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Recent Artifacts Online, Summer 2024 | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives
Just in time for summer, the Office of Art and Archives has added new objects to the digitized House Collection.Committee on the Budget1970s menswear, from white belts to wide ties, was on display at the beginning of Robert Giaimo’s service as chair of the House Budget Committee. The chairman’s early leadership was, according to the Washington Post, “lackluster and sometimes awkward.” But within a few years, Giaimo had “acquired widespread respect as one of the toughest and most effective committee chairmen in Congress.” This photograph shows Giaimo seated on the committee dais behind his nameplate.Managing the Campaign for the House of Representatives PamphletThis nonpartisan booklet describes the significance of volunteers to congressional campaigns. The publication reveals assumptions about gender in the 1960s. The section on women volunteers posits that the candidate’s wife can “work wonders by setting an example of industry and enthusiasm,” but “she will be resented if she doesn’t pitch in and do her share.”The Illustrated American Magazine, Vol. XXII, No. 394In 1897, The Illustrated American published a series of articles by and about Members of Congress. An account of Speaker Thomas Brackett Reed’s tactical feats of strength included an illustration of one famous moment. To prevent Members from leaving, Reed in 1890 directed the House Doorkeeper to bar all exits. Illustrator George Gibbs depicts the moment when Representative Charles O’Ferrall of Virginia shook the locked doors in impotent fury.Congressional Sales Tax DelegationIn 1921, newspaper publisher and former Congressman William Randolph Hearst sponsored a “Congressional Sales Tax Delegation” to Canada. At the time, the United States was considering a federal sales tax instead of, or in addition to, the recently adopted income tax. The wealthy publisher—who stood to benefit from changes to the tax system—arranged for Members to learn about the Canadian sales tax system.Sketches in the Capitol, WashingtonSometimes newspaper artists caught Members of Congress unawares, preserving informal moments in the Capitol. In this Harper’s Weekly roundup of sketches, Representatives gesticulate, whisper, read the papers, and snooze. In one image, the artist looked over the Press Gallery railing and immortalized someone from directly above his head.Looking for more about campaigns, committees, and cartoons? Check these out:For additional new paintings, photographs, and objects on Collections Search, check out other Recent Artifacts Online blogs.
Edition for Educators—Setting Precedents | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives
The legislative process in the U.S. House of Representatives is governed by an ever-evolving set of rules and guidelines known as parliamentary procedure. These legislative standards and instructions for debate originally derived from Britain’s Parliament and were later adopted and modified by England’s colonial governments in North America. In 1787, the Framers of the U.S. Constitution codified some of these procedures in Article I of America’s founding document.But importantly, the Founders also empowered the House to control its own affairs and set its own rules. The Speaker of the House, more than any other individual on Capitol Hill, has been key to that process. In the House, the Speaker—and to a lesser extent, the presiding officers appointed by the Speaker—decides questions of order, germaneness, and parliamentary procedure. The full House can vote to overturn the Speaker’s decision, but that happens only in rare instances. In the 1830s, the House also adopted the recommendations outlined in Jefferson’s Manual, a compendium of legislative practices compiled by Thomas Jefferson in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.Over time, the decisions from the Speaker’s chair have formed the basis of the House’s customs, tradition, and, eventually, its rules. Since 1907, these many components of the House’s legislative practice have been compiled by House Parliamentarians in the House Precedents.This Edition for Educators highlights a few of the precedents that have been set since 1789, as well as the people who assemble those precedents into an ongoing body of work that guides the day-to-day work of the U.S. House of Representatives.Featured PeopleParliamentarians of the House The Parliamentarian is a nonpartisan official appointed by the Speaker of the House to render objective assistance on legislative and parliamentary procedure to the House of Representatives. The responsibilities and history of the Parliamentarian’s Office is briefly discussed on this page, presented alongside a list of Parliamentarians and their predecessors in the House of Representatives.Featured Blogs“The Speaker Bluffed You” — Joe