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

Shall We Play a Game?

by History on May 30, 2014

Puck Magazine
The game of chess requires skill, intellect, a bit of luck and in this case . . . military strategy and a telegraph? In 1897, Members from the House of Representatives and the British House of Commons set up the first intercontinental game of chess among elected government leaders.

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Categories: House Practice & Traditions

"Best Speller in the United States"

by History on May 23, 2014

Representative Frank Willis of Ohio/tiles/non-collection/5/5-26-sum-willis-3c12181u.xml
Do you know how to spell “hydrocephalous”? 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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Categories: Institution, House Practice & Traditions

The White Squadron

by Art on May 16, 2014

Peace (The White Squadron in Boston Harbor), or more simply Peace, has been around the block — the Capitol block. It started out in Chicago, then came to the Capitol, and ultimately found a home in the Cannon House Office Building.

 

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Categories: Art & Artifacts

Edition for Educators – Speaker of the House Joe Cannon of Illinois

by History on May 7, 2014

Speaker Joe Cannon
Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution states: “The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and other Officers.” And when Congress first convened in 1789, the House chose Frederick A.C. Muhlenberg as its Speaker. More than a century later, the House chose Joe Cannon of Illinois to serve as its leader. A self-described “hayseed” from Illinois, Cannon ruled the House with an iron fist. Learn more about colorful “Uncle Joe” Cannon and the Office of the Speaker.

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Categories: Speakers of the House, People, Education

Jacob Coxey: Guerrilla Lobbyist

by Art on May 1, 2014

The cover of an 1894 Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Weekly shows the dramatic end to Jacob Coxey’s journey to Washington—his arrest amidst a crowd of supporters at the Capitol. So how did this wealthy eccentric and his entourage become national news?

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Categories: People, Institution

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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