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U.S. House History Blog

04.07.2025

The Little Congress' Big Independence Day Celebration | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives

The first session of the 75th Congress (1937–1939) stretched deep into the dog days of summer—far longer than was customary at the time when lawmakers aimed to head home for the summer recess earlier rather than later. The old, hopeful expression around Capitol Hill in that era was the expectation that Congress would adjourn, “Sine die by Fourth of July.” But events in the summer of 1937 forced Congress to stay in session past Independence Day, as many Americans expressed a nervous unknowing about the nation’s future.In the 1936 elections the previous fall, riding the coattails of incumbent Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt, House Democrats surged their majority to an all-time high: 334 Democrats took the oath of office on Opening Day in early January 1937, versus just 88 Republicans and a smattering of Progressives and Farmer-Laborites. During the 75th Congress, the House busied itself passing New Deal legislation to provide housing and farm loan programs and to set minimum wage standards in the landmark Fair Labor Standards Act. Looking abroad to gathering war clouds in Asia and Europe, Members bolstered U.S. Navy shipbuilding capacity to meet the grim potential of a two-ocean conflict.Emboldened by historic Democratic margins in Congress, President Roosevelt overreached. He hatched an ambitious, ultimately doomed, plan to “pack” the Supreme Court with sympathetic Justices who he hoped would uphold his New Deal agenda amid furious legal challenges. Backlash to his plan burned white hot among Republicans and southern Democrats helping to forge what would become a decades-long coalition of conservatives in Congress who opposed the expansion of many federal aid programs.Thereafter, the Democratic high-water mark in the House receded. In the summer of 1937, however, the court packing debate consumed Congress and kept legislators in session until the third week of August. Amid that turbulence on Capitol Hill, the Little Congress—a club of up-and-comers, composed of staff from the offices of Representatives and Senators, as well as support workers from elevator operators to Pages—busied itself, too. Since lawmakers would work through Independence Day, leaders of the Little Congress decided to hold a public celebration of the Fourth to recall the republic’s hallowed past, to dissect its unsettled present, and to prognosticate about its future.The Little CongressWhen the first House and Senate office buildings opened on Capitol Hill in the early 1900s, Congress experienced a series of rapid changes. Among the most consequential was the growth of congressional staff. With more office space, lawmakers began hiring aides to handle constituent business and assist with the lawmaking process.About a decade later, congressional staff began to organize clubs and other organizations which played an important role fostering connections and community on the Hill. In 1919, the Little Congress was born. One of its founders was Kenneth Romney, who would later serve many years as House Sergeant at Arms. For a $2 membership fee, the group provided a career forum and social outlet for the young cadre of men and women who flocked to the capital city from across the country. The Little Congress held regular meetings, elected a speaker and slate of officers (mirroring those positions in the real Congress), and gave tutorials on the ins and outs of parliamentary rules and the often opaque legislative process. Members of the Little Congress routinely debated the policy issues of the day, and held dinners, dances, and trips. The organization thrived for more than a decade until its activities waned with the onset of the Great Depression—and its numbers dwindled to several dozen.But in 1933, Lyndon Baines Johnson, an enterprising staffer from the Texas Hill Country who served as secretary to Representative Dick Kleberg of Texas, spurred the sleepy club to life. Johnson, then just 24 years old, quickly captured control of the Little Congress winning its speakership and injecting new life into the organization. The future U.S. President instituted weekly rather than monthly meetings, invited special guests to address the club, including populist Louisiana Senator Huey Pierce Long, and even led a special Little Congress delegation (nearly 300 strong) to visit New York mayor and former Representative Fiorello La Guardia. All along, Johnson courted press attention and built his reputation. Reporters obliged with news coverage and learned to track the real Representatives’ positions on bills pending before Congress by listening in on the speeches their staff made in the Little Congress’s shadow debates.Johnson was known to use heavy-handed tactics in the Little Congress, packing the ballot box with allies in the group’s internal elections. So pervasive was Johnson’s presence that a breakaway organization formed in 1935, the Congressional Secretaries Club (later the Congressional Staff Club), eventually supplanted the Little Congress. But the spirit of renewal Johnson had infused in the Little Congress and among congressional staff continued.The Once and Future CongressIn the spring of 1937, facing the prospect of working past Independence Day, Little Congress members began planning and rehearsing a theater production to commemorate America’s founding.The pageant took place on July 4 on the grounds of Rinehart’s Riding Range in Langley, Virginia, a horse-riding facility not far from the modern-day Central Intelligence Agency headquarters. The owner, Paul Rinehart, opened his stables and properties to the general public free of charge and guests were encouraged to bring picnic lunches and “spend the day” at the range. Events kicked off at 8:00 a.m. with a horse-riding show followed by lessons and an array of equine competitions: swimming