in the national culture, and the ability of reformers to take advantage of scandals and elections. Zelizer presents a new look at the origins of the partisanship and scandal warfare that characterize today's politics. The book also offers a warning to the next generation of reformers by showing how a new political environment can radically transform the political impact of government reforms, as occurred when the conservative movement--during its rise to power in recent decades--took advantage of reforms that had ended the committee era. Julian Zelizer teaches political history at Boston University. His book, Taxing America: Wilbur D. Mills, Congress, and the State, 1945-1975 (Cambridge, 1999), was awarded the Organization of American Historian's 1998 D.B. Hardeman Prize. He is the co-editor of The Democratic Experiment (Princeton University Press, 2003) and the editor of The American Congress: The Building of Democracy (Houghton-Mifflin, 2005).

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0521681278
• ISBN13: 9780521681278
• Release Date: February 2006
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Length: 376 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.9" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

A Brilliant Professor

After reading the reviews of this book, it struck me as humerous because the way Zelizer writes is exactly how he teaches. I had the pleasure of being in his American History course this past year and he was one of the most interesting and fascinating professors I have ever had. He made me not only interested in history (which I never was previously), but he made me passionate about it. A brilliant writer and professor... I highly recommend him and hold him in the highest of esteems.

This is a wonderful book

I saw this guy on C-SPAN a few days ago with Brian Lamb so decided to buy the book. it is one of the best books I have read in decades about politics (and I am political junkie guy constantly reading this stuff). It is sweeping history of how Congress changed in the 1970s and what is going on today. The book has lots of intellectual heft, but it is written in fun and easy to understand style. This guy has very interesting points to make about how conservatives have done so well. There is a chapter on scandal and the Watergate Babies and reforms that was just brilliant. I hope more people read this book and have this guy on their show. Can't think of another book like it.

READ THIS BOOK!

This is an outstanding book about American politics. I found it to be one of those rare books that is clearly written by a real scholar but fun to read. The book explains how Congress got to where it is today. It shows that Congress was a very, very different place in the 1950s, and how liberals tried to change the way Congress worked. But in the end, conservatives proved to be much better at thriving in the new system. Zelizer shows why scandal has become so important in modern politics, and why Congress seems to be unable to accomplish much these days. It also does a great job showing how changes in the media changed the way the House and Senate were. This is terrific, read it, enjoy it and learn. Much better than most books out there.

Highly recommended

This is the first serious and interesting history I have read about the modern American political system. The author (historian) looked at a zillion archives and put together a breathtaking overview of how congress changed so much since the New Deal period. The book is filled with good stories, like Hubert Humphrey pissing off southern colleagues when he comes to the Senate and this guy Richard Bolling whose reforms go down in flames. I also learned lots about why liberals lost out to conservatives on Capitol Hill. I highly recommend this.

exciting, easy to read and jam-packed with info

This is the best history of modern American politics that I have ever read in 40 years--a great look into how we ended up where we are today in American politics. One excellent chapter looks at how the civil rights struggle created demands for reform, and another looks at how the conservative movement used the reforms for their own purposes in the 1980s and 1990s. This book has it all--scandal, elections, inside political battles, civil rights and more. Everyone interested in history and politics should read this book.