Center Offers Ten “Impact of Congress” Videos Highlighting Key Legislation

Making Americans more aware of how the work of Congress affects us all is a core mission of the Center, and now there are ten “Impact of Congress” videos to tell the story of the legislative branch’s influence.

The web-based videos examine key pieces of legislation in our nation’s history that impact our lives today. The videos are on the Teaching with Primary Sources — Center on Congress at Indiana University (TPS-CCIU) web site, (http://www.tpscongress.org/teachers/activities.php?id=2), a joint effort of the Center and the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources (TPS) program.

The videos, each about two minutes long, incorporate images of historical documents and images from the Library’s vast collection. The videos are ideal for use in classrooms to supplement civics, government, and history curricula; they help students understand that Congress is not detached from Americans’ everyday concerns, but rather is an integral part of how we live and work.

Here is a brief synopsis of the ten new “Congressional Moments” videos:

• “Child Labor” — Hear stories of children working in dangerous jobs in the early 1900s and understand how the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 provided basic protections to all U.S. workers.

• “Civil Rights” — Gain insight into the civil rights movement of the early 1960s and explore the historical events and leadership that led up to the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

• “Marshall Plan” — Examine the legislation that lifted Europe from the devastation of World War II and helped to create the post-war economic prosperity that followed.

• “Morrill Act” — Learn how the Morrill Land Grant Act of 1862 made higher education available to millions of Americans.

• “The SEC” — Find out how the Securities and Exchange Commission, created through three major acts of Congress in 1934, provided an oversight structure that helped make America's stock markets safer.

• “Head Start” — Explore the impetus for and scope of the Head Start program, one of ten federal programs established by Congress in The Economic Opportunity Act of 1964.

• “Interstate Highway System” — Discover how the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 led to the creation of over 35,000 miles of roadway, improving connections between cities and states across the country, and recognize the role President Dwight Eisenhower played in making the system a reality.

• “Social Security” — Understand the ways in which the Social Security Act, often considered one of government’s greatest achievements, has had a major impact on the lives of older Americans.

• “Americans with Disabilities Act” — Discover how this landmark legislation impacted persons with disabilities, increasing their access to public institutions, their educational opportunities, and their ability to find employment.

• “GI Bill” — Explore the history of the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, informally known as the GI Bill, passed in 1944 to provide education, medical and other benefits to World War II veterans and still assisting new generations of veterans of subsequent wars as well as peacetime service.

These resources are funded by a grant from the Library of Congress. Content featured in partnership with the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources program does not indicate an endorsement by the Library of all or any additional content provided by the partner organization.