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Aftermath of the explosions at the Port Chicago Naval Magazine.

How Congress Is Written Out of History

Congress's role in shaping policies like the Affordable Care Act and exonerating Port Chicago sailors is often overlooked, overshadowed by the president.
by John A. Lawrence via Perspectives on History on October 31, 2024
Hand using match to light many candles on top of a crumbling cake with white frosting, with the U.S. Capitol building aflame on top.

The Oldest Government In History

America’s gerontocracy is disconnecting Congress from the rest of the country.
by Annie Fu, Walt Hickey, Shayanne Gal via Insider on September 13, 2022

More Than 1,700 Congressmen Once Enslaved Black People. This is Who They Were.

The Washington Post has compiled the first database of slaveholding members of Congress by examining thousands of census records and historical documents.
by Julie Zauzmer Weil, Adrian Blanco, Leo Dominguez via Washington Post on January 10, 2022

A Record Number of Women Are Serving in the 117th Congress

Since Jeannette Rankin was elected in 1916, 352 women have served in the House and 46 in the Senate. About two-thirds entered Congress during or after the 1990s.
by Drew DeSilver, Carrie Blazina via Pew Research Center on January 15, 2021

Raising Cane

The violence on Capitol Hill that foreshadowed a bloody war.
by Joanne B. Freeman via Lapham’s Quarterly on September 15, 2018

How Congress Failed to Plan for Doomsday

What would happen if some crazed gunman or terrorist massacred Congress? We don’t really know — and that’s bad news for our democracy.
by Garrett M. Graff via Politico Magazine on June 15, 2017

How Watching Congressional Hearings Became an American Pastime

Decades before Watergate, mobsters helped turn hearings into must-see television.
by Jackie Mansky via Smithsonian on June 8, 2017

The Polarized Congress of Today Has its Roots in the 1970s

Polarization in Congress began in the 1970s, and its only been getting worse since.
by Drew DeSilver via Pew Research Center on June 12, 2014
John Lewis

John Lewis's American Odyssey

The congressman is the strongest link in American politics between the early 1960s--the glory days of the civil rights movement--and the 1990s.
by Sean Wilentz via The New Republic on July 1, 1996

A Supreme Court Justice Wrote the Greatest “No Kings” Essay in History

This opinion is a milestone in the rule of law and is regularly cited by conservative and liberal justices alike.
by Gerard Magliocca via Slate on July 10, 2025
The words "the world you were born in no longer exists" covering Trump's eyes.

The Present Crisis and the End of the Long '90s

On the constitutional settlement that governed America from the end of the Volcker Shock in 1982 to the re-election of Donald Trump in 2024.
by Samantha Hancox-Li via Liberal Currents on April 24, 2025
Thousands of shipping containers at the terminal at Port Elizabeth, New Jersey.

No Tariffs Without Representation

Executive trade power has gone too far.
by Erik Matson via Law & Liberty on March 19, 2025
James Madison behind a swirling pattern.

Musk’s Madisonian Insight—And Its Troubling Consequences

DOGE's seizure of government databases is not just an act of bureaucratic reorganization. It is an act of constitutional restructuring.
by Bridget Fahey via The Atlantic on March 13, 2025

George Washington Knew the Difference Between Running a Business and Running the Government

The first businessman president realized that working with Congress – not alone or against it – was the best way to create an efficient federal government.
by Eliga Gould via The Conversation on March 10, 2025
Constitution mural in the Capitol rotunda.

James Madison and the Crisis of the New Order

The effort to return American government to republican principles is daunting—but the Founders’ wisdom can serve as a guide.
by Richard Samuelson via Law & Liberty on March 4, 2025
Donald Trump holding up a fist.

The Man Madison Warned Us Against

He authored the Constitution to forestall the rise of a despotic president. We’ll soon see if those safeguards suffice.
by Harold Meyerson via The American Prospect on February 17, 2025
Frances Thompson holding an umbrella.

Frances Thompson Survived a Race Massacre and Bravely Testified to Congress. Then She Was Slandered.

A Black transgender woman’s testimony helped ratify the 14th Amendment. Then conservatives began attacking her identity.
by Chelsea Bailey via CNN on February 16, 2025
Purse in the style of the American flag.

The Power of the Purse

The first time a president withheld funds for something approved by Congress, it led to the Impoundment Control Act. We’ll soon find out if that law has teeth.
by Liz Tracey via JSTOR Daily on February 12, 2025
Richard Nixon giving a press conference.
partner

The Playbook for Stopping Trump From Shuttering Agencies

Presidents can't shutter an agency Congress created by statute. Only Congress has this power.
by Ryan LaRochelle via Made By History on February 12, 2025

Presidents May Not Unilaterally Dismantle Government Agencies

That’s not how separation of powers works under the U.S. Constitution.
by Peter M. Shane via The Atlantic on February 12, 2025
Supreme Court sign proclaims "equal justice under law."

What Happens If Trump Defies the Courts

Do judges have the power to enforce their rulings if the executive branch refuses to comply?
by Isaac Chotiner, Cristina Rodriguez via The New Yorker on February 11, 2025
Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk walk behind Mike Johnson.
partner

History Suggests DOGE Won’t Accomplish Anything Unless It Gets Support From Congress

Theodore Roosevelt started a version of DOGE too, but it failed to achieve much.
by Bruce W. Dearstyne via Made By History on January 13, 2025
Soldiers and a tank, a Defense department seal, and Pete Hegseth.

Bring Back the War Department

If you want a clear strategy for winning wars, don’t play a semantic game with the name of the department that’s charged with the strategy’s execution.
by Elliot Ackerman via The Atlantic on December 5, 2024
Publicity still from Black Legion, 1937.
partner

Ohio’s Little-Known Fascist Member of Congress

How a local prosecutor protected white supremacists and went on to a career in Washington, DC.
by Dana Frank via HNN on November 4, 2024

Congress’s Power to Investigate Crime Is More Important Than Ever

A new historical study finds that Congress’s authority to investigate crime is “indispensable” to the system of checks and balances.
by Dave Rapallo via Lawfare on November 1, 2024
Statue of Jefferson Davis next to other leaders in Statuary Hall in the Capitol.

Many Wealthy Members of Congress are Descendants of Rich Slaveholders

Researchers measured lawmakers’ wealth and found that those whose Southern ancestors owned slaves before abolition have a higher net worth today.
by Neil K. R. Sehgal, Ashwini Sehgal via The Conversation on October 23, 2024
A photograph of the massive AIDS memorial quilt with the Washington Monument in the background.

“I Am the Face of AIDS”

Ryan White helped challenge existing understandings of the AIDS epidemic. But his story also reinforced arbitrary divisions between the guilty and the innocent.
by Paul M. Renfro via Public Books on October 22, 2024
Red elephant and blue donkey on the scales of justice.

The Origin of Campaign Finance Reform Troubles

While the Citizens United case created major shifts in campaign contributions and spending, an earlier decision played a bigger role in campaign finance laws.
by Ryan Reft via The Saturday Evening Post on October 17, 2024
The Puerto Rican flag outside the Governor's residence in San Juan.
partner

The Catch-22 of Puerto Rico's Status Referendum

When Puerto Ricans go to the polls, they can express their choice for several status options for the island.
by Christina D. Ponsa-Kraus via Made By History on October 11, 2024
Edmund Muskie with a concerned expression, next to a globe.

The Lost History of What Americans Knew About Climate Change in the 1960s

It wasn’t just scientists who were worried, but Congress, the White House, and even Sports Illustrated, newly unearthed documents show.
by Kate Yoder via Grist on August 5, 2024
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