United States House of Representatives: History, Art, & Archives
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History, Art & Archives of the U.S. House of Representatives

Advice to New Members

by Archives on January 9, 2017

Luther Patrick Makes a Face
On March 6, 1941, Alabama Representative Luther Patrick gave advice to new Members from the House Floor. His 32-point list detailed the dos and don’ts of congressional behavior. If only he took his own advice.

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Categories: Opening Day, People, Photography

Inside the Chamber on Opening Day

by Art on January 3, 2017

Every two years, as mandated in Article I, Section 2, of the Constitution, the U.S. House of Representatives starts a new legislative session, known as a Congress. Using longstanding precedent and a few highly visible artifacts, the House embarks on the pomp and ritual of its biennial Opening Day.

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Categories: House Chamber, Opening Day

“It Isn’t a School, and I’m Not a Schoolmaster”

by History on August 25, 2015

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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Categories: Opening Day, House Practice & Traditions

Knit One, Purl Two in the House Gallery?

by History on December 30, 2014

Eleanor Roosevelt
Opening day of a new Congress is usually a day full of excitement and activity. A new session begins, the Members are sworn in, and the House of Representatives organizes itself for the first time in a new term. Adding to the excitement of the opening day of March 9, 1933, a special visitor was in attendance, the new First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. The flurry of activity in the House Chamber can sometimes be chaotic, but the rules of the House maintain the decorum and help the “People’s House” function smoothly. But, as the First Lady’s visit soon proved, those same rules are sometimes subject to change for special visitors.

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Categories: House Practice & Traditions, Presidents, State of the Union, Opening Day

Take a Seat

by Art on October 6, 2014

For more than a century, a desk in the House Chamber was a Member’s office. He stowed his hat beneath his chair, wrote and stored papers in the writing desk, and occasionally propped his feet up to listen to debate. Why did picking one's desk matter?

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Categories: House Practice & Traditions, House Chamber, Opening Day

Carnation Nation

by Art on August 28, 2013

It was the opening day of Congress, and all the popular men had flowers on their desks. “Floral tributes,” enormous congratulatory bouquets, made their way into the House Chamber on the first day of each session of Congress from the 1870s until 1905. Pages and messengers staggered in with vase after vase.

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Categories: House Chamber, Opening Day, House Practice & Traditions
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Office of the Historian: history@mail.house.gov
Office of Art & Archives, Office of the Clerk: art@mail.house.gov, archives@mail.house.gov