Date of Award

2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Gorup, Michael

Area of Concentration

Political Science

Abstract

The 1994 elections have been a highly interesting subject of study in the field of political science, mainly because of how astonishing the results were. The effects of these elections, at the time they occurred, were not yet visible; however, many books, including Thomas E. Mann and Norman J. Ornstein’s It’s Even Worse Than It Looks, have now partially attributed the force behind these elections, Newt Gingrich, to an enduring party polarization in the modern era. However, in researching the effects of the ‘94 elections, I could not find an attempted causal process tracing which would account for that connection, or a comprehensive account of Gingrich’s strategy. Thus, my aim was to research and organize Gingrich’s methods and strategic initiatives put forth to achieve the Republican Revolution in order to causally trace the process, and to find out if this strategy contributed to heightened House polarization. My methods included conducting primary source analysis on congressional documents and footage in order to process trace. I also balanced the qualitative research with a quantitative contextual analysis by using DW-NOMINATE spatial models in order to compare the 103rd and 104th Congresses, among other congresses for context. My findings indicate that Gingrich’s utilization of GOPAC should be looked to in order to describe heightened House polarization after the 1994 elections, and that party strategy matters. A clear difference between the 103rd and 104th Congress is shown, and contextual primary source analysis provides a picture which has important implications for the ways in which individuals can elicit systemic change (heightened polarization) in our law making institutions. I present evidence that without the Gingrich strategy implemented for the 1994 elections, an exacerbation of congressional polarization in the 104th Congress would not have been as likely.

Download

Share

COinS