Congress Innovates, 1776–1900

From their inception, the Federal Congress and the preceding Continental and Confederation Congresses spurred innovative advancements. These legislative assemblies drafted and approved America’s founding documents which radically transformed the way people governed in the eighteenth century and further expanded those rights in the nineteenth century. As the industrial revolution developed new technologies, Congress worked to promote progress and provide support for improvements which changed American society.

Innovative Documents

The government formed by the Continental and Confederation Congresses was unlike anything the world had ever seen: a system of laws for a sovereign nation governed by the people. With the ratification of the U.S. Constitution, America embarked on a new chapter in its experiment in self-rule.

Highlight: The Declaration of Independence

The Declaration of Independence became the foundational document of a new nation in the making. Delegate Richard Henry Lee of Virginia submitted a resolution on June 7, 1776, that called for the Continental Congress to declare independence, seek treaties with foreign nations, and draft a plan for the colonies to form a united confederation. After three weeks of work, the “Committee of Five” tasked with drafting the Declaration, presented its work on June 28. Congress ultimately voted for its approval on July 2, 1776, taking a radical first step in a novel governing experiment.

Highlight: The Bill of Rights

As part of ongoing debates about the responsibility of the new federal government and the rights of states and individuals, Representative James Madison of Virginia introduced a series of resolutions to amend the Constitution. The 12 resolutions he proposed enumerated guaranteed rights and protections, such as the right to peaceably assemble and the right to due process of law. Of the 12 proposed amendments, state legislatures approved 10 which became enshrined in the Constitution as the Bill of Rights.

Highlights: The Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments

Abolishing slavery in the United States, the Thirteenth Amendment was a significant step forward in extending freedom and rights to Black Americans. The Fourteenth Amendment established guarantees of citizenship and equal protection of the law. The amendment sought to strengthen the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and further protect the rights of Black Americans in southern states where they faced threats and violence. Not only did the amendment establish birthright citizenship and equal protection under the law, but it also barred former Confederates from holding elected office unless given permission by Congress. Building on the expansion of rights and protections of other Reconstruction legislation, the Fifteenth Amendment established federal voting rights protection for Black Americans.

Technological Innovations

As the nation grew and expanded, American entrepreneurs developed new technology and sought federal assistance for their inventions. These major technological innovations are intertwined with the U.S. House of Representatives through both administrative and personal connections.

Document: Petition of Eli Whitney

Eli Whitney’s cotton gin revolutionized agricultural production in the South. Until the late eighteenth century, green seed cotton grew throughout inland Georgia, but separating its sticky seeds from the cotton fiber was time-consuming and costly. Whitney developed the cotton gin, a technology that, as he claimed, allowed one man to do the work of a thousand men. In 1794, he patented the invention and hoped to make his fortune. His patent was largely ignored by other developers, and Whitney petitioned Congress several more times to renew the patent.

Highlight: The Capitol's First Official Telegraph

On May 24, 1844, inventor Samuel Morse demonstrated his revolutionary communication device—the telegraph—to Members of Congress. The invention changed the exchange of information to and from the Capitol. Less than a decade later, the House approved plans to add a telegraph office to a new wing of the Capitol.

Document: Memorial for a Pacific Railroad

Throughout the early nineteenth century, Congress entertained the idea of connecting eastern states with the west by rail. In the 1850s, Congress tasked the U.S. Army Topographic Corps to survey possible routes for a transcontinental railroad. During the Civil War in 1862, the Pacific Railroad Act became law. Seven years later, in 1869, engineers completed the first transcontinental railroad.

Blog: Railroaded to Congress

Representative Grenville Mellen Dodge played an outsized role in the creation of the first transcontinental railroad—although not as a legislator. Dodge was a military and civil engineer by trade and worked throughout the Midwest building railroads. After serving with the Union Army during the Civil War, Dodge was chosen as the chief engineer of the Union Pacific Railroad. Despite his election to the House for the 40th Congress (1867–1869), he was able to oversee the joining of the two lines at Utah’s Promontory Point on May 10, 1869.

Blog: “A National Celebration Worthy of the Occasion”: The U.S. House of Representatives and the 1876 Centennial

The U.S. Centennial Exposition was organized by Congress to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Hosted in Philadelphia and drawing millions of visitors from around the globe, the exposition became a means to demonstrate and highlight the progress and industry of the United States. Such displays included the Corliss steam engine, animal and fish specimens from the Smithsonian Institution, and modern weaponry.

Cultural and Environmental Innovations

The House recognized the importance of protecting the American landscape and promoting education and culture for the general public.

Highlight: Committee on Public Lands

On December 17, 1805, the U.S. House of Representatives created the Committee on Public Lands, to help Congress manage the newly acquired Louisiana Purchase Territory. Stretching northwest from the port of New Orleans to present-day Montana, the acquisition from Napoleonic France covered more than 828,000 square miles. During the 9th Congress (1805–1807), William Findley of Pennsylvania proposed creating “a committee respecting the lands of the United States.” The committee was charged with considering “all such petitions, and matters or things, respecting the lands of the United States, as shall be presented, or shall or may come into question, and be referred to them by the House; and to report their opinion thereupon, together with such propositions for relief therein, as to them shall seem expedient.” As new territory came under federal control, the Public Lands Committee gained jurisdiction over land sales, grants to railroads, efforts to prevent speculation, national parks, conservation, forests, and mineral and water rights.

Highlight: Smithsonian Institution Established

In 1835, a wealthy Englishman named James Smithson bequeathed his estate to the U.S. government with instructions to establish an institution for higher learning in the nation’s capital. More than a decade of debate ensued as lawmakers and citizens alike considered what kind of institution they should establish. Ultimately, in 1846, Congress voted to create the Smithsonian Institution which has fulfilled Smithson’s wish for nearly 200 years through its numerous museums and research facilities.

Highlight: Creation of the First National Park 1872

After explorers, surveyors, soldiers, and artists returned east with stories and visual representations of the natural splendor of the Yellowstone region, lawmakers worked to preserve the landscape of the territory. In early 1872, the Yellowstone was established as the first national park, setting aside more than 1,760 square miles of rugged country in the Montana and Wyoming Territories for public enjoyment and preservation.