Members of a congress, particularly the House of Representatives in the U.S. government; plural of congressman.
From 'congress' (Latin 'congressus,' a meeting) + 'man.' The term became formalized in the U.S. Constitution (1789) and is now the standard term for House representatives.
There are 435 congressmen in the U.S. House of Representatives—the number was fixed in 1913 and hasn't changed even though the U.S. population has tripled, so each representative now serves way more people!
Generic 'congressmen' assumes male default for elected representatives, rendering female legislators invisible despite women's formal political participation since 1920 (U.S. suffrage), widening across most democracies.
Use 'members of Congress,' 'congresspeople,' or 'representatives' as gender-neutral defaults; 'congresswoman/-man' when gender-specific context exists.
["members of Congress","congresspeople","representatives","legislators"]
Women have shaped major legislation across defense, social policy, and justice; default masculine language historically erased this record.
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