Congress
When No Candidate Won the 1824 Presidential Election, the House of Representatives Was Given the Rare Task of Deciding the Victor
A "corrupt bargain" that delivered John Quincy Adams the presidency ended the Era of Good Feelings and prompted a new period of partisan hostility
Meet the Woman Who Was the First Female Senator and the Last Senator to Be an Enslaver. She Served for Just One Day
Rebecca Felton was sworn in on this day, and despite her short time in power, her legacy reveals deep contradictions in American history
New Statue Honoring Civil Rights Activist John Lewis Unveiled in His Home State of Alabama
The life-sized bronze sculpture of the congressman joins statues of Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks in the Equal Justice Initiative's Legacy Plaza in Montgomery
This Forgotten Copy of the Constitution Discovered in a Filing Cabinet Could Sell for Millions
The historic text, which bears the signature of Secretary of Congress Charles Thomson, was one of 100 copies ordered on September 28, 1787
When a Trailblazing Suffragist and a Crusading Prosecutor Teamed Up to Expose an Election Conspiracy
An unlikely duo exposed political corruption in Terre Haute, Indiana, in 1914—and set a new precedent for fair voting across the country
Statue of Civil Rights Leader John Lewis Replaces Confederate Monument in Georgia
The 12-foot-tall bronze artwork depicts the former congressman with his hands over his heart
How the Great Depression Fueled a Grassroots Movement to Create a New State Called Absaroka
In the 1930s, disillusioned farmers and ranchers fought to carve a 49th state out of northern Wyoming, southeastern Montana and western South Dakota
Inside the Fight to Save the Indiana Dunes, One of America's Most Vulnerable National Parks
Caught between steel mills, suburbs and a hard place, the 15,000-acre site is a fantasia of biodiversity—and a case study for hard-fought conservation
The History of Presidential Assassination Attempts, From Andrew Jackson to Teddy Roosevelt
Before last weekend's attack on Donald Trump, would-be assassins unsuccessfully targeted Ronald Reagan, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and seven other sitting presidents or candidates for office
Tired of Diplomacy as Usual, This Congressman Flew Solo to Promote World Peace
Representative Peter F. Mack’s soaring diplomatic ambitions made aviation history as he traveled through Europe, South Asia, Japan and then across the vast Pacific Ocean
Why Juneteenth, the U.S.'s Second Independence Day, Is a Federal Holiday
The celebration commemorates June 19, 1865, when a military decree informed the people of Texas that all enslaved people were free
The Town That Kept Its Nuclear Bunker a Secret for Three Decades
The people of White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, helped keep the Greenbrier resort's bunker—designed to hold the entirety of Congress—hidden from 1958 to 1992
The True History Behind Netflix's 'Shirley' Movie
A new film dramatizes Shirley Chisholm's history-making bid to become the first Black woman president in 1972
What a Teacher's Letters Reveal About Robert Smalls, Who Stole a Confederate Ship to Secure His Freedom From Slavery
Harriet M. Buss' missives home detail the future congressman's candid views on race and the complicity of Confederate women
Abraham Lincoln's Oft-Overlooked Campaign to Promote Immigration to the U.S.
A few weeks after the president delivered the Gettysburg Address, he called on Congress to welcome immigrants as a "source of national wealth and strength"
When a Labyrinth of Pneumatic Tubes Shuttled Mail Beneath the Streets of New York City
Powered by compressed air, the system transported millions of letters between 1897 and 1953
Why America Is Just Now Learning to Love Thaddeus Stevens, the 'Best-Hated Man' in U.S. History
The Pennsylvanian was one of America’s greatest heroes. Why hasn’t he gotten his due?
Whistleblower Alleges U.S. Government Is Covering Up Alien Life at UFO Hearing
A Pentagon spokesperson has denied the claims, while lawmakers are pushing for information on UFOs to be declassified
A Monument Honoring Shirley Chisholm, the First Black Congresswoman, Is Coming to Brooklyn
After years of delays, New York City officially approved a statue commemorating the borough native and political trailblazer
The 150-Year-Old Comstock Act Could Transform the Abortion Debate
Once considered a relic of moral panics past, the 1873 law criminalized sending "obscene, lewd or lascivious" materials through the mail
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