Published online by Cambridge University Press: 04 January 2016
Once upon a time, historians and political scientists expended a great deal ofeffort in tracing the complex development of the United States Congress in thetwentieth century—a time, especially from the 1930s onward, during whichCongress faced a remarkable expansion in government activity as a surge of newconcerns, foreign and domestic, and, as a result, an unprecedented load ofbusiness, all but overwhelmed the institution. During this same time,Congress’s role within the American political system has been SocialScience transformed in the face of the rise of the imperial presidency, theSupreme Court’s insistence on changing rules of representation, and theconsequent shift in the institution’s makeup and internal powerstructure. Finally, public perceptions of Congress, increasingly negative asthey have become, have had some significant impact on the transformation ofCongress within the American political system as well (Sundquist 1981; Harris1993; Rieselbach 1994).