For more than two centuries, the U.S. House of Representatives has carefully crafted rules and procedures to help it function as the legislative body that the Founders envisioned—“the People’s House.” Some practices are rooted in the U.S. Constitution; others are traditions adopted to meet the changing needs of the nation and the institution. Learn about the House’s role, powers, and development by exploring essays, Congress-by-Congress summaries, and profiles about the House’s unique culture.
Origins & Development: From the Constitution to the Modern House
Learn about the framers’ vision for the newly created governing body and subsequent major developments through essays exploring the institutional powers and duties of the House of Representatives.
Discover the unique makeup of each individual Congress through summaries and statistical information which provide the backdrop to historical events.
Search historic events, proceedings, and legislation on a particular date in House history. Browse the calendar or use a keyword search to find a specific topic or individual.
The U.S. House of Representatives has been a popularly-elected body with its membership reconstituted every two years throughout its history. Mid-Congress vacancies in the House are filled by special elections. This section provides data on historical election outcomes and vacancies.
The House of Representatives is the only body directly elected by the American people since its inception in 1789. Constitutionally, Members of the House stand for re-election every two years. This section provides data about a Member's service in the House.
Providing a list of significant institutional and legislative milestones important to House practice and procedure, as well as U.S. history itself.
The Constitution directs that the President “shall from time to time give to the Congress Information on the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient” (Article II, Section 3). Explore the history of the Annual Message.
Article I, Section 2, of the Constitution provides each state at least one U.S. Representative, while the size of a state’s delegation to the House depends on its total population. Learn more about the apportionment of the House of Representatives.
Established in Article II, Section 1, of the U.S. Constitution, the Electoral College is the formal body which elects the President and Vice President of the United States. Learn about the procedure and a few historic facts about this process.
Since 1852, when Henry Clay became the first person to receive a funeral ceremony in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, the space has been used to pay tribute to the nation's most distinguished citizens. View a list of the most recent tributes.
Since 1789, Congress has been endowed with one of the government’s most important responsibilities: that of raising and spending public money. Learn more about how the People’s House has wielded what is often called the “power of the purse.”
The Marquis de Lafayette, the French general and Revolutionary War hero, delivered an address to the House of Representatives on December 10, 1824. Since 1824, more than 175 foreign leaders or dignitaries have addressed the House in the form of a Joint Session, Joint Meeting, or House Reception.
Since the American Revolution, Congress has commissioned gold medals as its highest expression of national appreciation for distinguished achievements and contributions. Each medal honors a particular individual, institution, or event. View a chart of those who have received this prestigious award.
Under the current House Rule IV, the House Chamber may only be used for legislative functions, conference meetings, and caucus meetings unless the House agrees to take part in a ceremony. Earlier in House history, however, the chamber also served as a place to memorialize Representatives who died in office.
View a chart of House political party divisions since 1789.
View a chart with the dates the House has been in session, from 1789 to the present.
Learn about the parliamentary difference between a Joint Meeting and a Joint Session of Congress. View a comprehensive historical chart containing these formal gatherings of Congress (including Presidential Inaugurations).
View a chart with the dates the House has been in session from, 1789 to the present.
View a chart of the Presidents of the United States and the number of veto messages each issued.
View a chart of the 46 U.S. Presidents and Vice President terms with their corresponding Congresses.
This chart shows the party divisions in both chambers of Congress and the party control of the White House since the advent of the modern party system. When the President's party holds the majority in both chambers, it is considered a unified government.
This section includes the total number of Members who have served in Congress, as well as the numbers who have served each state.
These PDFs include Members of the House of Representatives in Congresses since the 114th (2015–2017).
Since Congress convened in 1789, more than 30 Members have served 40 years or longer in the House of Representatives.
In the modern U.S. House of Representatives the Member with the longest continuous service is known as the “Dean of the House.” The practice of recognizing this individual—initially, and for many years, called the “Father of the House”—dates to the early nineteenth century and has changed over time.
The roles and expectations for first-term Members of the House of Representatives have changed over time. This table documents the number of Representatives serving their first term for each Congress, both pre-convening and post-convening “freshmen.”
Since 1920, the Clerk of the House has collected and published the official vote counts for federal elections from the official sources among the various states and territories.
View a list of House vacancies and successors from modern Congresses.
Since the start of the modern party system in 1856, the House of Representatives has changed majority 19 times.
This chart lists the last time that each state’s House delegation had a Democratic majority and a Republican majority. It also lists the last time, if any, that a state’s House delegation was composed entirely of Members of one party.
The Constitution gives the House of Representatives “the sole Power of Impeachment” (Article I, Section 2) of federal officers and gives the Senate “the sole Power to try all Impeachments” (Article I, Section 3). This is a list of individuals impeached by the House.
The Constitution grants the House broad power to discipline its Members for acts that range from criminal misconduct to violations of internal House Rules. Over the decades, several forms of discipline have evolved in the House.
This section includes a historical list of cases in which the House of Representatives has examined the qualifications of Members-elect to serve in the House for either constitutional or personal reasons.
As required by the Constitution, all three branches of the federal government are funded through the appropriations process in the United States Congress. If regular appropriations bills is not signed into law before the start of the new fiscal year or a continuing resolution expires, parts of the federal government can experience a lapse in funding. This table lists each funding gap since 1977.
Explore the chronological history of legislation within a Congress
Explore a comprehensive account of legislative business of the House.
History, Art & Archives, U.S. House of Representatives, “Institution,”https://history.house.gov/Institution/(February 16, 2026)
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