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Abstract
This thesis explores the role of majorities and minorities in the House of Representatives, specifically emphasizing Thomas Brackett Reed’s rules in 1890 as a shift in power. As Speaker of the House, Reed displayed his expert parliamentary skills when constructing a new set of rules for the 51st Congress that would enable the Republican majority to defeat the minority party’s favorite obstructionist tactic: the disappearing quorum. Southern Democrats, led by Charles F. Crisp, fired back against Reed and his lieutenants, William McKinley and Joseph Cannon, arguing Reed’s actions threatened precedence, and he had no grounds for altering the counting of a quorum. Amidst name-calling, mockery, and jeering over a three-day battle on the House floor, Reed, the giant Republican from Maine, stood secure in his beliefs. This is the story of how Reed conquered the quorum.