Masters of the House

by Davidson, Roger H.; Hammond, Susan Webb; Smock, Raymond W.

• ISBN13: 9780813368948
• ISBN10: 0813368944
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1998-04-01
• Publisher: Westview Pr

Summary

Much of this nation's political life and public policy have been shaped by a handful of powerful peoplethe leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives.Masters of the Houseidentifies enduring patterns of House leadership, explaining the effects of such factors as party strength, White HouseCongressional relations, leaders' formal prerogatives, members' expectations, public attitudes, shifts in the policy agenda, and leaders' personal attributes and style. Ten chapters cover such colorful and diverse personalities as Henry Clay, Joe Cannon, Hale Boggs, and Tip O'Neill. Coeditors Roger Davidson, Susan Hammond, and Raymond Smock have blended essays by political scientists, historians, and journalists into an integrated treatment of House leadership over time, including an analysis of emerging trends in the 1990s.

Author Biography

Roger H. Davidson is professor of government and politics at the University of Maryland.

Table of Contents

List of Tables	vii	(2)
Foreword	ix	(2)
Robert H. Michel
Credits	xi
Introduction: Rediscovering the "Masters of the House"	1	(8)
Roger H. Davidson
Susan Webb Hammond
1 The Start of Something New: Clay, Stevenson, Polk, and the Development of the Speakership, 1789-1869	9	(24)
Elaine K. Swift
2 Thomas Brackett Reed and the Rise of Party Government	33	(30)
Randall Strahan
3 Uncle Joe Cannon: The Brakeman of the House of Representatives, 1903-1911	63	(28)
Scott William Rager
4 Oscar W. Underwood: The First Modern House Leader, 1911-1915	91	(28)
James S. Fleming
5 Nicholas Longworth: The Genial Czar	119	(26)
Donald C. Bacon
6 John Nance Garner	145	(36)
Anthony Champagne
7 The Speaker and the Presidents: Sam Rayburn, the White House, and the Legislative Process, 1941-1961	181	(42)
Lewis L. Gould
Nancy Beck Young
8 Hale Boggs: The Southerner as National Democrat,	223	(36)
Patrick J. Maney
9 Gerald R. Ford, Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, 1965-1973	259	(30)
James M. Cannon
10 Tip O'Neill and Contemporary House Leadership	289	(30)
Barbara Sinclair
Epilogue: Leaders Talk about Leadership	319	(8)
Gerald R. Ford
Richard A. Gephardt
Newt Gingrich
About the Editors and Contributors	327	(4)
Index	331