The South's Influence in Congress

Question 1

Constitutional Design

Answer 1

The basic rules/ laws caused south to have few seats in congress

Question 2

Filibuster

Answer 2

Most filibusters usually involved Civil Rights
○ Filibusters then would stop Congress as a whole
○ The only way to stop it was to vote by quorum
○ Senate had to be on call when the quorum would come
- Strom Thurmond had a 24 hour filibuster

Question 3

Seniority norm

Answer 3

Began in 1910 & Worked to the advantage of the South
- whereby certain prerogatives and positions are made available to those Members with the longest continuous service in the House or on committee.

Question 4

Committee chairs

Answer 4

• Most Senior democrat on a committee: Got Chair of the Committee
• Money committees: Ways and Means and Appropriations Committees
• 12 members of Rules Committee: 8 Dems 4 Reps

Question 5

Leadership Skills/ Attention given to floor activities and learning the rules

Answer 5

South maintained its position as people learned leadership skills and rules of congress

• – Dick Russell : 1932 learned rules of the senate
• – Jim Allen (AL): also learned the rules to help exploit these kinds of things

Question 7

Conservative Coalition

Answer 7

most democrats and republicans going against northern democrats

Question 8

Southern Democrats’ Roll Call Positions

Answer 8

• Traditional southern preferences for low tariffs, regulation of banks, regulation of interstate commerce
• During the New Deal, southerners were often more liberal than Northern Democrats, except of civil rights legislation
• Beginning in the mid-1940s some Southern Democrats shift to the right on social welfare issues in keeping with more conservative preferences among their white constituents.
• Conservative Coalition become increasingly
  active on government regulations and civil liberties proposals

Question 9

Factors weakening the power of Southern Democrats

Answer 9

• Declining numbers of white Southern Democrats in Congress. GOP control of Congress rests on its success in the South.
• White Democratic MCs moderate as they appeal for African-American support
• House Democratic Caucus chooses committee chairs beginning with 1974 undercutting the seniority norm
• House Rules Committee becomes an arm of the leadership rather than an independent power base that southern conservative Democrats could exploit
• Democratic whips who had been appointed by the party leader get chosen by the Caucus
• Speaker Pelosi pushed Southern Democrats to moderate
• Ranks of Blue Dogs severely reduced by the 2010 GOP wave
• Party leaders centralize the policy agenda and force members to conform

Question 10

GOP southern leaders

Answer 10

• Dominated ranks in both chambers in the wake of the 1994 take over
• GOP leadership ranks no longer primarily southern
• Southerners tend to set the conservative tone for the GOP