News Analysis
As Republicans continue to battle over the House Speakership, it’s easy to forget that we’ve been here before–in the 19th century.
The position was last contested this fiercely during the decades of sectional conflict that culminated in the Civil War.
The longest, toughest race to-date occurred in 1856. It took 133 ballots for the House of Representative to elect Massachusetts Republican and future Union General Nathaniel Prentiss Banks.
Yet even those fights came decades after 1789, when the newly formed House elected its first Speaker.
As the nation’s representatives struggle to determine their chamber’s future, a glance backward at that initial decision may offer some lessons, particularly for those who wonder what the Founders would make of our current situation….