John Lyman Mason's Books

How the South Joined the Gambling Nation

The Politics of State Policy Innovation

By: Michael Nelson,John Lyman Mason

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How the South Joined the Gambling Nation

The Politics of State Policy Innovation

By: Michael Nelson,John Lyman Mason

A national map of legalized gambling from 1963 would show one state, Nevada, with casino gambling and no states with lotteries. Today's map shows eleven commercial casino states, most of them along the Mississippi River, forty-two states with state-owned lotteries, and racetrack betting, slot-machine parlors, charitable bingo, and Native American gambling halls flourishing throughout the nation. For the past twenty years, the South has wrestled with gambling issues. In How the South Joined the Gambling Nation, Michael Nelson and John Lyman Mason examine how modern southern state governments have decided whether to adopt or prohibit casinos and lotteries. Nelson and Mason point out that although the South participated fully in past gambling eras, it is the last region to join the modern movement embracing legalized gambling. Despite the prevalence of wistful, romantic images of gambling on southern riverboats, the politically and religiously conservative ideology of the modern South makes it difficult for states to toss their chips into the pot. The authors tell the story of the arrival or rejection of legalized gambling in seven southern states -- Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia, Arkansas, and Alabama. The authors suggest that some states chose to legalize gambling based on the examples of other nearby states, as when Mississippi casinos spurred casino legalization in Louisiana and the Georgia lottery inspired lottery campaigns in neighboring South Carolina, Alabama, and Tennessee. Also important was the influence of Democratic policy entrepreneurs, such as Zell Miller in Georgia, Don Siegelman in Alabama, and Edwin Edwards in Louisiana, who wanted to sell the idea of gambling in order to sell themselves to voters. At the same time, each state had its own idiosyncrasies, such as certain provisions of their state constitutions weighing heavily as a factor. Nelson and Mason show that the story of gambling's spread in the South exemplifies the process of state policy innovation. In exploring how southern states have weighed the moral and economic risk of legalizing gambling, especially the political controversies that surround these discussions, Nelson and Mason employ a suspenseful, fast-paced narrative that echoes the oftentimes hurried decisions made by state legislators. Although each of these seven states fought a unique battle over gambling, taken together, these case studies help tell the larger story of how the South -- sometimes reluctantly, sometimes enthusiastically -- decided to join the gambling nation.

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Page Count

280

Publisher

LSU Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0807135372

ISBN 13

9780807135372

Continuity and Change in House Elections

By: David W. Brady,John F. Cogan,Morris P. Fiorina

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Continuity and Change in House Elections

By: David W. Brady,John F. Cogan,Morris P. Fiorina

This book analyzes continuity and change in elections to the U.S. House of Representatives from the early 1970s to the late 1990s, with emphasis on the elections of 1994, 1996, and 1998. Most of the essays closely examine these recent elections, documenting the erosion of incumbency and insulation, but pointing out important continuities.

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Page Count

315

Publisher

Stanford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0804737398

ISBN 13

9780804737395

Legislators of the Massachusetts General Court, 1691-1780

A Biographical Dictionary

By: John A. Schutz

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Legislators of the Massachusetts General Court, 1691-1780

A Biographical Dictionary

By: John A. Schutz

This single volume contains meticulously researched biographies of the men who served as representatives in the General Court from the Charter of 1691 to the end of the American Revolution. Schutz also provides readers with enlightening essays on the history and workings of the Massachusetts General Court, and its influence in shaping the political and cultural milieux of colonial and revolutionary America.

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