Congress in the Archives will feature monthly staff posts on our blog. Today’s post comes from Adam Berenbak.  Today is Opening Day in DC and all eyes are on the Nationals, especially their new mascot based on William Howard Taft. Taft is being celebrated as an addition to the ‘Presidents Run’ not only because he was an accomplished statesman and President, but because he is recognized as the first president to ever throw out a ‘first pitch’ on Opening Day, April 11, 1910.  Though the game is mostly remembered for Taft’s first pitch, Walter Johnson was the star, pitching within one hit of a no-hitter for Washington. Frank ‘Home Run’ Baker (who earned his nickname the following year with two dramatic home runs in the World Series) was the one batter to luck into a hit off of Johnson that day. In the fourth inning, Baker came to bat and lined a foul ball towards the President’s box. Though the ball missed Taft, it careened into the adjacent box, narrowly missing Vice President James Sherman before hitting Secretary of the Senate Charles Bennett in the head. Luckily for all involved, the ball “had spent its force when it landed in the box,” leaving everyone uninjured. Later reports and references to the incident, though, incorrectly refer to Bennett as the Secretary of State (and report that he was knocked out!). As Secretary of the Senate, the chief legislative officer in the Senate, Bennett helped to usher the Senate into the modern era. In doing so, he was one of the first to collect and publish the various procedures of the Senate into a concise guide for Senators. He also enjoyed frequent outings to Boundary Field, and then National Park (later Griffith Stadium), to watch baseball. Though no mascot of Bennett will be around during this year’s opening day game, their story reminds us all to watch out for the foul ball! Will the Base Runner Start for Third? by Clifford Berryman, 8/17/1906, U.S. Senate Collection (ARC 6010644)
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Congress in the Archives will feature monthly staff posts on our blog. Today’s post comes from Adam Berenbak. 

Today is Opening Day in DC and all eyes are on the Nationals, especially their new mascot based on William Howard Taft. Taft is being celebrated as an addition to the ‘Presidents Run’ not only because he was an accomplished statesman and President, but because he is recognized as the first president to ever throw out a ‘first pitch’ on Opening Day, April 11, 1910. 

Though the game is mostly remembered for Taft’s first pitch, Walter Johnson was the star, pitching within one hit of a no-hitter for Washington. Frank ‘Home Run’ Baker (who earned his nickname the following year with two dramatic home runs in the World Series) was the one batter to luck into a hit off of Johnson that day. In the fourth inning, Baker came to bat and lined a foul ball towards the President’s box. Though the ball missed Taft, it careened into the adjacent box, narrowly missing Vice President James Sherman before hitting Secretary of the Senate Charles Bennett in the head. Luckily for all involved, the ball “had spent its force when it landed in the box,” leaving everyone uninjured. Later reports and references to the incident, though, incorrectly refer to Bennett as the Secretary of State (and report that he was knocked out!).

As Secretary of the Senate, the chief legislative officer in the Senate, Bennett helped to usher the Senate into the modern era. In doing so, he was one of the first to collect and publish the various procedures of the Senate into a concise guide for Senators. He also enjoyed frequent outings to Boundary Field, and then National Park (later Griffith Stadium), to watch baseball.

Though no mascot of Bennett will be around during this year’s opening day game, their story reminds us all to watch out for the foul ball!

Will the Base Runner Start for Third? by Clifford Berryman, 8/17/1906, U.S. Senate Collection (ARC 6010644)

Even though the first day of spring was last week, many of us are still feeling the effects of Old Man Winter! Clifford Berryman penned this cartoon for The Washington Evening Star as Washington, DC shivered through a cold spell during the end of March 1915. Untitled by Clifford Berryman, 3/27/1915, U.S. Senate Collection (ARC 6011103)
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Even though the first day of spring was last week, many of us are still feeling the effects of Old Man Winter! Clifford Berryman penned this cartoon for The Washington Evening Star as Washington, DC shivered through a cold spell during the end of March 1915.

Untitled by Clifford Berryman, 3/27/1915, U.S. Senate Collection (ARC 6011103)

This untitled illustration by cartoonist Clifford Berryman, which appeared in the Washington Evening Star on February 28, 1917, serves as a reminder for citizens of Washington to follow the heightened security directions of the police during the Presidential Inauguration week. Untitled by Clifford Berryman, 02/28/1917, U.S. Senate Collection (ARC 6011200)
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This untitled illustration by cartoonist Clifford Berryman, which appeared in the Washington Evening Star on February 28, 1917, serves as a reminder for citizens of Washington to follow the heightened security directions of the police during the Presidential Inauguration week.

Untitled by Clifford Berryman, 02/28/1917, U.S. Senate Collection (ARC 6011200)

lbjlibrary: October 10, 1966. Home rule for Washington, D.C. fails for the final time in the 89th Congress, when a cloture motion to forestall a Southern filibuster falls short by 11 votes. The nation’s capital city will continue to have no local representative government and no representation in Congress. While home rule bills passed both the House and Senate in 1965, the differences between the bills proved irreconcilable both in 1965 and in 1966. LBJ considered home rule in majority-black DC to be a civil rights issue, and he had urged the adoption of the Senate bill in his 1966 State of the Union. The battle for home rule had launched a new activist group headed by Marion Barry, the Free D.C. Movement. Some other civil rights groups, though strong supporters of home rule, were put off by the new Movements’s aggressive tactics. Staunchly aligned against home rule were Southern Senators like LBJ’s old friend Richard Russell and some powerful local organizations like the Board of Trade. LBJ’s ardent supporter—and sometime critic —Senator Wayne Morse had attached the home rule bill to a college aid bill in a last-ditch attempt at passage, but despite the support of Senator Robert F. Kennedy, among others, home rule proponents will have to wait until the next Congress to try again. Photo by Rob Shenk via Flickr Creative Commons.
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lbjlibrary:

October 10, 1966. Home rule for Washington, D.C. fails for the final time in the 89th Congress, when a cloture motion to forestall a Southern filibuster falls short by 11 votes. The nation’s capital city will continue to have no local representative government and no representation in Congress. While home rule bills passed both the House and Senate in 1965, the differences between the bills proved irreconcilable both in 1965 and in 1966. LBJ considered home rule in majority-black DC to be a civil rights issue, and he had urged the adoption of the Senate bill in his 1966 State of the Union.

