Board of Education. Doghouse. Cabinet Room. Sanctum sanctorum. Or, as Speaker Sam Rayburn modestly called his tiny hideaway where informal legislating happened, “the little room.”
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A month before Selma became synonymous with the struggle for voting rights, a group of Congressmen traveled to the city and returned to Washington to sound the alarm. “We—as Members of Congress—must face the fact that existing legislation just is not working,” Joseph Resnick of New York said upon his return. “The situation in Selma must jar us from our complacency concerning voting rights.”
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In 1929, the Capitol celebrated Flag Day with the United States Flag Association rolling out the (allegedly) largest flag in the world on the West Front, accompanied by an amplified, patriotic program. But what about the normal-sized, everyday flags in the Chamber? One might assume that its current spot— front and center, behind the Speaker on the rostrum—was always the case. However, there is no official protocol on flag display, so we turn to images from the House Collection to piece together the history of the flag in the House Chamber.
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This portrait of Representative John Sosnowski seems pretty standard—until you turn it over and read the back.
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A parliamentary insult hurled at a Republican freshman had the effect of briefly banding his colleagues into a memorable (and merry) bloc.
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As December draws to a close, there’s a tendency to review the efforts of the year. Here’s just a few of our favorites from 2015.
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The Offices of House History and Art and Archives have been busy this year working on new projects, including a whopping 53 blogs this year! As we get ready to start a new year, here are just a few of our favorites from 2016.
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The Offices of House History and Art and Archives have been busy this year working on new projects, including 54 blogs this year! We look back on a few of our favorites from 2017.
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The year 2018 wasn’t just about a midterm election for the Offices of History, Art & Archives. We introduced a lot of content throughout the year, including 43 blogs! Here’s a few of our favorites from the past year.
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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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This year, the Office of the Historian and the Office of Art and Archives published 44 blog posts on a range of topics, including congressional nicknames, stamp collecting, the apportionment process, and the 1870 election of Joseph Hayne Rainey, the first Black Member of the House of Representatives. As we reflect on a tumultuous and difficult year, we’ve selected eight of our favorite and most discussed posts for readers to revisit.
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Do you know how to spell “hydrocephalus”? If so, you might have had the orthographical muscle necessary to compete against some of the top spellers of the early 20th century. Long before the era of computers and spell check, many Americans participated in a growing national phenomenon: spelling bees. As the popularity of spelling contests blossomed in the United States, the House of Representatives joined in on the fun.
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