Minority Rights, Majority Rule: Partisanship and the Development of Congress

Minority Rights, Majority Rule seeks to explain why majority parties have consistently been so powerful in the U.S. House of Representatives while minorities often prevail in the Senate. Dr. Binder charts the history of minority rights in both chambers and explains how partisan battles–fought under rules inherited from the past–have shaped the creation and suppression of minority rights. Dr. Binder’s statistical analysis and historical work provide the first comprehensive account of the development of minority rights in Congress and contribute to literature on the historical development of Congress.