How long did historical sessions of the US congress last?

Question

In its beginning, the US congress had short sessions, because in between sessions people had to go home, tend to their farms, businesses, practices, etc and this took a long time. Nowadays Congress is in session basically all year round. When did this change? Can I find a source for the evolution of the duration of US Congress sessions during its existence?

Answer 1

Your premise is correct that sessions have gotten longer since the job of professional politician has become so prevalent. The House keeps very good records. The below link is to house.gov which has a lot of good resources about sessions and length and what happened.

https://history.house.gov/Institution/Session-Dates/1-9/

That page will give you the exact dates of each session so you should be able to find the data you need.

Although it is house.gov, it appears to include the Senate as well in some entries. Also look up the Legislative Reorganization Acts, particularly the one from 1970, that defined by which dates sessions should begin and end.