Storming the State House provides a revealing, behind-the-scenes look into the campaign that elected Alabama’s first Republican legislature in modern history and liberated the state from 136 years of Democrat Party rule. Written by Speaker of the House Mike Hubbard, it is a battlefield account by the architect of the Republican takeover, whose vision and partisan vigor directly led to the GOP tsunami that hit Alabama in November 2010.
Brandt chronicles the events that occurred in and around its buildings, the stories of the people memorialized in the grounds' monuments, and the histories of the monuments themselves.
A magnificent celebration of America's state capitol buildings. These glorious buildings are, in the author's words, "the homes of history," where laws are passed, where democracy is enacted, where history is written. Though each state capitol bears some similarity to the other forty-nine, each in its architecture and design reflects uniquely the pride of its state, both culturally and historically. For this unprecedented project, photographer Tom Patterson traveled to each of America's fifty state capitals to capture the architectural beauty and dignity of its capitol building in glorious large-format color images. Writer Susan W. Thrane reveals fascinating details about each capitol building's beginnings: the events surrounding construction background on its architects and builders dimensions and costs primary features and main rooms unique furnishings and works of art. The book also discusses important moments in the history of each building and the state itself, including: the origin of the state's name its capital city when the state was admitted to the Union, and the number of members in its legislative bodies.
Theories of descriptive representation among female legislators consistently document the ways in which women are marginalized in office. However, they tend to treat identity as constant over time and context and so fail to account for the substantive work of legislators. Sisters in the Statehouse looks at the situation from a different angle, taking an in-depth look at African American female state legislators to examine the impact of race and gender on Black women's political experiences, policy preferences, and legislative influence. Brown links personal narratives to the political behavior of her interview subjects to understand how their experiences with racism and sexism have influenced their legislative decision-making and policy preferences. As such, this is the first study that empirically examines how difference is recognized and put into practice among Black women legislators. Brown demonstrates that identity influences political decision making in ways that distinguish the work of Black women from that of other state legislators. Sisters in the Statehouse is a groundbreaking inquiry into how an intersectional approach can enhance our understanding of political representation.
Take an architectural tour of the extraordinary New Illinois Statehouse at Springfield. Inside you will find the architectural history and fascinating stories behind each major room in the New Statehouse, accompanied by over 120 full-page photos. The book begins with the story of the New Statehouse, its design and construction. Learn about the European and ancient Greek precedents which inspired its architecture. Then, embark on a personal tour of this magnificent building, from the basement tunnels to the top of the dome. Step inside grand halls and private rooms alike, breathtaking examples of Old World craftsmanship. Dozens of close-up photos bring intricate details to hand. Discover the stories of the sculptures, paintings, and ornamentation (and the artisans who made them) which make this building unique both in Illinois and across the nation.
The authors demonstrate that state policies are highly responsive to public opinion through the analysis of state policies from the 1930s to the present.
No environmental issue triggers such feelings of hopelessness as global climate change. Many areas of the world, including regions of the United States, have experienced a wide range of unusually dramatic weather events recently. Much climate change analysis forecasts horrors of biblical proportions, such as massive floods, habitat loss, species loss, and epidemics related to warmer weather. Such accounts of impending disaster have helped trigger extreme reactions, wherein some observers simply dismiss global climate change as, at the very worst, a minor inconvenience requiring modest adaptation. It is perhaps no surprise, therefore, that an American federal government known for institutional gridlock has accomplished virtually nothing in this area in the last decade. Policy inertia is not the story of this book, however. Statehouse and Greenhouse examines the surprising evolution of state-level government policies on global climate change. Environmental policy analyst Barry Rabe details a diverse set of innovative cases, offering detailed analysis of state-level policies designed to combat global warming. The book explains why state innovation in global climate change has been relatively vigorous and why it has drawn so little attention thus far. Rabe draws larger potential lessons from this recent flurry of American experience. Statehouse and Greenhouse helps to move debate over global climate change from bombast to the realm of what is politically and technically feasible.
