This post is part of the Kluge Center’s 25 for 25, in honor of the Kluge Center’s 25th anniversary, celebrating 25 books that were written thanks to the Kluge Center’s support. Read the introductory post to the series here.
In 1999, Congress passed the House Awareness and Preservation Act, directing the Library of Congress to create a complete written narrative history of the House of Representatives. Often called the “People’s House,” the House nonetheless remains poorly understood by many Americans. This Act aimed to improve public understanding of the institution and to inspire members of Congress through a deeper appreciation for the House’s history.
The resulting book, The House: The History of the House of Representatives (Smithsonian Books, 2006), was written by celebrated historian Robert Remini. In 614 pages of engaging text, Remini delivered the first comprehensive narrative history of the House of Representatives, covering developments from the 1st Congress in 1789 to the 108th Congress in 2005.
Former Librarian of Congress James H. Billington selected Remini to tackle this monumental work, appointing him as a Distinguished Visiting Scholar at the Kluge Center. The Center was within “easy reach” of “every “published and unpublished work concerning the House and its history,” said Remini. While at the Kluge Center, he used the Library’s manuscript collection, as well as congressional records, letters, diaries, and newspaper accounts. With the Capitol in easy walking distance, he also shadowed the then-Speaker of the House and interviewed many members of Congress.
This detailed history of the House, while written for the American people, was also meant to be useful to present and future representatives. The appendices, which give brief explanations of House operations such as electronic voting and the process of routing legislation through Congress are especially helpful to those new to the institution.
Throughout the book, Remini emphasizes the House’s achievements and capacity for self-improvement. In just two hundred years, notes Remini, what began as a group of 65 wealthy white men has expanded to include 435 men and women representing a variety of economic classes, races, and religions.
While intense partisan conflict in the House can sometimes feel unprecedented, Remini reminds readers that intense partisanship has been witnessed before and, in the future, can be overcome. For example, in 1838, a duel between Representative William J. Graves of Kentucky and Representative Jonathan Cilley of Maine led to Cilley’s unfortunate death. This tragic incident led to the outlawing of duels in Washington, D.C., the following year, in 1839.
Remini also highlights some of the House’s remarkable feats including the ending of slavery and of child labor, the creation of Social Security, and its guidance of the nation through the transition from an agricultural to an industrial society.
In 2004, Remini was awarded the Freedom Award from the United States Capitol Historical Society, and in 2005, he was appointed as the third Historian of the House of Representatives, a post which he held until 2010. The House: The History of the House of Representatives won the 2007 George Pendleton Prize from the Society for History in the Federal Government.
You can watch Remini discuss his book here.
This post, and others in this series, does not constitute the Library’s endorsement of the views of the individual scholar or an endorsement of the publisher.