During the final decades of the 20th century, the United States reflected on its 200-year history while also looking forward to the new millennium. Americans grappled with the realized and unrealized promises of the nation’s founding principles. Cultural movements and technology evolved rapidly, and new politicians arrived on the scene. At home, citizens advocated for equal rights and endured an energy crisis, political scandal, and a large-scale terrorist attack. Abroad, the United States navigated a foreign policy agenda that included the Cold War, Pacific territories, and global trade. Learn more about the end of the century with these records from the House of Representatives.
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The upheaval of World War II spurred widespread change in the United States. Social, political, and economic shifts reverberated throughout the country and new allies and adversaries emerged abroad. It was a period marked by changes and challenges that impacted the way Americans lived, worked, and engaged with each other. The civil rights movement, the space race, and the Cold War shaped the decades following the end of the war.
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During the 1930s and 1940s, Americans endured economic catastrophe and world war. When the war ended in 1945, the United States emerged with strengthened political, military, and economic power. Learn more about the United States during the Great Depression and World War II with these records from the House of Representatives.
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As the United States expanded, developed, and went to war overseas, Americans and their government responded to the rapid changes happening in the country and abroad. Learn more about how the country navigated the shift from the unregulated excess of the Gilded Age to social and political reforms of the Progressive Era with these records from the House of Representatives.
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Nearly 100 years after its founding, the United States exerted its new power over the nation’s economy, land, people, and increasingly, overseas as it sought strategic global footholds and favorable trade. Learn more about this period of new industries and imperialism with these records from the House of Representatives.
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By the mid-19th century, the struggle over slavery reached a boiling point in the United States. The American people, as well as their Representatives and Senators, clashed over slavery for years before the Civil War erupted in 1861. Following the war, during the period known as Reconstruction, Congress attempted to rebuild and reunite the country. Learn more about this contentious period with these records from the House of Representatives.
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Learn about the long journey to the 19th Amendment and women’s voting rights with this primary source set. Created with teachers and students in mind, this educational tool follows the quest for suffrage using House records, art, and photographs. We encourage educators to download and use these materials in their classrooms.
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As the United States grew in size and population, it grappled with the challenges of its expansion. Congress began the complicated process of dividing and parceling out land, much of it already inhabited, contended with pro- and antislavery activism, and started to determine what kinds of support and relief the government should provide its citizens. Learn more about this turbulent foundational period with these records from the House of Representatives.
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This blog shows you where to find documents, artwork, and oral histories about Congress for your research. It also gives you a tour of classroom resources, like primary source sets and graphic organizers, to enrich your research experience. Whether you are a teacher, student, researcher, or congressional staff member, these primary sources are available for you to use.
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During this formative period, the young nation achieved and defended its independence, established a new government, expanded geographically, and sought economic prosperity. Explore the foundational years of the United States with these records from the House of Representatives.
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Explore the growth of the United States with our primary source set on westward expansion. Created for classroom use, this new collection of House records, art, and photographs examines the country’s growth through various themes. The primary sources cover the treatment of Native Americans, Manifest Destiny, the expansion of slavery, conservation of natural resources, and more.
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New primary sources added to Records Search are ready to use in the classroom. Explore records from the emergence of modern America to the contemporary United States (1890–present). Each document includes a downloadable PDF of the record, primary source analysis worksheet, and transcription if the document is handwritten.
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