The House Goes to Work: Select and Standing Committees in the U.S. House of Representatives, 1789-1828

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Abstract
Most references to the committee procedures employed by the early House of Representatives note the widespread use of select committees, but very little is known about their diversity, membership and activities. This article examines the use of select and standing committees in a sample of five congressional sessions. Select committees with standing committee features are found to have been used from at least the Fifth Congress. Select committees are also found to have been used to accommodate the interests of members to investigate topics of local and particular interest, although their ability to get bills passed by the House was limited. The article concludes with an assessment of the changed nature of the House following the development of standing committees by 1828.

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