races on horseback, roping, bronco busting, and a jousting tournament for “knights of all sexes” and ages.At 2:00 p.m., members of the Little Congress began their performance on a specially constructed stage situated in “a little valley” on the property in front of a large audience seated on the surrounding hillsides. The play, according to the Washington Post, depicted “the soul-stirring events that occurred at the time that the foundation was laid from which America gained her freedom to become the greatest Nation on earth.” “Once again on Virginia’s hallowed air will ring the mighty words of Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, Edmund Pendleton, Archibald Cary and a host of other great men of that time,” the Post said.Among the Members of Congress who attended were then-Senator Harry Truman of Missouri and Representative Robert Alexis (Lex) Green of Florida, chairman of the House Committee on Territories. Their staffers were among the small committee of Little Congress leaders who had organized and produced the event.It was an elaborate production, spanning two acts and spread across eight chronological scenes set in the eighteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries. The bulk of the play—its first six scenes—covered the final years of America’s colonial ferment in the mid-1770s as sentiment built toward a final break from British rule. Elaborately costumed Hill staffers, decked out in knee britches, overcoats, powdered wigs, gowns, and petticoats, braved the midafternoon sun. They first recounted the royal governor’s dissolution of the Virginia house of burgesses in June 1774, in response to the colonials’ demands for representation and their opposition to new royal taxes. The next scenes depicted the subsequent Virginia Convention, followed by debates in the Continental Congress, culminating with the drafting and signing of the Declaration of Independence.The second act was much different and contrasted vividly with the reverence and sentiment of the Revolutionary era that had infused the first act. The second act, set in 1935, opened with a scene re-enacting what had famously been a meandering 15-hour and 30-minute filibuster by the late Senator Huey Long of Louisiana in protest of New Deal policies. Long’s speech included fried oyster recipe recommendations, comments on National Recovery Administration staffing, and a clause-by-clause analysis of the Constitution and the ways that President Roosevelt’s New Deal programs violated it. In Long’s telling, the administration had relegated the Constitution to little more than “ancient and forgotten lore.”Missing from the re-enactment of Long’s rambling oration was any of the idealism and promise of the founding generation depicted in earlier scenes of the performance. It hinted at an anxiety that underlay the Great Depression. In the sweltering heat of early July 1937, audience-goers and performers perceived the uncertainty about the experiment in American democracy, launched 161 years prior. And that persistent economic dysfunction, rising totalitarian powers overseas, and deep ideological divisions at home about the role and scope of government, as well as America’s place in the world, menaced its future course.Implicitly, the Little Congress posed the question: In an arc running from the eighteenth-century Declaration of Independence to the twentieth-century demagoguery of the late Senator Long, where did the line ahead bend and how would the nation arrive there?The Little Congress suggested a possible outcome in the play’s final scene, set in July 2037. And in this telling, wrote a Washington Post correspondent, the women of the Little Congress “hold sway.” As the all-woman ensemble took the stage, the audience noted that their costumes changed “to shorts, designed for comfort in the warm summer sessions.”Beyond the attire, the playwrights imagined a future political landscape that in July 1937 must have seemed every bit the realm of science fiction: a world in which women, many of whom had just been enfranchised in 1920, would fully supplant men by the opening of the 125th Congress in 2037. In 1937, just six women served in Congress (five in the House and one in the Senate; though three more would join their ranks by the end of the session). “The girls will have the final scene all to themselves. . . . All of the members will be women and the discussion will be on the question of whether or not men should have the right of suffrage granted to them again.”Past as PrologueWith the advantage of nearly a century’s hindsight, it’s clear that not all that the Little Congress pageant forecasted has come to pass. While congressional sessions still stretch well beyond July 4, shorts have not yet met the rules of decorum. The 155 women of the 119th Congress constitute a little less than 29 percent of the total membership. And men still retain the vote.But as the Declaration’s 250th anniversary approaches in 2026, the lesson that the Little Congress tried to convey remains clear: in an enduring continuity—with a spirit that transcends generations—the American people will propel the nation to revisit its founding ideals, to measure them against its great current issues, and to peer with imagination into the future.Sources: “Glenn Rupp Oral History Interview,” Office of the Historian, U.S. House of Representatives (27 April 2005 ); Los Angeles Times, 30 May 1920; New York Times, 23 December 1923, 11 June 1949; Washington Post, 26 April 1933, 3 May 1935, 26 June 1937, 27 June 1937, 4 July 1937, 25 July 1965; Robert A. Caro, The Years of Lyndon Johnson: The Path to Power (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1982); Stephen W. Stathis, Landmark Legislation, 1774–2002 (Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly Press, 2003); Senate Historical Office, U.S. Senate, “Huey Long Filibusters New Deal Legislation,” https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/filibusters-cloture/huey-long-filibusters.htm.

