Whereas: Stories from the People’s House

Design Tells a Story: Oral History and Campaign Buttons

In a series of interviews conducted by the Office of the Historian, former Congresswomen talked about buttons their campaigns produced at different times during their careers. They described how and why they chose certain layouts, themes, and slogans. As these oral histories show, design tells a story.

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Collection Spotlight: The Portrait of Dalip Saund

A portrait can show you what someone looked like, but it can tell a complex story as well. Let’s walk through the details of one such story, as depicted in the portrait of Representative Dalip Saund.

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Two Decades of Oral Histories in the House of Representatives

The Office of the Historian celebrates the twentieth anniversary of the oral history program. Since 2004, the Office has conducted 500 interviews with Members and staff to preserve the history of the institution and better understand the inner workings of the House of Representatives. Casting a wide net, the Office of the Historian has interviewed former Members and staff whose careers spanned nearly a century of House history, from the 1930s to the current decade, using a range of recording formats, including in-person audio and video, telephone calls, and Microsoft Teams meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Going for the Gold: Uncovering the Lost History of the 1980 Olympics

This blog provides a behind-the-scenes look at the method and sources used to restore the 1980 gold-plated medal to its rightful place alongside the hundreds of other Congressional Gold Medals and to help readers learn more about that period in U.S. history. Those sources include congressional hearings, remarks made on the floor, and newspaper and archival research. This blog is intended to inspire and assist aspiring congressional researchers.

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The Cold War, the Olympics, & the Forgotten Congressional Gold Medal

In the spring of 1980, the United States government faced a foreign-policy decision with Olympic-sized consequences as the summer games in Russia loomed. The decision drew direct comparisons with the infamous 1936 Berlin Olympics. After authorizing a national boycott, the United States Congress honored the country's qualifying athletes with its own gold medals that, for many years, went forgotten.

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