Journal article
Symbols of the Struggle: Descriptive Representation and Issue-Based Symbolism in U.S. House Speeches
The Journal of politics, Vol.85(4), pp.1368-1384
10/2023
DOI: 10.1086/723966
Abstract
The rhetoric legislators use to discuss race is both important and understudied. In this paper, we explore whether the presence of Black legislators influences symbolic representation in the U.S. House. We ask three questions. First, do Black and white MCs talk about issues involving race at different rates? Second, when Black and white MCs talk about race, do they do so in different ways? Third, do these rhetorical differences matter for Black constituents? Using data from 790,654 U.S. House floor speeches, the Cooperative Election Study, and data from an original survey experiment, we demonstrate that Black legislators are more likely to talk about civil rights, and they employ significantly more symbolic references when they do. This symbolism is linked to an increase in Black voter turnout as well as changes in thee valuations of Black constituents, underscoring that symbolic responsiveness is an important facet of representation for African Americans
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Symbols of the Struggle: Descriptive Representation and Issue-Based Symbolism in U.S. House Speeches
- Creators
- Bryce J. DietrichMatthew Hayes
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- The Journal of politics, Vol.85(4), pp.1368-1384
- DOI
- 10.1086/723966
- ISSN
- 0022-3816
- eISSN
- 1468-2508
- Language
- English
- Electronic publication date
- 01/24/2023
- Date published
- 10/2023
- Academic Unit
- Political Science; University College Courses
- Record Identifier
- 9984363546902771
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