U.S. House History Blog

15.07.2025

The Records of Innovation and Transformation: Postwar United States (1945–1969) | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives

The upheaval of World War II spurred widespread change in the United States. Social, political, and economic shifts reverberated throughout the country and new allies and adversaries emerged abroad. It was a period marked by changes and challenges that impacted the way Americans lived, worked, and engaged with each other. The civil rights movement, the space race, and the Cold War shaped the decades following the end of the war.As records of the past, some primary sources reflect outdated, biased, and offensive views and opinions that are no longer commonly accepted in the United States. Through civil discourse, active listening, and empathy, students should analyze these perspectives and their impact on the country’s development.Transcriptions and downloadable PDFs of these records are available at the links below.Discussion Questions:What were some of the causes of the civil rights movement following World War II?How did Cold War competition between the United States and the Soviet Union fuel advances in science?What motivated the rise in anticommunism among many Americans and politicians?What was the purpose of the House Un-American Activities Committee? Why might they have used the term “un-American”?Identify three political or social changes that occurred during this period. How do they continue to impact American society and politics today?Discuss how Congress addressed one of these themes: the space race, communism, or the civil rights movement. What were the legislative outcomes? Were they effective?1947, Report on Ronald ReaganThe House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) investigated allegations of communism and spying, and included Hollywood actors among their subjects. The records of the committee contain a report about then-president of the Screen Actors Guild—and future President of the United States—Ronald Reagan.1948, Alger Hiss SubpoenaThe House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) issued this subpoena requiring Alger Hiss to testify at a HUAC subcommittee hearing. Former spy Whittaker Chambers accused Hiss, a government official who had worked for the U.S. Department of State, of being a communist and Russian secret agent.1958, National Defense Education ActThe National Defense Education Act (NDEA) was passed in 1958 in response to Soviet acceleration of the space race with the launch of the satellite Sputnik. The law provided federal funding to “insure trained manpower of sufficient quality and quantity to meet the national defense needs of the United States.” In addition to fellowships and loans to students, the legislation bolstered education in the areas of science, mathematics, and modern foreign languages.1961, John F. Kennedy’s Message to CongressOn May 25, 1961, urgent national needs in the areas of foreign aid, international and civil defense, and outer space brought President John F. Kennedy before Congress again to deliver this address. Kennedy announced his goal of sending a man to the moon by the end of the decade and asked Congress to commit the funds to achieve success: “For while we cannot guarantee that we shall one day be first, we can guarantee that any failure to make this effort will find us last.”1963, March on Washington PamphletThis pamphlet was distributed in advance of the 1963 March on Washington and provided logistical and ideological information to marchers. This copy of the pamphlet ended up in the records of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), which monitored the actions of and participants in the civil rights movement. Throughout its existence, HUAC kept extensive reference files on individuals and organizations suspected of what it considered subversive activity.1963, Lyndon Johnson’s Assumption of Office AddressLess than a week after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, recently sworn-in President Lyndon Johnson addressed a Joint Session of Congress. Johnson praised his predecessor’s leadership and outlined goals for his administration. He urged Congress to pass civil rights legislation, declaring “no memorial oration or eulogy could more eloquently honor President Kennedy’s memory than the earliest possible passage of the Civil Rights bill for which he fought.” President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act into law on July 2, 1964.1964, Call Book for Civil Rights Act of 1964On February 10, 1964, the House voted on H.R. 7152, known as the Civil Rights Act of 1964. As the first page of this call book shows, the bill passed the House, 290 to 130, following intense debate and legislative negotiation. The bill enforced equal access to public accommodations and desegregation of public schools and facilities and prohibited discrimination in hiring and employment. President Lyndon Johnson signed it into law on July 2, 1964.1965, Voting Rights Act of 1965Introduced on March 17, H.R. 6400 was crafted by the administration of President Lyndon Johnson, who understood that even after passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, stronger protections for voting rights were necessary to ensure unimpeded access to the polls. Signed into law on August 6, 1965, the Voting Rights Act protected the right to vote for all citizens and outlawed methods used to obstruct voter registration, such as poll taxes and literacy tests.Interested in more records from this era?1946, Conference Managers for National School Lunch Act1947, Communism in Hollywood1947, HUAC Minutes on May Day Parade1951, Letter to HUAC Chairman1953, Support for Gateway Arch Monumentca. 1953, Funding Construction of the Gateway Arch1956, Federal Highway Act of 19561958, Model Legislature Resolution for Hawaiian Statehood1958, Puerto Rican Senate Resolution on Alaska Statehood1959, NASA Appropriations Bill1959, Daniel Inouye Election Certificate1959, Testimony of Patty Duke1961, Kennedy’s First State of the Union1961, Territorial Deputy for Guam1963, Study of Maryland Beach Erosion1963, Lyndon Johnson’s Assumption of Office Address1963, Discharge Petition for the Civil Rights Act of 19641964, Mt. Pleasant Society Hall Ruins1964, Engrossing Copy of Civil Rights Act of 19641964, Letter Opposing School Prayer Amendment1964, Letter Supporting School Prayer1964, Ranger VII’s Photographic Flight1965, Letter Responding to the Violence in Selma1965, Telegram to Martin Luther King, Jr.1965, Letter Supporting Voting Rights Act1965, Letter Opposing Voting Rights1969, Shirley Chisholm Oath of Office1969, Martin Luther King Jr. National Holiday1969, Petition to Eliminate Electoral CollegeThis is part of a blog series about records from different eras of U.S. history. Explore “Tools for Teaching with Primary Sources” for additional tips and classroom activities.

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