This 1989 book analyses the development of the budgetary process in the House of Representatives between 1865 and 1921.

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.