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

Mr. Silversmith Goes to Washington

by Art on August 28, 2014

Once upon a time, a young man came to Washington. He wasn’t sophisticated, but he had loads of ambition. He was destined to leave his mark on Congress. No, it wasn’t Jimmy Stewart's fictional character arriving in 1939 to clean up the corrupt Senate in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.

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Categories: Art & Artifacts, House Chamber

Edition for Educators—Burning of the Capitol

by History on August 20, 2014

U.S. Capitol after burning by the British
This month's Edition for Educators focuses on the War of 1812 in commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the burning of the U.S. Capitol on August 24, 2014.

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Categories: Education, War

A Committee Chair Huddle

by History on August 12, 2014

A Meeting Between Representatives Mary Norton and Caroline O'Day and Senator Hattie Caraway
Maybe it was a chance meeting . . . or maybe it wasn’t? On July 23, 1937, House Members Caroline O’Day of New York and Mary Norton of New Jersey met Senator Hattie Caraway of Arkansas in the halls of the U.S. Capitol. What made this spur-of-the-moment meeting unique was that three women chaired three committees simultaneously for the first time in congressional history.

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Categories: People, Minorities in Congress

"A Law-Making Mill:" The Hopper, The House, and Agrarian America

by History on August 4, 2014

The Hopper
A basket, a hopper, a bin. All new legislation has its start here, a container located on the rostrum in the House Chamber. At the end of every legislative day the Clerk of the House collects the bills and assigns each one a number. From there, the bills are referred to committee by the Speaker with the aid of the Parliamentarian. The story of how the hopper got its name speaks to the nation’s agrarian roots and the legislative process.

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Categories: Institution, 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