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Where legitimacy did notcome from:

- Seeking out what their authorities should be- Felt that they should be doing something much more important- They expected to be great national leaders, rather than being people who

simply worked in the background

1. Contact with or instruction from the outside world: even with some statestoying with the idea of instruction, the Washington Community was prettymuch its on its own

a. Unless you were from a neighboring state, there was a limited travelback home

b. Transportation was not easyc. Communications were also extremely slow an dunevene.g. Battle of

New Orleans (Last battle of the War of 1812however, the war had

already ended but nobody knew the battle was inconsequential

Compared to NOW:

1. No public opinion pollsa. Pointless because it would take to long to gather the data2. Not much of a press corp3. No developed party system to legitimacy action based upon organized,

common thought

4. No close contact with interest groups as liaisons between a public (national,state, or otherwise) and representatives

a. Did not think of these active organizations that we now haveHow did they try to legitimatize their existencepart I?

1. Remember, most didnt want to be there and most were rather ambivalentabout their exercise of powers (2nd sons)

2. Legitimize as the Constitution didcreate a geographic system of separationthat matched the Constitutional separation

Geographic and Mental Separation From Each Other:

- In location- In Socializing (current Washington Community)

o Socializing actually allows for a much more functional congress versuswhen you dont

o Despite the silliness of how this sounds, this would allow them to havemore of a consensus

- Even, for some, in burial arrangementso Eventually, we start to see even separation of powers in deptho You even see a separation of burial areas for people in the executive,

judicial, and legislative branches of government

Where did a sense of legitimacy come from the Washington Community residents?

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- In spite of the Constitutional and geographic attempt to isolate the WCrepresentatives, those representativesat least in the legislative branch

were tying their legitimacy to ilnks with their constituents

- As their was no real contact with their constituents, their fellow members ofstates and regions became surrogates for that legitimizing link

o Winds up devolving to is that you develop that indirect connection toyour constituents bak home by socializing the most with individualswho demographically, geographically, and culturally connect with you

o We have the tendency to hang out with the people who were most likeus

James Sterling Young: WC as political anthropology

- Boarding houses, social pressure, and governmental decision makingo Most men of Congress lived in boarding houses

- Limited continuity of membershipbiennial turnover was 41.5% of totalmembership in first 40 yearsnew acquaintances in boarding houses

o Reinforce the notion of continuing regionalism and a reinforcement ofregional ideas and regional competitiveness, as opposed to this interms of national consensus

- Congressional turnoverconstant:o Misery of locationo Disconnect from home and family

REALLY in isolation Framers were hoping for isolation, however NOT in this way

did not want to be COMPLETELY isolated, which often times,

they were

Around WC was swamps and desolation Very few paved roads

o National politics not all that important Hard to convince people

Compared to now, there was A LOT more agreement in the past

- Yure isolated and your only connection to the outside world are people whoare like you.. you are living 24/7 with them and that reinforces the sense of

regionalism

You almost put people in a situation where theres going to be a natural inclination

to be so dependent on the others you live with for any kind of moral support to be

basically cast aside from those people could be totally devastating

Short Review:

- In spite of Framers Intentions (MADISON)o Doing everything it could to adhere to the constitution the ytried not

to have isolation

o They WANTED national consensus

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Washington Community, Constituents and Legitimacy

- Constituents were indirectly linked to their representatives- They voted for them in the house of representatives their state legislatures

vote for members of the Senate, they found some link by way of the

constitution in terms of representation

The Senate as a Deliberative BodyFederalist Plan?

- Not any more permanent than members of the Housemany left before oneterm was over

o So much for continuity, expertise and stability (institutional memory)Note: leaving the Washington community didnt mean leaving politicsreturn to

state/entire Congress69%

2/3rds of those who left Congress didnt leave Congress because they didnt want to

stop being involved in politics. Rather, they felt that they felt that Washington D.C.

was NOT the proper place for politics, but rather do it back home they didnt leave

politics. They took a step down, but it was seen politically, powerfully, economically,and in particularly, a step up.

Irony:

The only type of policy that was developed that made the Senate special, was the

notion of senatorial courtesy

The hope that the Senate would be the special body of consensus