Congressional history

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• SOURCE: WGBH
  1/10/2022
  

  Historian Joanne Freeman on What Follows Speaker Battle

  "It would be hard to exaggerate the degree to which rules can be weapons in Congress if they're deployed the right way." 

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• SOURCE: New York Times
  1/7/2023
  

  Laugh at McCarthy's Travails, but History Shows Chaotic Congress Isn't a Joke

  by Joanne B. Freeman

  Protracted Speakership battles have always reflected moments where factions struggled over power in ways that the party systems of the day couldn't contain. Today, the differences at stake aren't about policy, but power, making the moment particularly dire. 

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• SOURCE: Made By History at the Washington Post
  1/9/2023
  

  What Can We Learn from the 1923 Speaker Fight?

  by Christopher McKnight Nichols and Maxine Wagenhoffer

  Intraparty factionalism was prevalent then as now, but the most recent speaker battle shows that the forces of party discipline that could moderate factional strife have fallen away, making bomb-throwing and grandstanding politically rewarding. 

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• 1/6/2023
  

  "You Don't Have the Votes": The House Speaker Fight Echoes 1839

  by Michael Trapani

  With multiple votes, partisan hostility, and charges of an electoral "steal" in the air, the House Speaker battle of 1839 offers a compelling comparison to today. 

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• SOURCE: Washington Post
  12/30/2022
  

  When the House Needed 133 Votes to Pick a Speaker

  by Ronald G. Shafer

  Kevin McCarthy's unfolding nightmare of failing to unify his party has nothing on the battle to choose a Speaker in 1855 (so far). 

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• SOURCE: Washington Post
  1/10/2022
  

  Washington Post Launches Database of 1,700 Members of Congress Who Owned Slaves

  "For the first seven decades of its existence, Congress returned again and again to one acrimonious topic: slavery. Many of the lawmakers arguing in Washington were participants in the brutal institution at home."

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• SOURCE: New York Times
  5/10/2021
  

  In One of the Oldest Congresses Ever, the Democrats' Majority May Depend on Good Health

  Jane L. Campbell of the U.S Capitol Historical Society offers perspective on the aging Democratic caucuses. Although it may be impolite to discuss, death in office for members of the House and Senate has been historically quite common. 

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• SOURCE: Made By History at The Washington Post
  7/29/2020
  

  Congresswomen Of Color Have Always Fought Back Against Sexism

  by Dana Frank

  When he called Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez “crazy” and “out of her mind” because he didn’t like her politics, Ted Yoho was harking back to Edgar Berman’s narrative that a political woman who dares to speak up is constitutionally insane.

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• SOURCE: American Constitution Center
  6/22/2020
  

  Congress in Times of Crisis (Webinar): 7:00 PM EDT, Monday June 22

  TODAY join a Zoom webinar featuring Joanne Freemand and Edward Ayers on Congressional responses to crisis. 

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• SOURCE: Washington Post
  4/13/2020
  

  The Republican President Who Vetoed a Great Depression Rescue Package in an Election Year

  In 1932, President Hoover was also wary about government spending during an economic crisis.

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• 11/3/19
  

  Congressional Courage, the D.C. Slave Trade, and Moral Politics in Washington

  by Jeff Forret

  Political cynics may argue that moral bankruptcy is a long-time fixture in Washington, but at a crucial moment of national division, congressional leadership confronted the ethical embarrassment of the D.C. slave trade and eradicated it.

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• SOURCE: NY Times
  9/7/19
  

  How Congress Passed an Assault Weapons Ban in 1994

  With Congress prepared to again clash over gun safety, in the aftermath of a murderous August, the circuitous route to passage taken by the assault weapons ban 25 years ago illustrates just how perfectly the legislative stars must align for contentious gun measures to become law. 

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• SOURCE: History Channel
  July 24, 2019
  

  Violence in Congress Before the Civil War: From Canings and Stabbings to Murder

  19th century congressman went to work carrying pistols and bowie knives—and sometimes used them on colleagues.

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• 2/27/19
  

  What FDR Can Teach Us About Congress and National Emergencies

  by Martin Halpern

  Seventy-five years ago this week, there was a serious conflict between President Franklin Roosevelt and Congress.

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• SOURCE: Mother Jones
  1/4/19
  

  If You Think Congress Is Bad Now, You Should Hear About What Happened in 1838

  A new book explores congressional violence in the decades leading up to the Civil War

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• SOURCE: Washington Post
  1/3/19
  

  A 400-pound gavel? The story of a symbol of congressional power and its heavy-handed abusers.

  After Nancy Pelosi was elected House speaker Thursday, she was given a wooden mallet with a colorful history of being shattered.