Definition
While lobbying probably began once someone in any society decided to start setting rules and redistributing resources, its very early history is difficult to trace. But since it assumed a more organizational form in the 1500s–1600s, albeit still not known as “lobbying,” records do exist which can be used to describe particular case studies. By the middle of the eighteenth century, groups or factions which represented socioeconomic interests were becoming increasingly common. As a recognizably modern industry, however, we see the outlines of a relatively sophisticated interest group system in both the UK and USA around 1850–1860. That period marks the first definite wave of expansion in lobbying, followed by others around 1890–1910 and since the 1980s. It is striking that many of the tactics which were being developed almost 200 years ago are still in use today. The cornerstones of professional lobbying in Washington by 1900 (though some were slower to develop in the UK) –...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
References
Beer, S. H. (1965). Modern British politics: A study of parties and pressure groups. London, UK: Faber and Faber.
Crowley, J. E., & Skocpol, T. (2001). The rush to organize: Explaining associational formation in the United States, 1860s–1920s. American Journal of Political Science, 45(4), 813–829.
Dalrymple, W. (2019). The anarchy: The relentless rise of the East India company. London, UK: Bloomsbury.
Jacob, K. A. (2010). King of the lobby: The life and times of Sam Ward, man-about-Washington in the Gilded Age. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Magness, P. W. (2009). Morrill and the missing industries: Strategic lobbying behavior and the tariff, 1858–1861. Journal of the Early Republic, 29(2), 287–329.
McGrath, C. (2013). Charles Weller Kent: The UK’s first “parliamentary lobbyist” (1913–1916)? Journal of Legislative Studies, 19(1), 98–117.
McGrath, C. (2018). British lobbying in newspaper and parliamentary discourse, 1800–1950. Parliamentary History, 37(2), 226–249.
McGrath, C., & Harris, P. (2009). The creation of the U.S. lobbying industry. In D. W. Johnson (Ed.), Handbook of political management (pp. 407–419). New York, NY: Routledge.
Pasley, J. L. (2002). Private access and public power: Gentility and lobbying in the early congress. In K. R. Bowling & D. R. Kennon (Eds.), Seeking justice and influencing congress in the 1790s (pp. 57–99). Athens, OH: Ohio University Press.
Russell, K., & Myers, C. (2019). The misunderstood nineteenth century U.S. press agent. Public Relations Review, 45(2), 246–257.
Schriftgiesser, K. (1951). The lobbyists: The art and business of influencing lawmakers. Boston, MA: Little, Brown.
Tanner, H. C. (1888). “The Lobby” and public men from Thurlow Weed’s time. Albany, NY: George MacDonald.
Thompson, M. S. (1985). The “Spider Web”: Congress and lobbying in the age of grant. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
Tichenor, D. J., & Harris, R. A. (2005). The development of interest group politics in America: Beyond the conceits of modern times. Annual Review of Political Science, 8, 251–270.
Wootton, G. (1975). Pressure groups in Britain, 1720–1970: An essay in interpretation with original documents. Hamden, CT: Archon Books.
Further Reading
Alderman, G. (1984). Pressure groups and government in Great Britain. Harlow, UK: Longman.
Clemens, E. (2012). Groups in industrializing America and the origins of popular interest group politics. In B. A. Loomis (Ed.), CQ Press guide to interest groups and lobbying in the United States (pp. 35–45). Washington, DC: CQ Press.
Finer, S. E. (1966). Anonymous empire: A study of the lobby in Great Britain (2nd ed.). London, UK: Pall Mall Press.
Loomis, B. A. (2012). The evolution of groups and lobbying in 18th century America. In B. A. Loomis (Ed.), CQ Press guide to interest groups and lobbying in the United States (pp. 11–19). Washington, DC: CQ Press.
Milbrath, L. W. (1963). The Washington lobbyists. Chicago, IL: Rand McNally.
Tichenor, D. J., & Strickler, J. (2012). Interest groups and lobbying in the nineteenth century: Tocqueville’s America. In B. A. Loomis (Ed.), CQ Press guide to interest groups and lobbying in the United States (pp. 21–34). Washington, DC: CQ Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Section Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
McGrath, C. (2020). The Evolution of Lobbying. In: The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Interest Groups, Lobbying and Public Affairs . Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-13895-0_19-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-13895-0_19-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-13895-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-13895-0
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Political Science and International StudiesReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences