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 103 results

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“Planting Laws and Institutions”: The Election of Representative John Quincy Adams

by History on November 5, 2018
On November 6, 1830, former United States President John Quincy Adams spent the day at his family’s farm near Quincy, Massachusetts, planting trees. On the edge of what would become the orchard, he laid out five rows of chestnuts, oaks, and shagbark hickories. The final, casual line in Adams’s diary that day: “I am a member elect of the twenty-second Congress.”
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Categories: Members of Congress, Presidents, Elections

House-Brewed Home Brew

by Archives on October 24, 2018
John Philip Hill and Guests at the Franklin Farms Party
Representative John Philip Hill tried very hard to get arrested by the Commissioner of Prohibition.
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Categories: Members of Congress, Legislation, Photographs

Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month

by History on September 25, 2018
In the summer of 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed into law an act that expanded Hispanic Heritage Week, first created by Congress in 1968, into Hispanic Heritage Month. Sponsored by California Representative Esteban Torres and Illinois Senator Paul Simon, the new law created an annual month-long celebration of Hispanic-American culture and history.
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Categories: Members of Congress, Minorities on the Hill

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

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

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

The Famous Umbrella of Ernest Ackerman

by Archives on April 10, 2018
Ernest Ackerman with Umbrella
Ernest Ackerman stood outside on a staircase. A black umbrella, clasped in his right hand and leaning against his shoulder, unfurled behind him. But, as you might notice, it wasn’t raining.
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Categories: Members of Congress, Photographs

Campaign Ink Blotters

by Art on March 12, 2018
Before the age of the ballpoint pen, Americans wrote their documents with fountain pens dipped in ink. Blotters soaked up the excess ink, and were a popular campaign object for decades, from their invention in the late 19th century until ballpoint pens hit the market after World War II, shoving fountain pens off the desktop by 1960.
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Categories: Members of Congress, Elections, Artifacts

Unbought and Unbossed

by Archives on March 5, 2018
Shirley Chisholm
Trailblazer, committee member, presidential candidate. Photographs from the House Collection show the path of Shirley Chisholm, the first African-American woman in Congress.
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Categories: Members of Congress, Minorities on the Hill, Photographs

The Search for Common Ground

by History on February 20, 2018
In the span of five months during the winter and spring of 1962 two major entrenched powers faced off in an obstinate battle of wills. This wasn’t a traditional war, but more of a smoldering, protracted conflict between long-time rivals with competing interests. Territory was contested. Stakes escalated. Worldviews were challenged. Catastrophe beckoned. And all the while, the ability of the federal government to function hung in the balance.
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Categories: Members of Congress, Legislation, Committees

Integrating Dick and Jane

by Archives on February 12, 2018
Illustration of Children Playing from the Cover of Fun with Dick and Jane
Fun with Our Friends, a Dick and Jane reader, played a role in a congressional hearing about bias, race, and education.
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Categories: Members of Congress, Minorities on the Hill, Committees, Photographs
Office of the Historian: history@mail.house.gov
Office of Art & Archives, Office of the Clerk: art@mail.house.gov, archives@mail.house.gov