Much of this nations 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 House identifies 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 ONeill. 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. Much of this nations 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 House identifies 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 ONeill. 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.

Foreword -- Credits -- Introduction: Rediscovering the "Masters of the House" -- The Start of Something New: Clay, Stevenson, Polk, and the Development of the Speakership, 1789-1869 -- Thomas Brackett Reed and the Rise of Party Government -- Uncle Joe Cannon: The Brakeman of the House of Representatives, 1903-1911 -- Oscar W. Underwood: The First Modern House Leader, 1911-1915 -- Nicholas Longworth: The Genial Czar -- John Nance Garner -- The Speaker and the Presidents: Sam Rayburn, the White House, and the Legislative Process, 1941-1961 -- Hale Boggs: The Southerner as National Democrat -- Gerald R. Ford: Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, 1965-1973 -- Tip O'Neill and Contemporary House Leadership -- Epilogue: Leaders Talk About House Leadership