No. 16-1161 IN THE Supreme Court of the United States BEVERLY R. GILL, ET AL., Appellants, v. WILLIAM WHITFORD, ET AL., Appellees. On Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin BRIEF OF AMICI CURIAE HISTORIANS IN SUPPORT OF APPELLEES CLIFFORD M. SLOAN Counsel of Record BRENDAN B. GANTS SKADDEN, ARPS, SLATE, MEAGHER & FLOM LLP 1440 New York Ave., NW Washington, DC 20005 (202) 371-7000
[email protected] i TABLE OF CONTENTS INTEREST OF AMICI CURIAE ................................1 SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT .....................................3 ARGUMENT ...............................................................5 I. THE FRAMERS EXPRESSED A VISION OF REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY THAT REQUIRES A CLOSE CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN THE VOTING PUBLIC AND ITS LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLIES ..................................................5 A. The American Vision of Representative Democracy Has Been Based On a Legislature that Reflects the Body Politic and is Responsive to its Demands ...........................................................5 B. The Framers Rejected “Corruption” of Representation in the British System and Sought to Prevent Similar Undemocratic Entrenchment By Factions in the American System .................. 10 C. The First Amendment Was Intended to Protect the Framers’ Representative Ideals by Ensuring the People Could Hold Government Accountable ...................... 16 ii D. The Fourteenth Amendment Reflects the Framers’ Vision of Democracy and Associational Rights and Extends it to the States