In this book Charles Stewart analyses the development of the budgetary process in the House of Representatives between 1865 and 1921. The period began with the creation of the House Appropriations Committee and ended with the passage of the Budgetary Accounting Act. Attempts at change were closely related to societal and economic, but also to institutional, developments during this period. Both the electoral system and the national party system, as well as war and other economic crises, impacted upon the budgetary process.

List of tables and figures; Series editors' preface; Acknowledgments; Part I. Issues in the Study of Budgeting: Introduction; 1. Understanding budgeting and budget reform in Congress; 2. Setting the historical stage; Part II. Spending Reform and its Consequences, 1865-1921: Introduction; 3. The politics of budgetary structure, 1865-1921; 4. Adaptation and adjustment to decentralization: post-1885 spending decisions; 5. The reappearance of formal reform, 1885-1921; Part III. Conclusion: 6. Budget reform then and now; Appendix; References; Index.