Cannon and the 1910 Motion to Vacate the Chair Longtime House leader Joseph G. Cannon of Illinois once said he lost and won the Speakership on March 19, 1910. His reversal of fortune had hinged on a daring gamble. A successful vote to remove Cannon as chairman of the Rules Committee earlier in the day dealt a major blow to the Speaker’s aura of invincibility, but he had no intention of folding. Rather than resign, Cannon invoked the House’s procedure to declare the Speaker’s chair vacant and challenged lawmakers to vote him out. Politics was not poker. But that day, facing the highest possible stakes, Cannon called the biggest bluff of his career.The Parliamentarian’s Scrapbook As debate and voting take place on the House Floor, transcripts are recorded for the Congressional Record. The Parliamentarian reviews and makes notes about this written record, recording decisions and their legal basis. The notes are gathered into scrapbooks. After much analysis and review, the Parliamentarian assembles information from the scrapbooks into volumes of precedents, which are published periodically.Fighting the Filibuster Wednesday, January 3, 1810, seemed like a day that would never end in the House of Representatives, as Barent Gardenier of New York hijacked proceedings to delay action on a resolution he opposed. Gardenier spoke from roughly 10 o’clock at night until nearly four in the morning, thereby imparting a sobering lesson to early Congressmen: if a Member started speaking, there was no way to stop him. Soon enough, clever lawmakers discovered that the framework of the legislative mechanism they needed to stop such curious filibusters was already in the House Rules: the previous question.Who Kicked the Dogs Out? Eccentric and quick-tempered, Virginia Representative John Randolph spent his early House service in a chamber that had quite literally gone to the dogs—his dogs, in fact. Randolph often brought his hunting dogs into the House Chamber, leaving them to lope and lounge about the floor during the session’s proceedings, much to the ire of some of his colleagues . . . especially a new Speaker of the House named Henry Clay of Kentucky.Featured Oral HistoriesFeatured HighlightsThe First House-Contested Election On April 29, 1789, the House Committee on Elections, a panel created on April 13, 1789, to render judgment on disputed elections in the House based on evidence and witness testimony, reported its first contested election case, Ramsay v. Smith from South Carolina. David Ramsay contested the election of William Loughton Smith of South Carolina to the 1st Congress (1789–1791), arguing that Smith had not been not a citizen of the United States for seven years, a requirement set under the Constitution for election to the House.A Breach of Privileges On January 1, 1796, the House met in a rare New Year’s Day session to deliberate the trial of two private citizens for allegedly attempting to bribe Members of Congress. Four days earlier, James Madison of Virginia and several other Representatives had submitted evidence to the House that Robert Randall of Philadelphia and Charles Whitney of Vermont had approached them with promises of future funds or land grants should the Members back a scheme to acquire pre-emption rights in the Northwest Territory. On the order of Speaker Jonathan Dayton of New Jersey, Sergeant-at-Arms Joseph Wheaton apprehended the gentlemen at their Philadelphia lodging and held them in his custody as the House debated how to proceed.The First Parliamentary Procedure to Limit House Floor Debate On July 7, 1841, the House adopted the first rule intended to limit the time a Representative could speak in debate on the House Floor. Concerns about long speeches impeding House business had dated to at least 1820, when the irascible John Randolph of Virginia held the House Floor for a four-hour speech on the Missouri Compromise bill. Afterward, lawmakers submitted proposals to limit the time a Member could speak to one hour; but the House did not act on them. In March 1833, Frank E. Plummer of Mississippi “so wearied the House in the last hours of the Congress,” noted Hinds’ Precedents, “that repeated attempts were made to induce him to resume his seat, and the House was frequently in extreme confusion and disorder.”A Motion to Censure Representative John Quincy Adams of Massachusetts On February 7, 1842, the House voted 106 to 93 to table a motion censuring Representative John Quincy Adams of Massachusetts for antislavery agitation. Weeks earlier Adams had masterfully manipulated the public debate over slavery by baiting proslavery Representatives into a prolonged dialogue. Because the House had instituted the “Gag Rule” in 1836—preventing floor discussion of abolition petitions—Adams manufactured a debate by submitting a petition, allegedly drafted by a group of Georgians, to have Adams removed as Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman. (Historians