On February 8, 1954, Congressman Edward Rees (R-KS) introduced H.R. 7786, an act to honor veterans on the 11th day of November of each year, a day dedicated to world peace. Previously, November 11 had served as Armistice Day to honor the end of World War I and its veterans. With Rep. Rees leading the charge, Congress voted to extend the day of remembrance and thanks to all veterans. Speaking on the floor, Rep. Rees told the House that he had introduced the bill so that “a grateful nation may pay proper homage to all its veterans who have contributed so much to the cause of world peace and the preservation of our way of life.” President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the bill into law on June 1, 1954. In 1966, Veterans Day was moved from November 11 to the fourth Monday in October. With the support of the general public, the holiday was moved back to its original November 11 date by Congress and the President in 1978. H.R. 7786, SEN 83A-C4, Records of the U.S. Senate (ARC 1157550)
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On February 8, 1954, Congressman Edward Rees (R-KS) introduced H.R. 7786, an act to honor veterans on the 11th day of November of each year, a day dedicated to world peace. Previously, November 11 had served as Armistice Day to honor the end of World War I and its veterans. With Rep. Rees leading the charge, Congress voted to extend the day of remembrance and thanks to all veterans. Speaking on the floor, Rep. Rees told the House that he had introduced the bill so that “a grateful nation may pay proper homage to all its veterans who have contributed so much to the cause of world peace and the preservation of our way of life.” President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the bill into law on June 1, 1954. In 1966, Veterans Day was moved from November 11 to the fourth Monday in October. With the support of the general public, the holiday was moved back to its original November 11 date by Congress and the President in 1978.

H.R. 7786, SEN 83A-C4, Records of the U.S. Senate (ARC 1157550)

                Mr. Elmo Monster goes to Washington

                                         Elmo

                          Source: Celebrities Who Have Testified to Congress, by U.S. News

In honor of Sesame Street’s forty-second anniversary, we are featuring Mr. Elmo Monster’s testimony before the House Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on the  Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies. He appeared before the Subcommittee on April 23, 2002 with Joe Lamond, the President and CEO of the International Music Productions Association. Mr. Monster and Mr. Lamond were testifying on behalf of music education. Elmo said he was very nervous to appear before the Subcommittee. Maybe it was the suit?

Elmo, the first and only non-human to testify before Congress, shared his learning experience with the Subcommittee. He explained,

Elmo learned all kinds of things about music, like anyone can make music. The whole world is full of music … music helped Elmo learn the alphabet. If it wasn’t for the ABC song, Elmo would be lost, people.

You can read Elmo’s testimony by clicking on the scans above. We hope you enjoy reading it as much as we did!

Printed hearing, 4/23/2002, Records of the U.S House of Representatives

Happy Election Day! In this cartoon from the 1907 off-year election, political cartoonist Clifford Berryman reminds us of how elections reflect the public mood and, thus, of the importance of voting. Illustrated here, William Jennings Bryan, William Randolph Hearst, and President Theodore Roosevelt anxiously calculate the impact of state and local elections on their political futures. The books scattered around the floor suggest that forecasting the consequences of an election is “infinitesimal calculus.” Bryan went on to run unsuccessfully for President the next year, and Hearst ran unsuccessfully for Mayor of New York City in 1909. Roosevelt did not run for reelection and instead went into temporary retirement after his term expired.  Figgerin’ on the Returns, 11/7/1907, U.S. Senate Collection (ARC 1693465)
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Happy Election Day!

In this cartoon from the 1907 off-year election, political cartoonist Clifford Berryman reminds us of how elections reflect the public mood and, thus, of the importance of voting. Illustrated here, William Jennings Bryan, William Randolph Hearst, and President Theodore Roosevelt anxiously calculate the impact of state and local elections on their political futures. The books scattered around the floor suggest that forecasting the consequences of an election is “infinitesimal calculus.” Bryan went on to run unsuccessfully for President the next year, and Hearst ran unsuccessfully for Mayor of New York City in 1909. Roosevelt did not run for reelection and instead went into temporary retirement after his term expired. 

Figgerin’ on the Returns, 11/7/1907, U.S. Senate Collection (ARC 1693465)

todaysdocument: Representative Jeannette Rankin (1880-1973), By Matzene, 1917; Courtesy of the Senate Historical Office On November 7, 1916, Jeannette Rankin was the first woman elected to Congress, 4 years before woman suffrage was added to the Constitution in 1920 with the 19th Amendment. Since Rankin, there have been nearly 200 women elected to Congress.
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todaysdocument:

Representative Jeannette Rankin (1880-1973), By Matzene, 1917; Courtesy of the Senate Historical Office

On November 7, 1916, Jeannette Rankin was the first woman elected to Congress, 4 years before woman suffrage was added to the Constitution in 1920 with the 19th Amendment. Since Rankin, there have been nearly 200 women elected to Congress.

