| ID | 074855 |
| Title Proper | Stacking the states, stacking the house |
| Other Title Information | the partisan consequences of congressional redistricting in the 19th century |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Engstrom, Erik J |
| Publication | 2006. |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | Considerable debate exists over the impact of redistricting on the partisan composition of the U.S. Congress. I address this debate by turning to an era of congressional redistricting that has received little systematic attention—the politics of gerrymandering in the 19th century. Using statewide-, county-, and ward-level electoral data from 1870 to 1900, I show that when a single party controlled the districting process, they used districting to systematically engineer a favorable partisan bias. These partisan biases affected the partisan composition of state congressional delegations and at times even helped determine party control of the House of Representatives. |
| `In' analytical Note | American Political Science Review Vol. 100, No. 3; Aug 2006: p419-427 |
| Journal Source | American Political Science Review Vol: 100 No 3 |
| Key Words | United States ; Congress ; Partisan Composition |