The Democratic Study Group (DSG) was a caucus consisting of liberal members of the Democratic Party in the United States House of Representatives, which also operated as a legislative service organization (LSO). It was founded in 1959 and was active until 1994.[1] It was founded "as a liberal counterpoint to the influence of senior conservatives and southern Democrats," and played a crucial role in passing liberal legislation in spite of the opposition of the conservative coalition during the late 1950s and 1960s.[2] After the 1970s, its role focused on legislative service, whose "principal activity [was] to disseminate detailed written materials to members of the House about upcoming legislation and policy issues, which it [did] on a daily basis when the chamber [was] in session."[2][3]
Chairs
edit- Rep. Lee Metcalf (MT-1)
- Rep. John Brademas (IN-3)
- Rep. James G. O'Hara (MI-12)
- Rep. Frank Thompson (NJ-4)
- Rep. Donald M. Fraser (MN-5)
- Rep. Phillip Burton (CA-5)
- Rep. Tom Foley (WA-5)
- Rep. Abner J. Mikva (IL-10)
- Rep. Dave Obey (WI-7)
- Rep. Matthew F. McHugh (NY-28)
- Rep. Jim Oberstar (MN-8)
- Rep. Mike Lowry (WA-7)
Further reading
edit- Polsby, Nelson W. "How Congress Evolves", New York: Oxford University Press 2004 ISBN 978-0-19-518296-5
- Stevens Jr., Arthur G., Miller, Arthur H., Mann, Thomas E., "Mobilization of Liberal Strength in the House, 1955-1970: The Democratic Study Group," The American Political Science Review, Vol 68. No. 2. (Jun., 1974), pp. 667–681.At J-STOR
References
edit- ^ Zelizer, Julian E. (2015-01-22). "When Liberals Were Organized". The American Prospect. Retrieved 2021-04-09.
- ^ a b Polsby, Nelson W. (2004). How Congress evolves : social bases of institutional change. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-516195-5. OCLC 51607477.
- ^ Bloch Rubin, Ruth (2017). Building the Bloc : Intraparty Organization in the US Congress. Cambridge University Press. pp. 255–256. ISBN 978-1-108-22696-7. OCLC 1027206038.