On January 26, 1922, the House of Representatives gave African Americans a reason to celebrate in national politics. On this day, hundreds of excited African Americans filled the House of Representatives gallery to watch the floor debate of H.R. 13, a bill mandating the federal government take an active role in preventing lynchings. This was the first piece of legislation African Americans felt they had a hand in crafting, and they were not going to miss out. They watched in rapt attention and cheered as white Republicans articulated the threat lynching posed to African Americans and how it violated their constitutional rights. They booed loudly as white southern Democrats attributed lynchings to rape and argued that lynchings were a matter of states’ rights and the federal government should not be involved. When the vote was counted, supporters of African Americans won, and the House of Representatives passed its first-ever anti-lynching bill by a two-thirds vote. It was a rare moment in early twentieth century America that demonstrated to African Americans they too, could get their voices heard in the national political process.