openintro (version 1.3)

house: United States House of Representatives historical make-up

Description

The make-up of the United States House of Representatives every two years since 1789. The last Congress included is the 112th Congress, which completes its term in 2013.

Usage

data(house)

source

Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives Party Divisions:

http://clerk.house.gov/art_history/house_history/partyDiv.html

Data for Congresses 1-111 was recorded from the website above on November 1st, 2010. It appears this page was later moved to

http://artandhistory.house.gov/house_history/partyDiv.aspx

where data for Congress 112 was recorded on April 21, 2011.

Examples

data(house)

#=====> Examine two-party relationship since 1855 <=====#
these <- 34:112
COL   <- c("#EEDDBB", "#DDEEBB", "#DDDDDD",
           "#BBDDEE", "#EEE5E5", "#EECCCC")
party <- c("#2222FF", "#FF2222")
par(las=1)
plot(house$yearStart[these], 100*house$np1[these]/house$seats[these],
      type="n", xlab="Year", ylab="Percent of House seats", ylim=c(11, 93))
rect(1861.3, -1000, 1865.3, 1000, col=COL[1], border="#FFFFFF")
rect(1914.5, -1000, 1918.9, 1000, col=COL[2], border="#FFFFFF")
rect(1929, -1000, 1939, 1000, col=COL[3], border="#FFFFFF")
rect(1939.7, -1000, 1945.6, 1000, col=COL[4], border="#FFFFFF")
rect(1955.8, -1000, 1965.3, 1000, col=COL[5], border="#E2E2E2")
rect(1965.3, -1000, 1975.4, 1000, col=COL[6], border="#E2E2E2")
lines(house$yearStart[these], 100*house$np1[these]/house$seats[these],
      col=party[1])
lines(house$yearStart[these], 100*house$np2[these]/house$seats[these],
      col=party[2])
legend("topleft", lty=c(1,1), col=party,
      c("Democrats", "Republicans"), bg="#FFFFFF")
legend("topright", fill=COL,
      c("Civil War", "World War I", "Great Depression", "World War II",
        "Vietnam War Start", "Vietnam War Escalated"),
      bg="#FFFFFF", border="#FFFFFF")