Replication Data for: Franchise Expansion and Legislative Representation in the Early United States

What role did the size and scope of the elective franchise play in the political and economic development of the young United States? In this paper, we explore whether the relaxation of economic franchise restrictions in the first decades of the United States resulted in changes in legislative behavior. We focus on two measures that capture political conflict in this period of American history: ideal point estimates that measure the revealed ideology of members of Congress, and appropriations for rivers and harbors development. We find that the removal of property-holding requirements is associated with a shift in roll call voting and an increase in targeted appropriations on local river and harbor improvements. The results suggest that franchise expansion contributed to the political-economic development of the early American Republic and provide new evidence of an electoral connection in the early American Congress.

选举选举权（elective franchise）的规模与范围，在建国初期美国的政治与经济发展中发挥了何种作用？本文旨在探究美国建国初期数十年间，经济类选举权限制的放宽是否引发了立法行为的变化。本文聚焦两项可捕捉这一美国历史时期政治冲突的衡量指标：用于测算国会议员表露意识形态的理想点估计值（ideal point estimates），以及河流与港口开发拨款。研究发现，取消财产持有要求与点名投票倾向的转变，以及地方河流与港口改造项目的定向拨款增加存在关联。研究结果表明，选举权扩张推动了早期美利坚共和国的政治经济发展，并为早期美国国会中的选举关联效应提供了新的实证证据。