Historians Reflect on the Effectiveness of the 37th Congress

As Congress has struggled to move ahead with a variety of legislative packages in recent years, some WKU historians have drawn a contrast between contemporary lawmakers and those who made up the 37th Congress. That Civil War-era group of legislators were successful in passing several significant pieces of legislation at the same time the nation was split by the war between the Union and Confederacy.

Dr. Jack Thacker and Dr. Glenn LaFantasie of the WKU History Department say some laws that were passed by that Congress still have an impact today.