In 2024, the Office of the Historian and the Office of Art and Archives published 34 blog posts exploring the rich history of the House of Representatives. As the 118th Congress prepares to adjourn sine die, we’re featuring six of our favorite blog posts from the past year ..read more

Everything old is new again—this season, treasures from 150 years ago take center stage in newly digitized additions to our online collection ..read more

On December 10, 1824, two dozen U.S. Representatives accompanied a 67-year-old French nobleman named Marie-Joseph-Paul-Yves-Roch-Gilbert du Motier through the streets of Washington, DC, on the way to the U.S. Capitol. Despite the apparent solemnity of the procession, the House and its visitors eagerly awaited the arrival of the French guest for whom they had prepared an official reception, set to begin promptly at 1:00 p.m ..read more

Were African Americans in attendance to witness the legislative debates that shaped their freedom? Well, yes and no. The nation barred them from citizenship and service as Members of Congress until the adoption of the 14th Amendment in 1868, but barring African Americans, slave or free, from the Capitol has a murkier history ..read more

Civil rights, Congress, and the performances of jazz pianist Hazel Scott coincided in the late 1940s and early 1950s. “I’ve been brash all my life, and it’s gotten me into a lot of trouble,” Scott said. “But at the same time, speaking out has sustained me and given meaning to my life ..read more

In this final post commemorating the twentieth anniversary of the House’s oral history program, four former staff members, whose collective service covered more than 150 years, described their impressions of the institution and offered advice to a new generation of employees. Themes of gratitude, inspiration, and service emerge in this collection of interviews ..read more

Just weeks after José Manuel Gallegos triumphed in a contested election in 1853, becoming New Mexico’s first Hispanic Territorial Delegate in the U.S. House, he found himself in a difficult quandary. Gallegos spoke no English and his request to use an interpreter on the floor failed to win his colleagues’ support. Yet, Gallegos’s early experience didn’t constitute the final word on the use of foreign languages on the House Floor. Indeed, for many reasons, Representatives have spoken in languages other than English. And, occasionally, they have done so in Spanish ..read more

Like a hall pass, a little metal disc has identified Representatives to police, Members, and others in the know for 50 years. But for the previous 180 years, the House saw no need for them. What happened to make Member pins a must-have in Congress ..read more

Eight years ago, the Office of the Historian published a blog which reviewed several historical statistics regarding the U.S. House of Representatives. Many lawmakers with many different careers have come and gone during that period. How, then, has the House changed since 2016? This Edition to Educators revisits that data, highlights new information on the History, Art & Archives website, and provides an update to important changes in the House’s membership ..read more

Since 1859, the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress has compiled life and career information for every lawmaker who has ever served on Capitol Hill. Included among the more than 11,000 congressional biographies in the Directory is a brief entry for Representative Thomas Forrest of Pennsylvania who served in the House in the 16th and 17th Congresses (1819–1823). But left unsaid in the Biographical Directory are details of Forrest’s life that were anything but conventional ..read more