Introduction

Previous scholarly research has relied upon participant observation and indirect measures such as southern Democrats in positions of power to determine the presence and success of the Conservative Coalition in congressional committees. These measures are used in turn to ascertain the relationship between Conservative Coalition committee success and subsequent Conservative Coalition floor success. A more realistic measure of CC committee success, constructed from previously unavailable committee roll call votes, reveals the Conservative Coalition appears at approximately the same rate as it does on the floor and is slightly more successful in committee. A portion of the variation in the Conservative Coalition committee success rate is explained by a regression model utilizing a measure of CC committee strength and two measures of committee chair influence as independent variables. The analysis reveals the strongest predictor of CC committee success is the willingness of the chair to join the CC followed by the size of the coalition.     

Introduction

Following the American landings at Utah beach, the Manche was the first département of mainland France to be completely liberated. Emergency tasks, including removal of debris and explosives, repair of buildings, restoration of farmland and provision of temporary shelters for survivors, occupied the middle years of the 1940s. Complex preparations for permanent reconstruction followed, with plans drawn up not only to rebuild but also to improve settlements and farmsteads. The major challenge was the administrative town of Saint-Lô where intricate property consolidation had to be completed before building the ‘new town’ could take shape. Cooperatives and other associations had a vital role to play in this reconstruction process that was hindered by problems of cash flow and shortages of building materials. Now, the activities of the emergency years have been forgotten and the results of reconstruction are simply accepted as elements of the ordinary landscapes of Lower Normandy.