[Deschler's Precedents, Volume 1, Chapters 1 - 6]
[Chapter 5.  The House Rules, Journal, and Record]
[A. House Rules and Manual]
[Â§ 2. Jefferson's Manual]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[Page 302]
 
                               CHAPTER 5
 
                  The House Rules, Journal, and Record
 
                       A. HOUSE RULES AND MANUAL
 
Sec. 2. Jefferson's Manual

    Jefferson's Manual was prepared by Thomas Jefferson for his own 
guidance as President of the Senate in the years of his Vice 
Presidency, from 1797 to 1801. In 1837, the House, by rule which still 
exists, provided that the provisions of the Manual should govern the 
proceedings of the House to the extent specified in the rule. The 
present rule(6) states:
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 6. Rule XLII, House Rules and Manual Sec. 938 (1973).
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        The rules of parliamentary practice comprised in Jefferson's 
    Manual and the provisions of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 
    1946, as amended, shall govern the House in all cases to which they 
    are applicable, and in which they are not inconsistent with the 
    standing rules and orders of the House and joint rules of the 
    Senate and House of Representatives.

    The extent to which particular provisions of Jefferson's Manual are 
applicable to present-day procedures in the House is indicated in the 
notes thereto, including the citations of precedents, accompanying the 
text as printed in the House Rules and Manual.
    In addition to being traditionally incorporated in some degree in 
the House rules, Jefferson's Manual serves as part of the basis of the 
general parliamentary law that governs the House prior to adoption of 
the rules.(7)
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 7. See Sec. 3, infra.
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