Partisan Gerrymandering and the Construction of American Democracy

Erik J. Engstrom offers a historical perspective on the effects of gerrymandering on elections and party control of the U.S. national legislature. Aside from the requirements that districts be continuous and, after 1842, that each select only one representative, there were few restrictions on congre...

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Príomhchruthaitheoir: Engstrom, Erik J.
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Foilsithe / Cruthaithe: Michigan State University Press 2026
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author Engstrom, Erik J.
author_browse Engstrom, Erik J.
author_facet Engstrom, Erik J.
author_sort Engstrom, Erik J.
collection Directory of Open Access Books
description Erik J. Engstrom offers a historical perspective on the effects of gerrymandering on elections and party control of the U.S. national legislature. Aside from the requirements that districts be continuous and, after 1842, that each select only one representative, there were few restrictions on congressional districting. Unrestrained, state legislators drew and redrew districts to suit their own partisan agendas. With the rise of the “one-person, one-vote” doctrine and the implementation of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, however, redistricting became subject to court oversight. Engstrom evaluates the abundant cross-sectional and temporal variation in redistricting plans and their electoral results from all the states, from 1789 through the 1960s, to identify the causes and consequences of partisan redistricting. His analysis reveals that districting practices across states and over time systematically affected the competitiveness of congressional elections, shaped the partisan composition of congressional delegations, and, on occasion, determined party control of the House of Representatives.
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spelling doab-20.500.12854ir-1737612026-03-19T14:12:51Z Partisan Gerrymandering and the Construction of American Democracy Engstrom, Erik J. Partisan Gerrymandering and the Construction of American Democracy Partisan Gerrymandering Democracy Legislative Politics and Policy Making Partisanship Redistricting Elections United States House of Representatives Congressional districts Legislation Party control American politics Governance Political science Political process American government Political ideology Campaign Gerrymander Gerrymandered 19th century Nineteenth century Political parties Decennial redistricting Equal population Majority-minority districting Contemporary redistricting Voting boundaries thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government::JPH Political structure and processes::JPHF Elections and referenda / suffrage thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government::JPQ Central / national / federal government thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government::JPH Political structure and processes::JPHV Political structures: democracy Erik J. Engstrom offers a historical perspective on the effects of gerrymandering on elections and party control of the U.S. national legislature. Aside from the requirements that districts be continuous and, after 1842, that each select only one representative, there were few restrictions on congressional districting. Unrestrained, state legislators drew and redrew districts to suit their own partisan agendas. With the rise of the “one-person, one-vote” doctrine and the implementation of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, however, redistricting became subject to court oversight. Engstrom evaluates the abundant cross-sectional and temporal variation in redistricting plans and their electoral results from all the states, from 1789 through the 1960s, to identify the causes and consequences of partisan redistricting. His analysis reveals that districting practices across states and over time systematically affected the competitiveness of congressional elections, shaped the partisan composition of congressional delegations, and, on occasion, determined party control of the House of Representatives. 2026-03-19T14:12:50Z 2026-03-19T14:12:50Z 2026-03-16T16:10:26Z 2013 book ONIX_20260316T122833_9780472900015_5 https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/111721 9780472900015 9780472029525 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/173761 eng Legislative Politics And Policy Making open access image/jpeg Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/111721/1/9780472900015.pdf Michigan State University Press University of Michigan Press 10.3998/mpub.5085808 10.3998/mpub.5085808 aa7f6664-5117-41d8-90f8-c3af56526b92 9780472900015 9780472029525 University of Michigan Press 236 open access
spellingShingle Partisan Gerrymandering and the Construction of American Democracy
Partisan
Gerrymandering
Democracy
Legislative Politics and Policy Making
Partisanship
Redistricting
Elections
United States House of Representatives
Congressional districts
Legislation
Party control
American politics
Governance
Political science
Political process
American government
Political ideology
Campaign
Gerrymander
Gerrymandered
19th century
Nineteenth century
Political parties
Decennial redistricting
Equal population
Majority-minority districting
Contemporary redistricting
Voting boundaries
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government::JPH Political structure and processes::JPHF Elections and referenda / suffrage
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government::JPQ Central / national / federal government
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government::JPH Political structure and processes::JPHV Political structures: democracy
Engstrom, Erik J.
Partisan Gerrymandering and the Construction of American Democracy
title Partisan Gerrymandering and the Construction of American Democracy
title_full Partisan Gerrymandering and the Construction of American Democracy
title_fullStr Partisan Gerrymandering and the Construction of American Democracy
title_full_unstemmed Partisan Gerrymandering and the Construction of American Democracy
title_short Partisan Gerrymandering and the Construction of American Democracy
title_sort partisan gerrymandering and the construction of american democracy
topic Partisan Gerrymandering and the Construction of American Democracy
Partisan
Gerrymandering
Democracy
Legislative Politics and Policy Making
Partisanship
Redistricting
Elections
United States House of Representatives
Congressional districts
Legislation
Party control
American politics
Governance
Political science
Political process
American government
Political ideology
Campaign
Gerrymander
Gerrymandered
19th century
Nineteenth century
Political parties
Decennial redistricting
Equal population
Majority-minority districting
Contemporary redistricting
Voting boundaries
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government::JPH Political structure and processes::JPHF Elections and referenda / suffrage
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government::JPQ Central / national / federal government
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government::JPH Political structure and processes::JPHV Political structures: democracy
topic_facet Partisan Gerrymandering and the Construction of American Democracy
Partisan
Gerrymandering
Democracy
Legislative Politics and Policy Making
Partisanship
Redistricting
Elections
United States House of Representatives
Congressional districts
Legislation
Party control
American politics
Governance
Political science
Political process
American government
Political ideology
Campaign
Gerrymander
Gerrymandered
19th century
Nineteenth century
Political parties
Decennial redistricting
Equal population
Majority-minority districting
Contemporary redistricting
Voting boundaries
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government::JPH Political structure and processes::JPHF Elections and referenda / suffrage
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government::JPQ Central / national / federal government
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government::JPH Political structure and processes::JPHV Political structures: democracy
url ONIX_20260316T122833_9780472900015_5
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