The Right of Instruction and Representation in American Legislatures, 1778 to 1900

Peverill Squire is Professor of Political Science and Hicks and Martha Griffiths Chair in American Political Institutions at the University of Missouri.

Praise / Awards

• “Peverill Squire has brought a spotlight to an often overlooked feature of American political history—constituent instructions to legislators. The frequency with which state and federal legislators were subject to formal instructions from those who put them in office will surprise you. With a keen eye to important events, Squire brilliantly relates a chapter that is central to the story of political representation in America. Anyone interested in American political development or the challenge of representation for democracies will want to read this book.”
  —Steven S. Smith, Kate M. Gregg Distinguished Professor of Social Sciences and Professor of Political Science at Washington University in St Louis
• “In this impressive book, Peverill Squire overturns much of the conventional wisdom surrounding the use of constituent instructions to American legislators. Squire demonstrates that constituent instructions played an important role in state legislatures and the U.S. Senate throughout the nineteenth century. Squire’s analysis offers valuable insights into the changing dynamics of representation in American politics.”
  —Eric Schickler, University of California, Berkeley
• “Squire’s meticulous analysis of an impressive collection of archival data provides new insight that contradicts the conventional wisdom about the role of instructions in American political development. The book addresses important issues that are relevant for anyone interested in questions of representation and citizen influence on policy outcomes.”
  —Gregory Wawro, Columbia University
• "...The Right of Instruction is a rich, layered, and broadly successful book. It convincingly recovers “instruction” as a key idiom and institution in nineteenth century democratic life. In the voluminous evidence and host of arguments that Squire offers, there are many threads for readers to pull and follow."
  -The New Rambler