Initially, the Majority Leader was an appointed position, chosen by the Speaker.

Ripley in his study Party Leaders in the House of Representatives. Although the earliest party leaders continued to serve as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, historians and congressional scholars tend to agree that the Majority Leader became вЂњa separate and consistently identifiable party officeвЂќ in 1899, according to Randall B. That began to change on the eve of the 20th century. At the time, the majority party depended on powerful committee chairmen-either from the Ways and Means Committee or the Appropriations Committee-to pull double duty as both chairman and as the majorityвЂ™s legislative conductor on the House Floor. In the three decades following the Civil War, when AmericaвЂ™s current two-party system crystalized, the concept of the Majority Leader was far more informal than it is today. The House of Representatives, with its large membership, has relied on Majority Leaders since the late-19th century to expedite legislative business and to keep their parties united. House of RepresentativesДЄbout this object Sereno Payne of New York chaired the Ways and Means Committee before becoming the House's first Majority Leader. tiles/non-collection/i/im_people_majleader_2002_021_019.xml Collection of the U.S.

What is house party