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 25–36 of 380 results

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A Member by Any Other Name

by History on January 31, 2020
“Old Man Eloquent,” “Sunset Cox,” “Czar Reed,” “Uncle Joe,” “Vinegar Bend,” “Mr. Sam,” the “Little Giant.” Since the earliest Congresses, Members of the House have earned—or received—nicknames based on their careers and interests, monikers that have long outlived them.
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Categories: Members of Congress

Floor of the Floor

by Art on January 24, 2020
Installing New Carpet in 1938
Carpets have played an important role in interior design for both private and public buildings. Over two centuries, flooring decisions in the House have swung back and forth between form (symbolism, aesthetics, and glamour) and function (practicality, cost, and durability).
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Categories: House Chamber, Photographs, Artifacts

Edition for Educators — New Year, New Material

by History on January 14, 2020
With the second session of the 116th Congress (2019–2021) now underway, we thought it might be a good time to highlight the considerable work the offices of History, Art and Archives have put online in the past year. This Edition for Educators focuses on the wealth of new material made available in 2019.
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Categories: Edition for Educators, Announcements

Written in Stone

by Archives on January 7, 2020
Champ Clark and Bust
Two Champ Clarks stand side by side. The Speaker on the right is a near-perfect replica of the Speaker on the left—except for his ghostly white pallor and his abrupt ending below the chest.
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Categories: Speakers of the House, Photographs, Art

Best of the Blog in 2019

by History on December 23, 2019
2019 was a very busy year for everyone in the Offices of History, Art and Archives. On top of dozens of additions to our website’s resources, the office again published 43 blogs covering all manner of subjects. As we reflect on the past year, we’ve selected eight favorites for our readers to revisit heading into 2020.
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Categories: Announcements

Snowball Fight at the Capitol!

by Archives on December 12, 2019
1923 Snowball Fight
Photographs from the House Collection capture the fun of snowball fights outside the Capitol, a tradition for House and Senate Pages.
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Categories: Capitol Campus, Practice & Customs, Photographs

“I Told Everything I Know”: Patty Duke’s Secret Testimony to Congress

by Archives on December 3, 2019
Patty Duke
“I was involved, deeply involved, in a deception.” With those words to a congressional committee, the house of cards built by the producers and sponsors of popular televised quiz shows tumbled at last.
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Categories: Committees, Records & Research

Congressmobiles

by Archives on November 25, 2019
Robert Griffin and His Mobile Office
Congressional mobile offices emerged at the intersection of U.S. politics and love for automobiles.
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Categories: Members of Congress, Photographs

East from the Capitol

by Art on November 18, 2019
Looking East from the Capitol Stereoview
Photographers hauled their equipment to the top of the Capitol's giant new cast-iron dome and captured the city as it transformed from Civil War chaos to Gilded Age glamour. This 1875 image showed a city that still looked something less than glamorous.
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Categories: Capitol Campus, Artifacts

Edition for Educators — House Members With Military Service

by History on November 8, 2019
This Edition for Educators focuses on some of the House Members who served in the United States military before turning their careers to serving in Congress.
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Categories: Members of Congress, Women & Minorities on the Hill, Holidays, Interviews, Edition for Educators

Time Travel: Daylight Saving Time and the House

by History on November 1, 2019

When first-term Representative Leon Sacks of Pennsylvania introduced H.R. 6546 on April 21, 1937, the Earth did not stop spinning. Time did not stand still.

But it almost did.

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Categories: Legislation, War

The Haunting of Capitol Hill's House, Debunked

by History on October 29, 2019
“Sometimes you sit here and think you hear the funniest things a’ going on,” the infamous House Doorkeeper William “Fishbait” Miller once told an interviewer, Miller’s broad smile casting doubt on whether he actually believed what he said. “Wonder, if those sounds I keep a‘hearin’ are chicken ghosts?”
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Categories: Capitol Campus, Holidays
Office of the Historian: history@mail.house.gov
Office of Art & Archives, Office of the Clerk: art@mail.house.gov, archives@mail.house.gov