At 10
different portrait unveilings on Capitol Hill, a man named Charles J. Fox was praised
as the artist who captured the sitter’s likeness. In fact, Fox was not an artist. His name wasn't even Charles. The real creator was someone else entirely.
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In politics as in life, everyone discovers that they have to choose their battles, deciding when to fight and when to walk away. The lucky ones get to learn this lesson early and in private. Then there are others, like Ohio Representative William Sawyer.
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This month’s Edition for Educators highlights trivia spanning the history of the House of Representatives, spotlighting a few unique firsts, records, and watershed moments. Who was the first known Representative to be elected by a write-in vote? What is on Charles Schulz’s Congressional Gold Medal? And how long would “Uncle Joe” cook a ham hock for his bean soup? All of this trivia and more can be found on the History, Art & Archives website.
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Do you remember having jitters on the first day at a new school? It could be a strange environment with unfamiliar classrooms, new teachers, and fidgety students who wanted to be somewhere else. New Members of Congress have had similar feelings.
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Congressional photographic portraits serve an important function—recording an image of a Member for history. They can also surprise the viewer with their beauty. Harris & Ewing, a Washington, D.C., photography studio, produced luminous congressional photographs that are worth a closer look.
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After the terrorist attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001, the country spent time mourning and reflecting on the tragedy. For many people at the U.S. Capitol, September 12 meant a return to work, but it was far from business as usual.
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This month's Edition for Educators highlights Joint Meetings and Joint Sessions. The two houses of Congress generally work separately, but on occasion the House of Representatives and the Senate gather together in Joint Meetings and Joint Sessions for moments of historic significance.
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“A new optical instrument, called the Stereoscope, is attracting much attention,” wrote the
Baltimore Sun in 1852. The apparatus worked with special images, called stereoviews. Seen through the stereoscope, these prints appeared shockingly three-dimensional. No need for 19th century technology. Now you can put on your 3-D glasses to explore the history of this format and take a new look at House Collection stereoviews.
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by
Art on September 30, 2015
What item in the House Collection looks like it came straight out of a horror film? Inquiring minds wanted to know and they got their answer on #AskACurator Day.
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This month’s Edition for Educators highlights statutory representatives in the House. Since its inception, Congress has contended with the Constitution’s silence on the issue of representation for U.S. territories. Over decades of improvisation, a system of “statutory representation” emerged that consisting of laws crafted by Congress and evolving procedural rules in the House to give territories a limited voice in the national legislature through the offices of the Territorial Delegate and the Resident Commissioner.
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by
Art on October 15, 2015
If your signature look is a black bow tie, and if you are a candidate for Congress, do you want your campaign buttons to look like bow ties? Of course!
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What’s that in the back of the House Chamber? Is the camera out of focus, or could there be a ghost in the Capitol?
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