Ruth C. Silva

Ruth Caridad Silva (1920 or 1921—April 1, 1995[1]) was an American political scientist. She was a scholar of presidential succession and apportionment in the United States. She spent much of her career at Pennsylvania State University.

Ruth Caridad Silva
Born1920 or 1921[1]
DiedApril 1, 1995[1]
State College, Pennsylvania
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUniversity of Michigan
Scientific career
FieldsPolitical science
Institutions

Life and career

Silva attended the University of Michigan, where she received her bachelor of arts degree and master of arts degree in 1943, and completed her PhD in 1948.[2] After her PhD, she became an instructor at Wheaton College.[2] In 1948, she became a professor at Pennsylvania State University,[2] where she worked for the remainder of her career.[1] In 1952–1953 she worked as Fulbright Professor at Cairo University (then King Fuad I University).[2]

In 1951, Silva published Presidential Succession. The book devoted five chapters to the intricacies of presidential succession laws in the United States, and ended with a study of presidential succession-related policies.[3] She conducted research for many years on the procedures for replacing presidents who were no longer able to perform their responsibilities.[4][5]

In 1962, Silva published the book Rum, Religion, and Votes: 1928 Re-examined. The book studied the 1928 United States presidential election, focusing in particular on the question of why Al Smith suffered such a lopsided defeat, and examining the extent to which it was due to prejudice against his Catholicism.[6] The book was particularly noted for its use of multivariable regressions to analyze elections, which was then a new application of a methodology that had been made possible by recent advancements in computing.[6]

Other work by Silva concerned political systems in the United States, including voting procedures and institutions like presidential primaries.[7][8] In 1960, Silva prepared the report Legislative Apportionment for the New York State Temporary Commission on Revision and Simplification of the Constitution.[8]

Selected works
  • Presidential Succession (1951)
  • Rum, Religion, and Votes: 1928 Re-examined (1962)
  • American Government Democracy and Liberty in Balance, with Edward Keynes, Hugh A. Bone, and David W. Adamany (1976)[9]

References
  1. Saxon, Wolfgang (6 April 1995). "Ruth Silva, 74, Political Scientist Who Advised on the Presidency". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  2. Silva, Ruth C. (1956). "Presidential Succession and Disability". Law and Contemporary Problems. 21: 646–662. doi:10.2307/1190188. JSTOR 1190188.
  3. Berdahl, Clarence A. (September 1952). "Review of Presidential Succession". American Political Science Review. 46 (3): 895. doi:10.2307/1952302. JSTOR 1952302.
  4. Brown, Everrett S. (1956). "Report on Presidential Inability". Staff of House Committee on the Judiciary, 84th Congress: 5.
  5. Silva, Ruth C. (February 1949). "History of presidential succession". Michigan Law Review. 47 (4): 451–476. doi:10.2307/1284810. JSTOR 1284810.
  6. Bernd, Joseph L. (November 1963). "Review Rum, Religion, and Votes: 1928 Re-examined". Journal of Church and State. 5 (2): 256–258. doi:10.1093/jcs/5.2.256.
  7. "History of the PPSA". Pennsylvania Political Science Association. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  8. Silva, Ruth C. (October 1963). "Making Votes Count". National Civic Review. 52 (9): 489–492. doi:10.1002/ncr.4100520906.
  9. Richard N. Engstrom; Christopher Kenny (December 1, 2002). "The Effects of Independent Expenditures in Senate Elections". Political Research Quarterly. 55 (4): 885–905. doi:10.1177/106591290205500408. S2CID 153617908.
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