29/04/2015 Goodreads | The History Book Club ­ AMERICAN GOVERNMENT: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES (showing 1­43 of 43) Title / Author / ISBN Home My Books Groups Recommendations Explore The History Book Club discussion AMERICAN GOVERNMENT > HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 208 views The History Book Club Comments (showing 1­43 of 43) (43 new) post a comment » date newest » message 1: by Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief (new) May 26, 2011 08:12PM Group Home Events Invite People This is a thread which can be used to discuss the House of Representatives. Bookshelf Photos Members Discussions Videos Polls flag * message 2: by Alisa (last edited Aug 05, 2013 01:50PM) (new) May 26, 2011 09:03PM search discussion posts search I recently purchased this book and am looking forward to reading it. unread topics | mark unread Capitol Men: The Epic Story of Reconstruction Through the Lives of the First Black Congressmen Primeiro apê Conquiste seu sonho by Philip Dray com a MRV. Mensais a Synopsis: partir de 299. Simule. Reconstruction was a time of idealism and sweeping change, as the victorious Union created citizenship rights for the freed slaves and granted the vote to black men. Sixteen black Southerners, elected to the U.S. Congress, arrived in Washington to advocate reforms such as public education, equal rights, land distribution, and the suppression of the Ku Klux Klan. But these men faced astounding odds. They were belittled as corrupt and inadequate by their white political opponents, who used legislative trickery, libel, bribery, and the brutal intimidation of their constituents to rob them of their base of support. Despite their status as congressmen, they were sponsored books made to endure the worst humiliations of racial prejudice. And they have been largely forgotten— Bitter Truth often neglected or maligned by standard histories of the period. A story of hope: how one woman escaped from the clutches of In this beautifully written book, Philip Dray reclaims their story. Drawing on archival documents, bitterness through the power of contemporary news accounts, and congressional records, he shows how the efforts of black God and the hard road of Americans revealed their political perceptiveness and readiness to serve as voters, citizens, and repentance. elected officials. www.goodreads.com We meet men like the war hero Robert Smalls of South Carolina (who had stolen a Confederate vessel 7 five star ratings » and delivered it to the Union navy), Robert Brown Elliott (who bested the former vice president of the Confederacy in a stormy debate on the House floor), and the distinguished former slave Blanche THE CAT'S MAW ­ ONLY K. Bruce (who was said to possess “the manners of a Chesterfield”). As Dray demonstrates, these men $1.99 'TIL JUNE 5th were eloquent, creative, and often effective representatives who, as support for Reconstruction For lovers of haunting mysteries, faded, were undone by the forces of Southern reaction and Northern indifference. fantasy, suspense...and CATS! In a grand narrative that traces the promising yet tragic arc of Reconstruction, Dray follows these black representatives’ struggles, from the Emancipation Proclamation to the onset of Jim Crow, as "Burgess leaves readers clawing they fought for social justice and helped realize the promise of a new nation. for the sequel" KIRKUS REVIEWS flag * message 3: by Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief (new) May 26, 2011 09:12PM Thank you very much Alisa for this add especially for this new thread. www.amazon.com view 60 reviews » flag * more books... message 4: by Bryan, Assisting Moderator ­ Presidential Series (new) May 27, 2011 09:56AM A history of the House: Books mentioned in this topic Capitol Men: The Epic Story of Reconstruction Through the Lives of the First Black Congressmen (other topics) The House: The History of the House of Representatives Robert V. Remini (other topics) Rayburn (other topics) Booklist: Fighting for the Speakership: The House and the Rise of The unrivaled scholar of the Jacksonian era of American history, Remini is also a skillful popular Party Government (other topics) historian, as evident in accessibly vibrant histories such as The Battle of New Orleans (1999). The The Logic of Congressional Action (other topics) latter spirit infuses this chronicle of the U.S. House of Representatives. It bears no trace of dreary More... institutional history but, rather, emphasizes the most prominent figures among the 10,000 people who have been its members. Another successful strategy Remini adopts is his manner of illustrating Authors mentioned in this topic how the House operates. Rather than explain parliamentary procedure, he dramatizes it in episodes Philip Dray (other topics) such as the debate over the Wilmot Proviso. In the aggregate, Remini's narratives make memorable Robert V. Remini (other topics) how the pendulum of the House's powers has swung, both within its committees and the office of D.B. Hardeman (other