Affiliated Faculty:

Scott Ainsworth

Late 19th Century Interest Group Lobbying

Jamie Carson

19th and 20th Century Congressional Politics & Elections

Mike Crespin

Party Development in the U.S. Senate

Keith Dougherty

Late 18th and Early 19th Century APD; U.S. Constitutional Formation

Trey Hood

Post-WWII Southern Politics; 19th Century Congressional Elections

Dan Kapust

18th and 19th Century American Political Thought

Tony Madonna

(not the singer, actress, entertainer)

APD Resources:

Working Bibliography

Publications and Working Papers

Miller Center for Public Affairs, UVA

South Atlantic Humanities Center

What is APD?
American Political Development (APD) is the study of political history that seeks to inform contemporary debates in politics by drawing on the rich history of the past and provide new insights into important historical developments.  By using history as a laboratory to test existing theoretical explanations for political events, we are in a better position to build more dynamic, generalizable, and accurate theories of politics.  The study of APD also seeks to understand why historical events happen by focusing on the motivations of the actors involved, the existing constraints of a given political context, and the historical path by which a situation occurs (path dependency).

March 7th:
Chuck Finocchiaro, University of South Carolina, will be making a presentation entitled "Credit Claiming, Party Politics, and the Rise of Legislative Entrepreneurship in the Postbellum Congress." The talk will be held in Baldwin 302 (Saye Room) on Friday, March 7th at 12:15.

April 18th:
Jamie Carson and Trey Hood will present their paper entitled "The Effect of the Partisan Press on U.S. House Elections, 1800-1820." The talk will be held in Baldwin 302 (Saye Room) on Friday, April 18th at 3:00.

June 6th:
The APD Working Group will screen the 1962 political drama "Advise and Consent."  Screening will take place in the Saye Room (Baldwin 302) at 2:30.  Trey Hood will be substituting for Robert Osborne.

September 5th:
Tony Madonna will present his paper entitled "Obstruction in the Antebellum Senate: Revisiting the Bank Bill of 1841." The talk will be held in Baldwin 302 (Saye Room) on Friday, September 5th at 2:30 p.m.

Organized Meetings: 2007

February 2nd:
Wendy Schiller, Associate Professor at Brown University, will be making a presentation entitled "Party Conflict, Factionalism, and Extended Balloting in U.S. Senate Elections before the Adoption of the 17th Amendment." The talk will be held in Baldwin 302 (Saye Room) on Friday, February 2nd at 2:00 p.m.

March 2nd:
Keith Dougherty will be presenting a paper entitled "An Economic Interpretation of the Constitutional Convention of 1787 Revisited."  The talk will be held in Baldwin 302 (Saye Room) on Friday, March 2nd at 2:00 p.m..

April 6th:
Dan Reed will be presenting a paper entitled "Why the Methods Matter: The Effectiveness of Party Contacting Tactics since the 1950's."  The talk will be held in Baldwin 302 (Saye Room) on Friday, April 6th at 2:00 p.m.

May 11th:
The APD Working Group will screen the 1957 political drama "A Face in the Crowd."  Screening will take place in the Saye Room (Baldwin 302) at 2:30.  Trey Hood will be substituting for Robert Osborne.

September 7th:
Peter Hoffer of the UGA History Department will be discussing his paper entitled "The Treason Trials of Aaron Burr, A Law Story from the Early Republic" in the Saye Room (Baldwin 302) at 1:30. 

October 12th:
Randy Strahan will present his paper entitled "Causal Process Analysis and the Agency of Leaders in the U.S. House" in the Saye Room (Baldwin 302) at 1:30.

Department of Political Science
School of Public and International Affairs
104 Baldwin Hall
University of Georgia
Athens, GA 30602