American Legislative Leaders, 1850-1910, Vol. 2

From Library Journal
It was a time of civil war and economic shift from an agrarian to an industrial society for the 1,390 speakers of state houses of representatives profiled in this unique biographical directory. The political climate and characteristics of the politicians as a group are surveyed in introductory material. This is followed by biographical entries which include a list of sources. The cumulated bibliography, arranged by state, is valuable even though it omits Presidents and Speakers of the Colorado General Assembly: A Biographical Portrait from 1876 (Eastwood, 1980). The short entry for James B. Sanford could have been expanded with information from this source. There is no other such directory, but demand may be limited. For large academic and public libraries.- Louise Stwalley, Univ. of Colorado, DenverCopyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Book News, Inc.
During the years 1850-1910, the US evolved from an agrarian to an industrial political economy, with the locus of political power shifting correspondingly to the national government. This biographical directory profiles and compares the 1,390 speakers of state houses of representatives during the period, with a view toward understanding this transformation of American politics. A general introduction surveys the political climate of the times and characteristics of the politicians as a group. The main biographical entries are followed by a cumulated bibliography and a series of appendices arranging political and biographical data in comparative tables. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.

Choice
"This biographical dictionary profiles the 1,390 men who served as speakers of the house in state or territorial legislatures between 1850 and 1910. A lengthy introduction outlines the nation's shift from agrarian to urban, industrial politics; the place of the legislatures during this time; and the leadership role of the speakers. The introduction concludes with a statistical analysis of data relating to the speakers' lives and careers, the factual data for which is contained in eight appendixes following the biographical sketches, and an extensive bibliography of sources. Biographies are arranged alphabetically and are succinct chronicles of personal and professional information, i.e., family background, education, church and fraternal memberships, party affiliations and political offices, business careers, and military service. Few of them contain information about a speaker's legislative initiatives or accomplishments, an unfortunate omission making it difficult to determine the importance of individual speakers or to confirm the authors' judgment that as a group they were `the key members of the most important political bodies in the nineteenth-century U.S. political system.' On the whole it is a useful compilation, providing a starting point for research into the lives of a cross-section of legislators in this period and complementing sources such as the Biographical Dictionary of American Mayors, 1820-1980 (1981) and the Biographical Dictionary of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978. A necessary purchase for research libraries; recommended to all academic libraries with strong collections in state history."

Review
It was a time of civil war and economic shift from an agrarian to an industrial society for the 1,390 speakers of state houses of representatives profiled in this unique biographical directory. The political climate and characteristics of the politicians as a group are surveyed in introductory material. This is followed by biographical entries which include a list of sources. The cumulated bibliography, arranged by state, is valuable. . . . There is no other such directory.Library Journal

Book Description
"It was a time of civil war and economic shift from an agrarian to an industrial society for the 1,390 speakers of state houses of representatives profiled in this unique biographical dictionary. The political climate and characteristics of the politicians as a group are surveyed in introductory material. This is followed by biographical entries which include a list of sources. The cumulated bibliography, arranged by state, is valuable. . . . There is no other such directory." Library Journal "On the whole it is a useful compilation, providing a starting point for research into the lives of a cross-section of legislators in this period. . . . A necessary purchase for research libraries; recommended to all academic libraries with strong collections in state history." Choice

About the Author
CHARLES F. RITTER is Professor and Chairman of the History Department at the College of Notre Dame in Maryland.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"It was a time of civil war and economic shift from an agrarian to an industrial society for the 1,390 speakers of state houses of representatives profiled in this unique biographical dictionary. The political climate and characteristics of the politicians as a group are surveyed in introductory material. This is followed by biographical entries which include a list of sources. The cumulated bibliography, arranged by state, is valuable. . . . There is no other such directory." Library Journal "On the whole it is a useful compilation, providing a starting point for research into the lives of a cross-section of legislators in this period. . . . A necessary purchase for research libraries; recommended to all academic libraries with strong collections in state history." Choice

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal

It was a time of civil war and economic shift from an agrarian to an industrial society for the 1,390 speakers of state houses of representatives profiled in this unique biographical directory. The political climate and characteristics of the politicians as a group are surveyed in introductory material. This is followed by biographical entries which include a list of sources. The cumulated bibliography, arranged by state, is valuable even though it omits Presidents and Speakers of the Colorado General Assembly: A Biographical Portrait from 1876 (Eastwood, 1980). The short entry for James B. Sanford could have been expanded with information from this source. There is no other such directory, but demand may be limited. For large academic and public libraries.-- Louise Stwalley, Univ. of Colorado, Denver

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