On October 29, 1998, Senator John H. Glenn became the oldest man to travel into space aboard Space Shuttle Discovery. Senator Glenn was invited by NASA to return to space over three decades after his first flight of February 20, 1962 when he became the first American to orbit the Earth aboard the Mercury capsule Friendship 7. This photo was taken of Glenn exiting Friendship 7, and was collected by the Senate Committee on Aeronautical Space and Science in 1965, who oversaw the operation of NASA at the time. Photo of John H. Glenn in Friendship 7, SEN 89A-F1, Records of the U.S. Senate
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On October 29, 1998, Senator John H. Glenn became the oldest man to travel into space aboard Space Shuttle Discovery. Senator Glenn was invited by NASA to return to space over three decades after his first flight of February 20, 1962 when he became the first American to orbit the Earth aboard the Mercury capsule Friendship 7. This photo was taken of Glenn exiting Friendship 7, and was collected by the Senate Committee on Aeronautical Space and Science in 1965, who oversaw the operation of NASA at the time.

Photo of John H. Glenn in Friendship 7, SEN 89A-F1, Records of the U.S. Senate

todaysdocument:

The Volstead Act

Approved by the Senate on October 28, 1919, the National Prohibition Act, aka the Volstead Act, aka the 18th Amendment, prohibited the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcoholic liquors.  It would remain in effect until repealed by the 21st Amendment in 1933.

Sixty-four years ago today, Hollywood screenwriter John Howard Lawson testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). In May of 1947, HUAC held a series of closed-door hearings to investigate communist influence in Hollywood. A number of famous Hollywood screenwriters, directors, and producers were subpoenaed to Washington in September. Only eleven were asked to appear before the committee in October. Ten of the eleven were card-holding members of the communist party at one point in their careers. Lawson was the first of the infamous Hollywood Ten to testify. The group refused to answer questions relating to their political beliefs, citing their First Amendment rights. All of the men were eventually convicted of contempt of Congress, and blacklisted in Hollywood. Today’s featured document was created almost a year after the Hollywood Ten investigation began. It shows that the committee was still monitoring the motion picture industry, and signifies that they believed that communist beliefs continued to infiltrate the industry. It also suggests that the Hollywood Ten investigation did not prevent the creation of “un-American” movies. Thus, HUAC continued to investigate communist techniques in Hollywood through 1952. The anti-communist movement in Congress reached its peak in 1954, but HUAC lived on. The committee changed its name in 1969 to the House Committee on Internal Security, and was eventually abolished in 1975. Communist Techniques in Hollywood, 9/21/1948, Records of the U.S. House of Representatives
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Sixty-four years ago today, Hollywood screenwriter John Howard Lawson testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). In May of 1947, HUAC held a series of closed-door hearings to investigate communist influence in Hollywood. A number of famous Hollywood screenwriters, directors, and producers were subpoenaed to Washington in September. Only eleven were asked to appear before the committee in October. Ten of the eleven were card-holding members of the communist party at one point in their careers. Lawson was the first of the infamous Hollywood Ten to testify. The group refused to answer questions relating to their political beliefs, citing their First Amendment rights. All of the men were eventually convicted of contempt of Congress, and blacklisted in Hollywood.

Today’s featured document was created almost a year after the Hollywood Ten investigation began. It shows that the committee was still monitoring the motion picture industry, and signifies that they believed that communist beliefs continued to infiltrate the industry. It also suggests that the Hollywood Ten investigation did not prevent the creation of “un-American” movies. Thus, HUAC continued to investigate communist techniques in Hollywood through 1952. The anti-communist movement in Congress reached its peak in 1954, but HUAC lived on. The committee changed its name in 1969 to the House Committee on Internal Security, and was eventually abolished in 1975.

Communist Techniques in Hollywood, 9/21/1948, Records of the U.S. House of Representatives

Congress in the Archives will feature a monthly staff post on our blog. October’s post comes from Center archivist, Kristen Wilhelm.

IMing has nothing on file SEN53B! These two folders, categorized as Senate “miscellany” from the 53rd Congress (1893-1895), have intrigued me for years. This file contains personal correspondence to an unnamed Senate employee (A senator? A Clerk? Who knows!) usually addressed as “my own Darling” from a woman named Mary, who often signed the letters “Little One.”

These pages don’t document legislation or shed light on a history-changing treaty. They are simply chatty little snippets of a bygone era when ladies and gentlemen eagerly awaited a few gracefully written words courtesy of snail mail. It was deliberate and exudes a greater sincerity by its permanence.

There are no envelopes in the file, so no full names, address, or postmarks can be found. We just see clues like letterhead from The Home Magazine located in the Pulitzer Building in New York City. Were these two people old friends, relatives, or possibly lovers? I suspect we’ll never know. But thanks to their letters becoming a part of the official records of the United States Senate, anyone who wants to take a stab at discovering their identities can do so.

In the meantime, I give the tray that houses this charming glimpse into the personal side of the Senate a little tap whenever I pass by. No doubt my anonymous friends would be amazed and somewhat chagrined that their correspondence has found a home in the National Archives. I don’t know how the letters ended up in the Senate’s records but they are awfully fun to have around!

Letter from “Little One,” undated, Records of the U.S. Senate