|
|
Encyclopedia entry: pages, congressional
- Article from:
- The Oxford Guide to the United States Government
- Author:
Copyright© The Oxford Guide to the United States Government 2001, originally published by Oxford University Press 2001. (Hide copyright information)
|
pages, congressional
During each session of Congress, high school juniors from every state work as pages for the House and Senate. Dressed in blue uniforms, they sit on either side of the presiding officers in the chambers, ready to run errands, set up podiums for speakers, and generally help out in the chambers and cloakrooms. From 6:15 A.M. to 10:30 A.M. they attend high school classes at a special page school before beginning their daily duties for Congress.
The term page dates back to the medieval European practice of having youths serve as attendants to knights and other nobles. In 1827 the House appointed its first pages, Charles B. Chalmers, Edward Dunn, and John C. Burch. ...