The Office of the Historian of the U.S. House of Representatives is proud to continue our tradition of supporting students participating in National History Day (NHD).
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Speaker Jonathan Trumbull Jr. of Connecticut was part of a generation of Members whose experience during the Revolutionary War informed their tenure in public office. His story is one of many that demonstrates how veterans of the Revolution continued to serve their country after the war, building and nurturing the government they had fought to create.
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In April 1961, the NFL signed a nationwide contract with the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) with exclusive rights to televise its games starting with the 1962 season. House Judiciary Chairman Emanuel Celler and his committee responded by opening an investigation into whether the NFL—and by extension, other professional sports leagues—had the right to set up their own big broadcast deals.
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For 45 years, between 1789 and the mid-1830s, 275 veterans of the Revolutionary War served in the U.S. House of Representatives. Sixty-two percent of the membership of the First Congress fought in the American Revolution, a greater percentage of veterans of a single conflict that at any other Congress in history.
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The new school year may be fast approaching, but summer isn’t over yet! Pile into the family car and join the Office of the Historian in continuing our celebration of America250 with a roadmap through Congress’s connection to Revolutionary-era America.
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When the U.S. House of Representatives opened in 1789, the world had never seen anything like it. But the characteristics of House, new though they were, were built on years of precedent and procedures found in other legislative bodies in North America.
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Years before millions of Americans marked the nation’s Bicentennial with fireworks and parades, the federal government began planning national celebrations to commemorate the 200th anniversary of American independence on July 4, 1976. At the center of these festivities was the U.S. Congress, which oversaw the country’s many celebrations and planned its own tributes to the Revolutionary-era quest for self-determination.
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In 1975, as the bicentennial approached, few Americans doubted the historical significance of Valley Forge. But there were fierce disagreements about how to preserve the site. It was hardly a foregone conclusion that Valley Forge would become part of the National Park System. Representative Richard Schulze’s resolution kicked off a preservation battle that lasted for more than a year, illustrating the difficulties involved in commemorating America’s history, even when it came to one of the most famous sites in the country.
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In anticipation of America’s 100th anniversary on July 4, 1876, the U.S. House of Representatives began preparing for the nation’s biggest independence celebration yet: the United States Centennial Exposition, which, over the course of six months, drew nearly 10 million visitors from across the nation and around the world to Philadelphia for an unprecedented display of American history, arts, culture, labor, and industry.
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As part of a new America250 exhibit, the Office of the Historian has assembled 76 facts organized across a dozen categories about the Continental and Confederation Congresses and their Delegates. Each tidbit provides fascinating insight into life in Revolutionary-era America.
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This month’s Edition for Educators answers the question: what do you get for the legislative body that has everything? Explore a few select examples of art, curiosities, and other gifts that the U.S. House of Representatives has received either to commemorate its own history or on behalf of the United States of America.
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On May 21, 1776, the Continental Congress passed a resolution to deal with an issue Delegates expected would soon be a problem. Although the colonies would not officially declare independence until July, Congress deemed it worthwhile to stipulate how the “Thirteen United Colonies” would handle British prisoners captured during what they anticipated would be a costly war.
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