Videos

On September 18, 1793, freemasons including President George Washington placed the cornerstone for the U.S. Capitol building in a Masonic ritual that included corn, oil and wine. In this pro…

Environmental historian Scott Einberger talked about his book, With Distance in His Eyes: The Environmental Life and Legacy of Stewart Udall. Mr. Einberger detailed the Kennedy and Johnson a…

Kevin Kosar is co-director of the Legislative Branch Capacity Working Group, which studies Congress and makes recommendations for improving its performance. He talked about the history of co…

A panel of scholars and media members discussed how party polarization impacts the relationship between the legislative and executive branches. The panelists also talked about how power has …

A panel of historians discussed how the Founders envisioned the three branches of government and why the idea of a separation of powers has been important for the survival and success of the…

Catholic University politics professor Matthew Green discussed the determining factors in U.S. House leadership elections from the 1960s to the present. Professor Green is co-author of the f…

Daniel Inouye was the first Japanese American to serve in both the U.S. House and Senate. He served until his death on December 17, 2012. In this 2008 oral history, Mr. Inouye talked about h…

Laura Blessing, a senior fellow at Georgetown University’s Government Affairs Institute, delivered a lecture on the self-imposed ban on Congressional earmarks. She talked about the history o…

This event was a book launch and discussion with the three co-authors, editor, and mapmaker of the book, Creating Capitol Hill: Place, Proprietors, and People. Published by the U.S. Capitol …

The U.S. Capitol Historical Society hosted an event in which speakers addressed the impact of social media on Congress and the democratic process between members and their constituents. They…

Seth Masket, director of the Center on American Politics at the University of Denver, talked about how political parties react to election losses with a focus on the Democratic losses of 201…

The United States Capitol Historical Society hosted its annual tribute to an outstanding committee of the House or Senate. This year, they honored the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Cu…

A panel of historians took questions on the 14th Amendment and Reconstruction era. This question and answer session was part of a symposium hosted by the U.S. Capitol Historical Society comm…

The 14th Amendment was ratified in 1868 in the aftermath of the Civil War during the Reconstruction era. The amendment’s first clause, known as the “Citizenship Clause,” states that “All per…

Author and law professor Rebecca Zietlow looked at the life and work of James Mitchell Ashley, an abolitionist and Republican congressman from Ohio during the Civil War and early Reconstruct…

Art historian James McElhinney talked about and showed some of Seth Eastman’s 19th century paintings depicting U.S. military forts. The U.S. Capitol Historical Society hosted this event.