United States House of Representatives: History, Art, & Archives
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“The House of Representatives, in some respects, I think, is the most peculiar assemblage in the world,” Speaker Joe Cannon of Illinois once observed. Behind the legislation and procedure, House Members and staff have produced their own institutional history and heritage. Our blog, Whereas: Stories from the People’s House, tells their stories.

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Displaying 1–12 of 299 results

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Slam Dunk: Doughnuts and the House

by Archives on September 17, 2018
Dunking a Doughnut into Coffee
Doughnuts have long been a favorite Washington breakfast. Crullers cooked up debate both on and off the House Floor.
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Categories: Members of Congress, Photographs

Reporting Live from the House Chamber

by Art on September 10, 2018
Press Gallery Pass
Reporters have covered the House from its earliest days, providing a vital link between the people and their Representatives.
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Categories: House Chamber, Practice & Customs, Artifacts

Edition for Educators—Presidency and the House

by History on September 6, 2018
This Edition for Educators highlights the Presidency and its complicated relationship with the House of Representatives.
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Categories: Presidents, Edition for Educators

We’ve Re-launched Our Blog

by History on August 27, 2018
When we launched our blog in late 2012, a new world of storytelling opened. For the last six years, the historians, curators, and archivists at the U.S. House of Representatives have discovered and documented an eclectic mix of people, events, records, and artifacts that have helped reveal how the House has evolved over the last 229 years. This summer, after having published nearly 300 entries to our blog since 2012, we’ve given it an overhaul.
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Categories: Announcements

The Cowboy of Congress

by Archives on August 16, 2018
Percy Gassaway
The Congressman stuck both index fingers down into his cowboy boot and yanked it up under his pant leg, getting ready for another day at the office.
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Categories: Members of Congress, Photographs

"The Battle of the Portraits"

by Art on July 18, 2018
Four Portraits of Speaker Henry Rainey
Newspapers called it “the battle of the portraits.” As many as 16 artists entered the fray of the late Speaker Henry Rainey’s official portrait commission, a tradition in the House of Representatives.
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Categories: Members of Congress, Speakers of the House, Committees, Art

Edition for Educators—Congressional Zoo

by History on July 6, 2018
The House of Representatives is no stranger to mankind’s four-legged friends in the animal kingdom. Whether considering legislation that affects the wildlife of the nation or simply posing alongside a beloved pet, there is often a zoological presence on the Hill. This Edition for Educators focuses on all things animal in Congress.
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Categories: Edition for Educators

An Ode to Poetry at the Capitol

by Archives on July 2, 2018
Consultant in Poetry Elizabeth Bishop Writing with a View of the Capitol
During a Joint Meeting honoring the bicentennial of Congress in 1989, Minority Leader Robert Michel suggested that what Congress needed during the celebration was “not more congressional prose, but the fiery, living truth of great poetry.”
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Categories: Capitol Campus, House Chamber, Photographs

Jeannette Rankin for Senate

by History on June 25, 2018
Representative Jeannette Rankin of Montana earned a permanent place in U.S. history by becoming the first woman elected to Congress. She served two non-consecutive terms and became the only person to vote against America’s entry into both World War I in 1917 and World War II in 1941. Her political career ended with her lone vote against war on December 8, 1941, as the U.S. Pacific Fleet burned at Pearl Harbor.
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Categories: Members of Congress, Minorities on the Hill, Elections, Rankin Centennial

Becoming the Board of Education

by Art on June 18, 2018
Nicholas Longworth and John Garner
Board of Education. Doghouse. Cabinet Room. Sanctum sanctorum. Or, as Speaker Sam Rayburn modestly called his tiny hideaway where informal legislating happened, “the little room.”
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Categories: Capitol Campus, Speakers of the House, Photographs

“As the Game Goes So Goes the Election” . . . or Not

by Archives on June 11, 2018
James Mead at Bat
“As the game goes so goes the election,” predicted the cover of the 1932 Congressional Baseball Game program.
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Categories: Practice & Customs, Photographs, Artifacts

Edition for Educators—Districts

by History on June 6, 2018
Massachusetts Speaker Tip O’Neill once said, “All politics is local.” With elections held every two years, the House of Representatives is designed to be immediately answerable to its constituents. Members typically seek to gain committee assignments that align with their districts’ interests and frequently return home to connect with voters. This Edition for Educators focuses on congressional districts and how their unique needs influence the Members who represent them.
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Categories: Elections, Edition for Educators
Office of the Historian: history@mail.house.gov
Office of Art & Archives, Office of the Clerk: art@mail.house.gov, archives@mail.house.gov