doubt the authenticity of the petition—some implying that Adams or one of his allies authored it). Through this sleight of hand, Adams used the defense of his chairmanship to hold the floor for days delivering a far-ranging harangue against “slave mongers,” as one observer recalled, “till slaveholding [and] slave trading…absolutely quailed and howled under his dissecting knife.”The Resignation of Parliamentarian Asher Hinds On March 3, 1911, Parliamentarian Asher Hinds resigned his position to become a Representative from the state of Maine. The long-time clerk at the Speaker’s table, as the Parliamentarian was then known, served nearly 20 years as an expert advisor on House procedure. The author of the House Rules series known as Hinds’ Precedents, Asher Hinds had begun his service under Speaker Thomas Brackett Reed of Maine.Featured Objects from the House CollectionFeatured ExhibitionImpeachment: President Andrew Johnson On February 21, 1868, when the United States House of Representatives met as it usually did at noon, there was no sense that the long-simmering struggle between Congress and President Andrew Johnson was about to tip into a full-blown constitutional crisis.This full-length essay details the precedent-setting events in the first impeachment of an American president.Featured RecordsLetter from Benjamin Brown French After a combined 15 years of service to the U.S. House of Representatives, first as assistant clerk, then as acting Clerk of the House, and eventually as Clerk of the House, Benjamin Brown French asked Congress for another job. In this letter, French requested employment to compile a parliamentary practice manual to help Members, particularly newly elected Representatives, navigate their House service. French believed his House experience made him the ideal candidate. His letter was accompanied by two resolutions describing the scope of the work and French’s recommendations for his compensation. Despite French’s repeated prodding, no committee action was ever taken on his proposal. The House would not begin to compile and publish its precedents until Asher Hinds’ precedents were published in the early twentieth century.Reagan’s First State of the Union President Ronald Reagan delivered his first State of the Union address in a televised prime-time speech on January 26, 1982. One year earlier, Reagan addressed Congress shortly after his inauguration, giving a speech focused on his plans for reviving the economy rather than a report to Congress on the nation. Following the precedent set by Reagan in 1981, speeches delivered in the first year of a presidential administration are, by custom, not considered State of the Union addresses.This is part of a series of blog posts for educators highlighting the resources available on History, Art & Archives of the U.S. House of Representatives. For lesson plans, fact sheets, glossaries, and other materials for the classroom, see the website's Education section.
The Records of a Divided Country: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850–1877) | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives
By the mid-19th century, the struggle over slavery reached a boiling point in the United States. The American people, as well as their Representatives and Senators, clashed over slavery for years before the Civil War erupted in 1861. Following the war, during the period known as Reconstruction, Congress attempted to rebuild and reunite the country. Americans tried to recover from the emotional and physical toll of the war and come to terms with a country that had fundamentally changed. Learn more about this contentious period with these records from the House of Representatives.Transcriptions and downloadable PDFs of these records are available at the links below.Discussion Questions:Do you think citizens who sent petitions to Congress in the years before the Civil War influenced their Representatives and Senators? Why or why not?How was Congress a microcosm—or reflection in miniature—of the wider struggles of the United States in the years before and after the Civil War?How did the Civil War and Reconstruction change U.S. citizenship?How do the events of this era impact us today?1854, Petition against the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854In this signed petition, 34 citizens of St. Joseph County, Michigan, voiced their concern that the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 would open the American West to slavery. Since 1820, the Missouri Compromise outlawed slavery in the territories west of the Mississippi River and north of the 36°30' latitude line. The Kansas-Nebraska Act, however, proposed allowing citizens of the Kansas and Nebraska Territories, both of which existed north of the line, to determine through direct vote whether to legalize slavery.Ultimately, the Kansas-Nebraska Act became law on May 30, 1854. The situation