High School Home :: Art & History > This Week in House History
This Week in House History
The historical highlights featured in This Week in House History are written by the historians, archivists, and curators who preserve the history of the U.S House of Representatives. New highlights are added weekly. The collection, searchable by date or subject, includes more than 400 historical House events.
Former Speaker Galusha Grow Dies
March 31, 1907
On this date, Galusha Aaron Grow, Speaker of the House during the Civil War, died. Elected as a Democrat in 1850, he succeeded David Wilmot on a platform committed to preventing the extension of slavery into western territories. He was elected Speaker in the 37th Congress and presided over passage of the landmark Homestead Act of 1862—a version of a bill he authored that promised 160 acres of public land to settlers who agreed to farm it for a set period of years.
House Achieves its First Quorum
April 01, 1789
On this date, the House achieved its first quorum. Poor traveling conditions and a lack of urgency to convene the new government outlined in the Constitution caused a delay in the scheduled proceedings at Federal Hall in New York City. Members slowly trickled in to the city, leaving those who made the trip to wait idly for the required number of Members necessary for a quorum (30 Representatives). Nearly a month after the government opened on March 4, 1789, the House reached a quorum with the arrival of James Schureman and Thomas Scott.
First Woman Member Sworn into Congress
April 02, 1917
On this date, Jeannette Rankin of Montana, the first woman elected to Congress, was sworn into the House. Rankin campaigned as a progressive, pledging to work for a constitutional woman suffrage amendment and emphasizing social welfare issues. She won one of Montana's At-Large seats and began her House service dramatically when Congress was called into an extraordinary April session after Germany declared unrestricted submarine warfare on all Atlantic shipping.
House Honors Congressional Staffer William Tyler Page
April 03, 1918
On this date, the House of Representatives honored William Tyler Page, a longtime congressional employee and future Clerk of the House, for his authorship of the "American's Creed." In 1916, on the eve of the U.S. entry into World War I, Henry Sterling Chapin, the editor of an educational journal, devised a national writing competition to foster patriotism and civic responsibility among U.S. citizens.