Ronald M. Peters, Jr.

Ron Peters is Regents' Professor of Political Science at the University of Oklahoma. He joined the department in 1976. He served as chair of the department from 1994 to 2002. He was director and curator of the Carl Albert Congressional Research and Studies Center from 1979 to 2000.

THE AMERICAN SPEAKERSHIP
The Office in Historical Perspective
Ronald M. Peters, Jr.
Johns Hopkins University Press, 2nd edition (1997) 

"Essays by scholars and former Speakers of the House such as Carl Albert and Tip O'Neill, Jr., describe the history and character of the speakership, the process by which the Speaker is selected, and the challenges of the position. Contributors place the Speaker in historical context and detail the evolution of the contemporary speakership. Topics include the Speaker's relation to the budget, foreign policy, and the media. (from Book News, Inc., June 1, 1995)

"Peters argues that persons holding the office of Speaker of the House of Representatives will be heavily circumscribed by party politics, by the policy agenda, and by institutional arrangements. In accounting for how these factors shape the Speaker's role, he marks four historical periods from 1789 to the present: an early parliamentary speakership (1789–1860) producing a presiding officer; a partisan speakership (1861–1910) encouraging a hierarchical leader; a feudal speakership (1910–1961) resulting in a brokerage role; and the contemporary democratic speakership (1961– ) contributing to mixed roles as a therapist or policymaker.'" (Choice) 

"The definitive treatment of the Speakership." (Journal of Politics)

"Peters has come to know two speakers of the US House of Representatives—Carl Albert and Thomas P. O'Neill (for whom he worked, 1981–1982). Thus he has a strong personal as well as scholarly interest in the speakership....Peters stresses that he seeks understanding, not prediction. Beyond a broad historical sweep, he also provides considerable material and commentary on the post–1970s reform era in the House. Students of Congress will welcome this clearly written historical treatment." (C. O. Jones– Choice) 

"The three and one-half chapters devoted to the periods that Peters labels the parliamentary, partisan, and feudal speakerships are packed with exquisite details illuminating the relationship between congressional rules, party politics, and public policy....The last portion of the book, which discusses the modern speakership, is naturally, even livelier than the good history that precedes it.... [Peters's] willingness to take a stand on some of the controversial but arcane details of congressional organization make this a better book. He cares so deeply about issues that many people might consider recondite that he makes the question of how the Speaker of the House manages that body matter." (Robert D. Schulzinger–The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science) 

"This book succeeds far more as history than as theory. Peters has substantially underestimated the difficulties of pursuing the tasks of narrative history and theory building in tandem. But he has provided us with a sophisticated and insightful history of the speakership, and that in itself is no mean achievement." (Joseph Cooper-Political Science Quarterly) 

THE SPEAKER
Leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives
Ronald M. Peters, Jr., editor and author of two chapters 
Congressional Quarterly Inc. (1994; revised paperback edition, 1995)

THE NEXT GENERATION
Dialogues Between Leaders and Students 
Ronald M. Peters, Jr. 
University of Oklahoma Press (1992) 

"Leadership will be key in resolving many of the major challenges facing America today—the need to strengthen our educational institutions, America's role in the global community, the problem of economic competitiveness, our developing sense of culture and multiculturalism, the attraction of private comforts versus the call to public service. 

Based on the University of Oklahoma 1990 Centennial Leadership Symposia, The Next Generation reveals the values and attitudes of college students who seek to be future leaders as they engage in dialogue with leaders of today. An interpretive framework, combining historical background, contemporary context, and theories of leadership, illuminates and supports the symposia record. The book examines leadership in four main areas: education, the arts and humanities, business and technology, and government. Education emerges as a central theme; a shared belief in education's potential to effect positive change finds expression in a multitude of specific, varied, and often innovative suggestions for educational improvement. 

Included in the volume are major statements by Admiral William J. Crowe, Jr., former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Vartan Gregorian, [then] president of Brown University [current president of the Carnegie Corporation of New York]; John S. Foster, Jr., [then] Chairman of the National Defense Science Board and a director and consultant for TRW [currently Chairman of Technology Strategies and Alliances {National Defense Science Board} and Chairman of the Board, Pilkington Aerospace, Inc.]; and [the late] Ernest Boyer, [then] president of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Other speakers include [then] United States Senator David Boren [now president of the University of Oklahoma] and [Senator] Don Nickles, [then] Congressman Dave McCurdy, and John Naisbitt, author of Megatrends. Panelists include national and state leaders in business, education, government, humanities, and the arts. A unique feature of the book is the inclusion of student perspectives as presented in symposia discussions and essays. An impressive document of the University of Oklahoma's pioneering effort to promote leadership..." (from publisher)

THE ATOMISTIC CONGRESS
An Interpretation of Congressional Change 
Allen D. Hertzke, Ronald M. Peters, Jr., editors 
(1992)

"A selection of papers from an April 1990 Carl Albert Center conference commemorating the bicentennial of the US Congress and the centennial of the U. of Oklahoma. The conference was entitled "Back to the Future: the US Congress in the 21st Century," and its focus was on change and candidate-centered politics as well as on institutional change." (Book News, Inc., August 1, 1992) 

"Two scholars connected with the Carl Albert Congressional Research and Studies Center have put together an interesting volume of papers....Commenting on changes that resulted from the reforms of the 1970s, the various authors explore a Congress that was seriously altered by the forces of change unleashed by Watergate and its aftermath and the subsequent arrival of candidate-centered politics....Among the excellent selections in this volume are those on the evolution of House party leadership, Senate Democratic leadership, and the quality of congressional (House and Senate) challengers in elections in the1980s. The selections are well documented." (W. K. Hall–Choice) 

"Two pieces are outstanding: Charles Stewart III's treatment of how party leaders, even at the supposed peak of their influence in the Reed and Cannon days, are at the mercy of their followers; and Barbara Sinclair's examination of the contextual factors leading to strong party leadership in the House—mostly the size and ideological homogeneity of the Democratic Party. All of the other essays are worthwhile...." (Eric M. Uslaner–The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science) 

THE MASSACHUSETTS CONSTITUTION OF 1780
A Social Compact 
Ronald M. Peters, Jr.
University of Massachusetts Press (1978)