New Book Details History of the House of Representatives

Newswise — A new book by an award-winning historian and biographer at the University of Illinois at Chicago provides the first comprehensive narrative history of the U.S. House of Representatives.

"It's my hope that this book will be helpful to the American people in understanding how their government functions and how a republic created by the founders evolved over 200 years into a democracy," said Robert Remini, professor emeritus of history, who was named historian for the House in 2005.

"The House: The History of the U.S. House of Representatives" (Library of Congress and Smithsonian Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers) will be available in bookstores nationwide April 25.

To create the single-volume, 625-page book, Remini utilized the Library of Congress' collection of manuscripts, congressional records, newspaper accounts, letters, diaries, memoirs and biographies. He also conducted interviews with many current and former House members.

"In the past I've mostly written biographies, never an institutional history," Remini said. "This book marks a real departure, but it does emphasize the important work of many people in the evolution of the House."

The book, Remini said, provides a unique perspective on the development and individuals of America's 1st through 108th Congresses.

"This is really a remarkable story," said Remini, who noted the biggest surprise was how much authority Congress, once considered the centerpiece of the federal government, has lost to the president over 200 years.

"James Madison, the father of the Constitution, really believed that compared to Congress, the chief executive was not the stronger branch of the system but the weaker," he said. "Little did he know what the future would bring."

Remini has been teaching and writing about American history for more than half a century. An authorization from Congress in 2002 appointed him as Distinguished Visiting Scholar in American History at the John W. Kluge Center of the Library of Congress.

"The House: The History of the U.S. House of Representatives" joins Remini's earlier publications including a three-volume biography of Andrew Jackson, biographies of Henry Clay, Daniel Webster and John Quincy Adams, and a dozen other books on Jacksonian America.

Remini was the 2004 recipient of the Freedom Award from the United States Capitol Historical Society for his "outstanding contributions to preserving and communicating the history of our nation."

Among his many other honors are the Lyndon Baines Johnson Foundation Award, the Carl Sandburg Award for Nonfiction, the American Historical Association's Award for Scholarly Distinction, and the National Book Award.

Remini received his bachelor's degree from Fordham University and his master's and Ph.D. degrees from Columbia University.

UIC ranks among the nation's top 50 universities in federal research funding and is Chicago's largest university with 25,000 students, 12,000 faculty and staff, 15 colleges and the state's major public medical center. A hallmark of the campus is the Great Cities Commitment, through which UIC faculty, students and staff engage with community, corporate, foundation and government partners in hundreds of programs to improve the quality of life in metropolitan areas around the world.

For more information about UIC, visit http://www.uic.edu

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