The 43rd Congress is sitting in Washington, DC before its holiday recess which begins on December 20, 1873

The Forty-third Congress of the United States is in session in Washington, D.C. It will sit for two weeks until its usual holiday recess which begins on December 20, 1873. James Gillespie Blaine, Republican of Maine, is in the Speaker's chair in the House. (By John Osborne)