topics) https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/562850­house­of­representatives 1/12 29/04/2015 Goodreads | The History Book Club ­ AMERICAN GOVERNMENT: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES (showing 1­43 of 43) speaker, and in its external power struggle with the presidency and the Senate. Published under the Jeffery A. Jenkins (other topics) aegis of the House itself, Remini's work is nonpartisan, civic­minded, and deserving of every library's R. Douglas Arnold (other topics) consideration. More... flag * message 5: by Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief (new) May 27, 2011 09:59AM Great add Bryan. flag * message 6: by Alisa (new) May 27, 2011 10:00AM I can see that these threads are going to impact my to­read list. Great addition Bryan, this looks really interesting. flag * message 7: by Bryan, Assisting Moderator ­ Presidential Series (new) May 27, 2011 10:01AM Robert V. Remini worked for the House when he wrote this. He was hired to write this book and from reviews, he did a good job. It is on my TBR list. flag * message 8: by Bryan, Assisting Moderator ­ Presidential Series (new) May 27, 2011 10:07AM I suspect this is hard to find, but a worthwhile read: D.B. Hardeman Publisher's Weekly: Sam Rayburn made available his congressional papers, personal correspondence and taped conversation with the late Hardeman to Bacon (Congress and You, who completed this biography. The book presents an intimate look at a man who had the longest law­making career in American history, having served in the House of Representatives for 49 years at the time of his death in 1961. As Speaker of the House, "Mr. Sam" epitomized honesty and integrity in public service. Referred to here as "arguably the most underrated public official in twentieth­century politics," he is revealed as a major architect of New Deal legislation, adviser to presidents from Wilson to Kennedy, and a man whose "outrageously optimistic dreams came true." Rayburn's legislative battles are described in detail, from his confrontation with public­utility holding companies in the '30s to his last major victory, a showdown with conservatives over control of the House Committee on Rules. Also covered are Truman's reliance on the Speaker's counsel and the father­son relationship between Rayburn and his protege, Lyndon Johnson. An inspiring portrait of a politician who may have been the last of his kind. flag * message 9: by Bryan, Assisting Moderator ­ Presidential Series (last edited Nov 29, 2011 08:36AM) (new) Nov 29, 2011 08:35AM The long­time Congressman Barney Frank (D­MA) is retiring. Here is a link to an interesting Politico article. You can't help but think that we need to look in the mirror. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/... Here is some more biographical info: http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/... flag * message 10: by Bryan, Assisting Moderator ­ Presidential Series (last edited Dec 11, 2012 10:36AM) (new) Dec 11, 2012 10:36AM Fighting for the Speakership: The House and the Rise of Party Government (no image)Fighting for the Speakership: The House and the Rise of Party Government by Jeffery A. Jenkins Synopsis The Speaker of the House of Representatives is the most powerful partisan figure in the contemporary U.S. Congress. How this came to be, and how the majority party in the House has made control of the speakership a routine matter, is far from straightforward. Fighting for the Speakership provides a comprehensive history of how Speakers have been elected in the U.S. House since 1789, arguing that the organizational politics of these elections were critical to the construction of mass political parties in America and laid the groundwork for the role they play in setting the agenda of Congress today. Jeffery Jenkins and Charles Stewart show how the speakership began as a relatively weak office, and how votes for Speaker prior to the Civil War often favored regional interests over party loyalty. https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/562850­house­of­representatives 2/12 29/04/2015 Goodreads | The History Book Club ­ AMERICAN GOVERNMENT: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES (showing 1­43 of 43) While struggle, contention, and deadlock over House organization were common in the antebellum era, such instability vanished with the outbreak of war, as the majority party became an "organizational cartel" capable of controlling with certainty the selection of the Speaker and other key House officers. This organizational cartel has survived Gilded Age partisan strife, Progressive Era challenge, and conservative coalition politics to guide speakership elections through the present day. Fighting for the Speakership reveals how struggles over House organization prior to the Civil War were among the most consequential turning points in American political history. flag * message 11: by Alisa (last edited Aug 05, 2013 01:51PM) (new) Dec 27, 2012 01:58PM This looks interesting: The Logic of Congressional Action by R.