Includes bibliographical references (p. [543]-592) and index
Inaugurating a new government, March-April 1789 -- The first session of the 1st Congress, March-September 1789 -- New York, Philadelphia, and ideological conflict, 1790-1797 -- A new beginning in Washington, 1798-1807 -- Henry Clay and the ascendancy of the House of Representatives, 1806-1821 -- A democratized House, 1822-1846 -- The struggle to save the Union, 1846-1860 -- The Civil War, 1860-1865 -- Reconstruction, 1865-1877 -- The Gilded Age, 1869-1895 -- "Czar" Reed and "Uncle Joe" Cannon, 1888-1910 -- The Speaker eclipsed and revived, 1910-1928 -- The Great Depression, the New Deal and the outbreak of war, 1928-1941 -- The Hot and Cold Wars, 1941-1952 -- The Gatekeeper and the fight for Civil Rights, 1953-1961 -- The Great Society, voting rights, and Vietnam, 1961-1969 -- Scandal, Watergate, and Reform, 1969-1980 -- The conservative revolution, 1981-2001