Can You Pass This Quiz on the History of Congress?

Written into Article I, section 7 of the Constitution, the presidential veto system is an important dynamic of the balanced government branches envisioned by the Founding Fathers. Since George Washington’s first veto in 1792, Presidents have vetoed over 2,500 bills. In 1845, President John Tyler’s veto of a bill preventing him from authorizing new Coast Guard bases was the first to be overridden by a two-thirds vote of Congress.

Hailing from Brooklyn, “Fighting Shirley” Chisholm was a woman of the people who sought to break barriers. After four years in Congress, Chisholm continued to pave the way for women and people of color by running for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1972. Chisholm won 10% of delegates at the Democratic convention, a significant total for a Black woman in that era.

A major duty of the Senate president pro tempore is presiding over the Senate in case the Vice President — the chamber’s highest-ranking officer — is unable to attend. Besides filling in for the VP, duties include making appointments to national commissions and the Senate counsel. Since the mid-20th century, the president pro tempore role has gone to the majority party’s most senior member.

Michigan navy bean soup has been a staple on congressional menus for decades, though the roots of this tasty tradition are murky. Some say Senator Fred Dubois of Idaho passed a resolution keeping the soup on the daily menu while he was chair of the committee responsible for the dining room. Others credit House Speaker Joseph Cannon, who reportedly erupted with rage in 1904 after being told bean soup wasn’t available.

The honor of the first foreign dignitary to address Congress went to the Marquis de Lafayette, the Revolutionary War veteran who returned to the U.S. in 1824 and received a hero’s welcome. Though it’s now common for visiting officials to address Congress in a joint session, Lafayette actually met with both chambers separately.

The congressional whip position was created in the early 1900s, named for a type of hunting dog responsible for keeping the pack from straying during a chase. Each political party has two whips, one for each chamber of Congress. An important official within their party, whips are responsible for tallying votes, rounding up members for procedural hearings, and standing in for leadership when necessary.

New York City served as the U.S. capital from 1785 until 1790, when legislation established national land near the Potomac River that would eventually become Washington, D.C. The first Congress, which began in 1789, met at Federal Hall on Wall Street in lower Manhattan. Philadelphia served as the interim capital between 1790 and 1800, when the seat of Congress moved to Washington.

Washington, D.C., is well known for its Metro transit system, but not everyone knows Congress has its own private version. Members of Congress and their staff use a private subway line to quickly travel from nearby Senate and House office buildings to the Capitol. In 1912, the line’s original Studebaker cars were replaced by a monorail vehicle with a wicker coach, and in 1993 that system was replaced by an automatic train.

The annual Congressional Baseball Game was first organized by Pennsylvania Representative John Tener, who spent time as a pro ball player before being elected to Congress. Until the mid-1940s, the game was held intermittently, due to interruptions from the Great Depression and World War II. It has been played every year since 1962.

Sweets-loving Senator George Murphy was a Hollywood film star who rose to popularity in California’s Republican party during the 1950s, and was elected to Congress in 1965. The senator kept his desk filled with candy, and would offer his stash to colleagues. The tradition has continued ever since, with other GOP senators filling the desk over the years.