in Kansas grew increasingly volatile and violence often erupted between groups of antislavery and proslavery forces. The series of deadly skirmishes eventually became known as “Bleeding Kansas.”1856, Assault of Senator Charles SumnerThe 1850s saw the House bitterly divided over the issue of slavery, which led to one of the more incendiary and violent events in congressional history. On May 22, 1856, Representative Preston Brooks of South Carolina entered the Senate Chamber and repeatedly struck Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts over the head with a cane. The assault was in reaction to a speech in which Sumner criticized slavery and the Senators who supported it, including Andrew Butler, a relative of Brooks.The day after the attack, the House passed a resolution to establish a select committee to investigate the incident, and Speaker Nathaniel Banks of Massachusetts appointed five Members to look into the matter.1862, Repeal Fugitive Slave LawThis petition created by the citizens of Farmington, Maine, asked Congress to repeal the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850, as well as confiscate the property of rebels against the government and declare their slaves forever free. The petition was presented by Maine Congressman John Hovey Rice on June 19, 1862.1864, Wade-Davis BillAs the Civil War drew to a close, Congress and the President turned their attention to plans for rebuilding and readmitting Southern states into the Union. President Abraham Lincoln’s plan for Reconstruction offered repatriation for Confederate states if 10 percent of eligible voters agreed to an oath of allegiance to the Constitution and the Union and to abide by the emancipation of enslaved people.Many in Congress, particularly the faction known as Radical Republicans, found Lincoln’s plan too lenient. This group advocated a much harsher approach, treating Confederate states as conquered provinces that had forfeited their civil and political rights. Their response was the Wade-Davis Reconstruction Bill. It required that 50 percent of eligible voters swear an oath to support the Constitution before state governments were recognized as members of the Union. Passed at the close of the congressional session in July 1864, Lincoln defeated it through use of the pocket veto.1866, A.M.E. Church MemorialMembers of Payne African Chapel, the African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church in Atlanta, Georgia, sent this petition to Congress in 1866. In 1864, their church was destroyed during the campaign led by General William Tecumseh Sherman during the Civil War. The petitioners expressed their appreciation for their freedom but made the argument that it was not their fault that the church was destroyed. They requested $7,000 from the U.S. Congress to rebuild the church.1866, Memorial of Clara BartonClara Barton, best known as the founder of the American Red Cross, devoted her time following the war to helping locate missing soldiers. In the spring of 1865, Barton began receiving correspondence from the families of the missing, asking for her assistance in finding information on the whereabouts of their loved ones. In response, she established the Office of Correspondence with the Friends of the Missing Men of the United States Army. The office researched, compiled, and distributed lists of the missing in the hope that war survivors with knowledge of the fate of fellow soldiers would report it to Barton and her staff.Barton submitted this petition to Congress in February 1866, asking for an appropriation to continue her work.1868, Reconstruction Acts PetitionApplications such as this were completed by residents of Confederate States after the Civil War. The purpose of the applications was to remove political disabilities imposed by Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which prohibited individuals who had been active in the rebellion from eligibility for government employment. The applications were later collected by the Select Committee on Reconstruction, which was established in 1867.1874, Joseph Rainey Election CertificateJoseph Rainey, the first African American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives, was sworn in on December 12, 1870. This election certificate confirmed his 1874 election to the 44th Congress (1875–1877) for a third full term and is signed by members of the board of state canvassers for South Carolina.During more than eight years in Congress, Rainey advocated for civil rights legislation, public education, and an active federal government to guarantee the rights of freed people in the South.Interested in more records from this era?1860, Kansas Statehood Bill1862, Government for Arizona Territory1862, West Virginia Statehood1868, Impeachment of Andrew Johnson1874, Memorial for the Civil Rights Act of 1875This is part of a blog series about records from different eras of U.S. history.
