UNITED STATES SENATORS: A COLLECTIVE PORTRAIT

In: International social science journal: ISSJ, Band 13, Heft 4, S. 620-634

Abstract

By examining the careers of senators between 1947-1957 (N = 180) through interview, biographical directories, news & magazine stories, & personal correspondence, an analysis was made of age & sex distribution, class origins, race, nationality, religion, educ, occup, & pol'al careers. Findings indicate that a 'typical' senator was a 'late-middle-aged,' UMc, native-born Protestant from a small town, who attended law Sch & spent about 10 yrs in public office before being elected to the Senate. It is concluded that US voters 'seem to prefer candidates who are not like themselves but are what they would like to be,' & that the U & UMc's are 'more pol'ly aware' & thus more likely to enter pol. This collective picture does not disclose the patterning of roles, which in a breakdown discloses 4 distinct career types: 'patrician politicians,' 'amateur politicians,' 'professional politicians,' & 'agitators.' P. D. Montagna.