United States House of Representatives: History, Art, & Archives
Search the website

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

No Going Home for the Holidays

by History on November 26, 2014

Representative Ralph Church
We’ve all been a part of those Thanksgiving dinners where nobody got along. On Thanksgiving Day, 1937, the House was no exception.

More >
Categories: Holidays, Institution, House Practice & Traditions

“The Only Thing You Could Hear Was People Crying”

by History on November 21, 2014

President Kennedy's body in the Capitol Rotunda
“Where were you when President Kennedy was shot?” became a defining question for a generation of Americans stunned by the violent act which took the life of the 35th U.S. President. As the nation sought to come to terms with the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the Capitol prepared for a rare lying-in-state ceremony reserved for the country’s most distinguished citizens. Countless staff worked behind the scenes to quickly assemble a memorial service to honor a fallen President and to help a distraught nation mourn the untimely passing of a popular American leader.

More >
Categories: Institution, Presidents, Oral History

The Last Will and Testament of a Lame Duck

by History on November 17, 2014

Clifford K. Berryman Lame Duck Cartoon
It’s not a hunting term. Nor is it a cooking experiment gone wrong. It’s a phrase often bandied about after an election: the “lame duck,” or departing politician who returns to office for the remainder of his or her term after the November elections. It can be an awkward position, but one in which at least one woman Member found creative inspiration.

More >
Categories: Institution, Elections

Edition for Educators—Veterans and Congress

by History on November 10, 2014

Speaker Sam Rayburn with War Veterans
This month's Edition for Educators focuses on the relationship between Congress and the men and women who have fought for the United States at home and abroad.

More >
Categories: Education, Institution

Did You #AskACurator?

by Art on November 3, 2014

Adam Clayton Powell
Large and small, the questions came, and @USHouseHistory answered them during #AskACurator day on September 17. In what has now become an annual Twitter event, 47,546 tweets used the hashtag #AskACurator to pose questions to and elicit answers from curators at 721 museums in 43 countries. They weren’t all directed to or coming from the House, but many were, and the House Curator Farar Elliott spent an hour answering them. Here are some of the most intriguing responses.

More >
Categories: Announcements, Art & Artifacts

Categories

Authors

Blog Roll

Monthly Archive

Office of the Historian: history@mail.house.gov
Office of Art & Archives, Office of the Clerk: art@mail.house.gov, archives@mail.house.gov