Looking Back—The First Lying in Honor Ceremony | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives
On July 24, 1998, on a crowded, muggy Friday afternoon two weeks before the planned August recess, a gunman ignored orders from the Capitol Police, bypassed the metal detector near the gift shop in the U.S. Capitol, and stormed the offices of congressional leadership nearby. Following an exchange of gunfire, one tourist was injured and two Capitol Police officers—Officer Jacob J. Chestnut Jr. and Detective John M. Gibson—were killed. Through the heroic efforts of the Capitol Police, the gunman was subdued and arrested, saving lives in the process.In the wake of the shooting, Congress honored the fallen officers and sought ways to prevent future incidents. “In all the history of the United States, no one had ever been killed defending the Capitol,” Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia said on July 27. “In all the history of the Capitol Police, never before had officers been killed in the line of duty. I believe that it drove home to all of us, certainly to me and those Members I have talked to, to the staffs I have talked to, how real and how serious the process of security is, and how much we are a Capitol Hill family; that the larger family of freedom has within it a smaller family of individuals who work together every day.”The House and Senate unanimously passed resolutions creating a memorial fund for the officers’ families and authorized the Capitol Rotunda to be used for a memorial service. On July 28, Officer Chestnut and Detective Gibson became the first individuals to “lie in honor” in that chamber. Officer Chestnut was also the first Black man to receive such an honor. Congress later placed a plaque in their honor in the U.S. Capitol Building.Three months after the shooting, Congress passed an omnibus spending bill which included $100 million in funding for the construction of a new Capitol Visitor Center (CVC) and an additional $106.7 million in funding for the Capitol Police Board to provide security enhancements across the Capitol complex. House Sergeant at Arms Wilson “Bill” Livingood testified that these improvements “would resolve many of the sensitive security issues that exist in the current security plan.” Plans for the new CVC had been in the works for years, but the attack in 1998 heightened the urgency of improving Capitol safety. The CVC’s new funding passed as an emergency provision under an antiterrorism portion of an omnibus spending bill that year.This is part of a blog series looking back at major events and legislation in House history as told through oral histories, data, written narratives, and multimedia—all available digitally on the History, Art and Archives website.Featured HighlightThe 1998 Shooting of Two Capitol Police Officers On July 24, 1998, two Capitol Police officers, Officer Jacob J. Chestnut Jr., and Detective John M. Gibson, died in the line of duty. An armed assailant stormed past a U.S. Capitol security checkpoint, mortally wounding Officer Chestnut. In the initial crossfire between the gunman and Capitol Police, a gunshot injured a tourist. As congressional aides and Capitol visitors sought cover, the assailant ran toward a door that led to the suites of then–Majority Whip Tom DeLay of Texas. Detective Gibson, a member of DeLay’s security detail, told aides to seek cover. Gibson and the assailant exchanged gunfire. Although fatally wounded, Gibson’s action enabled other officers to subdue the gunman.Featured Collection ObjectFeatured DataIndividuals Who Have Lain in State or in Honor Beginning with Henry Clay in 1852, the U.S. Capitol has been used as a place to pay tribute to the Nation’s most distinguished citizens. Made available for public viewing in the Capitol, persons who have “lain in state” traditionally have been American officials, judges, and military leaders, including 12 U.S. Presidents. In 1998, to recognize two Capitol Police officers who died in the line of duty, Congress granted use of the Rotunda for their caskets to “lie in honor.”This chart lists all those individuals who have been granted this high honor within the U.S. Capitol.Featured Oral HistoriesLearn more about the lives and careers of U.S. Capitol policewoman Arva Marie Johnson and longtime Office of the Clerk employee Roger Addison in their oral histories.Sources: Congressional Record, House, 105th Cong., 2nd sess. (27 July 1998): 17441; Congressional Record, House, 105th Cong., 2nd sess. (24 September 1998): 21844; Jacob Joseph Chestnut-John Michael Gibson United States Capitol Visitor Center Act of 1998, H.R. 4347, 105th Cong. (1998); Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1999, Public Law 105-277, 112 Stat. 2681(1998); Washington Post, 25 July 1998.