Richard Francis Fenno Jr. (December 12, 1926 – April 21, 2020) was an American

political scientist Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

known for his pioneering work on the

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a bicameral legislature, including a lower body, the U.S. House of Representatives, and an upper body, the U.S. Senate. They both ...

and its

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. He was a Distinguished University Professor Emeritus at the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded in 1850 and moved into its current campus, next to the Genesee River in 1930. With approximately 30,000 full ...

. He published numerous books and scholarly articles focused on how members of Congress interacted with each other, with committees, and with constituents. Political scientists considered the research groundbreaking and startlingly original and gave him numerous awards. Many followed his research design on how to follow members from Washington back to their home districts. Fenno was best known for identifying the tendency — dubbed "Fenno's Paradox" — of how most voters say they dislike Congress as a whole, but they trust and reelect their local Congressman.

Early life and education

Fenno grew up in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

and served in the U.S. Navy during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. After the war, he graduated from

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zepha ...

in 1948 and completed a Ph.D. degree in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

under William Yandell Elliott at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1956.

Career

In 1958, Fenno was hired by the

, where he spent his career. He wrote about Republicans and Democrats and explored rural, urban and African American congressional districts in depth. An independent who never publicized his personal political views, he never endorsed any candidates. Fenno's books ''Congressmen in Committees'' (1973) and ''Home Style: House Members in Their Districts'' (1978), for which he won the first D. B. Hardeman Prize, established him as a leading scholar of

American politics In the United States, politics functions within a framework of a constitutional federal republic, federal democratic republic with a presidential system. The three distinct branches Separation of powers, share powers: United States Congress, C ...

. With William Riker, Fenno built the reputation of

's political science department. Riker focused on positive political science, while Fenno focused on establishing Rochester as a center for congressional studies. He built the first internship program for undergraduates to work in Congress.Schudel, 2020. Fenno's trademark style of

research Research is creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge. It involves the collection, organization, and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness to ...

is sometimes referred to as "Soak and Poke" (see Fenno 1986). Rather than relying primarily on data sets or

rational choice theory Rational choice modeling refers to the use of decision theory (the theory of rational choice) as a set of guidelines to help understand economic and social behavior. The theory tries to approximate, predict, or mathematically model human behav ...

, Fenno undertook empirical observation of the movements of political actors on the stage of politics. His most famous book ''Home Style'' is written in this fashion. In 1978, Fenno won the

American Political Science Association The American Political Science Association (APSA) is a professional association of political scientists in the United States. Founded in 1903 in the Tilton Memorial Library (now Tilton Hall) of Tulane University in New Orleans, it publishes four ...

's (APSA)

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Award for the best book in political science for "Home Style". In 1996, the Association for Budgeting & Financial Management awarded Fenno its Aaron Wildavsky Award for Lifetime Scholarly Achievement in Public Budgeting, for his work on Congress and appropriations. ''Congress at the Grassroots'' won the 2001 V. O. Key Award for the best book on southern politics. Fenno served as

book review A book review is a form of literary criticism in which a book is merely described (summary review) or analyzed based on content, style, and merit. A book review may be a primary source, an opinion piece, a summary review, or a scholarly view. B ...

editor of the ''

American Political Science Review The ''American Political Science Review'' (''APSR'') is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering all areas of political science. It is an official journal of the American Political Science Association and is published on their behalf ...

'' (1968–1971), as a director of the

Social Science Research Council The Social Science Research Council (SSRC) is a US-based, independent, international nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing research in the social sciences and related disciplines. Established in Manhattan in 1923, it maintains a headqua ...

, and as president of APSA (1984–1985). He was also a member of the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

, a

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of the

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, and a member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

. Since 1986, APSA's Legislative Studies Section has awarded the Richard F. Fenno Jr. Prize for the best book on legislative studies. Fenno's archival collection is housed at the University of Rochester's River Campus Libraries Department of Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation. Research interviews and oral history notes are also housed at the

National Archives and Records Administration The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an independent agency of the United States government within the executive branch, charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It is also task ...

's Center for Legislative Activities. According to Norman J. Ornstein: :Fenno was hands down the most significant student of Congress of the last half of the 20th century. He was the first to note that voters loved their congressman while hating Congress, he wrote the definitive study of the appropriations process (“The Power of the Purse”) and a series of books where he explored the relationship between legislators at home and in Washington.

Death

On April 21, 2020, Fenno died in

Mount Kisco, New York Mount Kisco is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village and Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Westchester County, New York, United States. The town of Mount Kisco is coterminous municipality, coterminous with the ...

, from the effects of COVID-19.

Selected publications

*''The President's Cabinet: An Analysis in the Period from Wilson to Eisenhower''. 1959.

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is an academic publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University. It is a member of the Association of University Presses. Its director since 2017 is George Andreou. The pres ...

online no charge to borrow
*''The Power of the Purse: Appropriations Politics in Congress''. 1966. Little, Brown
online
*''Congressmen in Committees''. 1973. Little, Brown. *''Home Style: House Members in their Districts''. 1978. Little, Brown
online
* ''The United States Senate: a bicameral perspective'' (1982
online
*"Observation, Context, and Sequence in the Study of Politics." 1986. ''

'' 80(1): 3–15
online
* ''The making of a senator: Dan Quayle'' (1989
online
* ''The presidential odyssey of John Glenn'' (1990
online
* ''Learning to legislate : the Senate education of Arlen Specter'' (1991
online
* ''The emergence of a Senate leader: Pete Domenici and the Reagan budget'' (1991)
online
*"Strategy and Sophisticated Voting in the Senate." 1994. ''Journal of Politics'' 56(2): 349–376. (with Randall L. Calvert). DOI: 10.2307/213214
online
*''Senators on the Campaign Trail: The Politics of Representation''. 1996.

University of Oklahoma Press The University of Oklahoma Press (OU Press) is the publishing arm of the University of Oklahoma. Founded in 1929 by the fifth president of the University of Oklahoma, William Bennett Bizzell, it was the first university press to be established ...

. *''Congress at the Grassroots: Representational Change in the South, 1970–1998''. 2000.

University of North Carolina Press The University of North Carolina Press (or UNC Press), founded in 1922, is a not-for-profit university press associated with the University of North Carolina. It was the first university press founded in the southern United States. It is a mem ...

. *''Going Home: Black Representatives and their Constituents''. 2003.

University of Chicago Press The University of Chicago Press is the university press of the University of Chicago, a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It is the largest and one of the oldest university presses in the United States. It pu ...

br>online
*''Congressional Travels: Places, Connections, and Authenticity''. 2007. Pearson/Longman.

References

External links

richardfenno.com

Summary of ''Home Style''

University of Rochester bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fenno, Richard 1926 births 2020 deaths Writers from Boston Military personnel from Massachusetts Amherst College alumni Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni American political scientists University of Rochester faculty Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences United States Navy sailors United States Navy personnel of World War II Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in New York (state) Members of the American Philosophical Society