The battle for home rule had launched a new activist group headed by Marion Barry, the Free D.C. Movement. Some other civil rights groups, though strong supporters of home rule, were put off by the new Movements’s aggressive tactics. Staunchly aligned against home rule were Southern Senators like LBJ’s old friend Richard Russell and some powerful local organizations like the Board of Trade. LBJ’s ardent supporter—and sometime critic —Senator Wayne Morse had attached the home rule bill to a college aid bill in a last-ditch attempt at passage, but despite the support of Senator Robert F. Kennedy, among others, home rule proponents will have to wait until the next Congress to try again.

Photo by Rob Shenk via Flickr Creative Commons.

After the Capitol was destroyed during the War of 1812, Congress was forced to reconvene in the U.S. Patent Office—the only government building not burned by the British in 1814. On September 23, the House of Representatives passed this resolution to appoint a committee to report on the causes and results of Britain’s successful attack on the capital. Resolution that a Committee be Appointed to inquire into the causes of the success of the enemy, 9/23/1814, HR 13A-D15.3, Records of the U.S. House of Representatives
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After the Capitol was destroyed during the War of 1812, Congress was forced to reconvene in the U.S. Patent Office—the only government building not burned by the British in 1814. On September 23, the House of Representatives passed this resolution to appoint a committee to report on the causes and results of Britain’s successful attack on the capital.

Resolution that a Committee be Appointed to inquire into the causes of the success of the enemy, 9/23/1814, HR 13A-D15.3, Records of the U.S. House of Representatives

It’s the first day of fall, and we are certainly feeling the cool-down over here on the East Coast. In September, 1922 weather conditions were similar to today’s forecast. Cartoonist Clifford K. Berryman took a break from his usual political commentary to make note of the cooler evening temperatures felt throughout the Washington area. Cooler Nights by Clifford K. Berryman, 9/26/1922, U.S. Senate Collection (ARC 6011761)
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It’s the first day of fall, and we are certainly feeling the cool-down over here on the East Coast. In September, 1922 weather conditions were similar to today’s forecast. Cartoonist Clifford K. Berryman took a break from his usual political commentary to make note of the cooler evening temperatures felt throughout the Washington area.

Cooler Nights by Clifford K. Berryman, 9/26/1922, U.S. Senate Collection (ARC 6011761)

British troops invaded a nearly empty Capital city on August 24, 1814 during the War of 1812. Prior to the invasion clerks in the House of Representatives were frantically trying to find carts and oxen to evacuate the records of Congress safely out of the city. This letter, sent to the Clerk of the House on September 15, chronicles the actions of the two men left in the Clerk’s office who were in charge of removing as many records as possible. The clerks were only able to get one cart of manuscripts and papers out of the office before the Capitol went up in flames. Among the items lost were committee manuscripts from the 13th Congress, the secret journal of Congress, petitions submitted to Congress before 1799, and the private accounts and vouchers of the Clerk of the House. The Clerk forwarded this letter to the Speaker of the House on September 20 asking for a committee to be created to handle the investigation of the burning of the Capitol.

Letter to Patrick Magruder, Clerk of the House, 9/15/1814, HR 13A-D15.2, Records of the U.S. House of Representatives

Happy Fourth of July!  We hope you have a fun and safe holiday celebrating the 236th birthday of our great nation! This 1914 cartoon by Clifford Berryman shows that we’ve been worrying about firework safety for well over a century! Here, Berryman is commenting on the annual fireworks display in Washington, DC. The week before the 1914 celebration, the Commissioners of DC issued an official proclamation that, for safety reasons, no fireworks were to be set off within city limits without written permission. D.C.- “Yes, Willie, there is just as much patriotism as ever, but with fewer sacrifices,” by Clifford Berryman, 7/4/1914, U.S. Senate Collection (ARC 6011056)
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Happy Fourth of July!  We hope you have a fun and safe holiday celebrating the 236th birthday of our great nation!

This 1914 cartoon by Clifford Berryman shows that we’ve been worrying about firework safety for well over a century! Here, Berryman is commenting on the annual fireworks display in Washington, DC. The week before the 1914 celebration, the Commissioners of DC issued an official proclamation that, for safety reasons, no fireworks were to be set off within city limits without written permission.

D.C.- “Yes, Willie, there is just as much patriotism as ever, but with fewer sacrifices,” by Clifford Berryman, 7/4/1914, U.S. Senate Collection (ARC 6011056)

Congress in the Archives will feature monthly staff posts on our blog. Today’s post comes from Center archivist William H. Davis.

On June 2, 1856, President Franklin Pierce signed into law “An Act for the Benefit of the Hebrew Congregation in the City of Washington.” Serving as the charter for the Washington Hebrew Congregation, the act conferred all the “rights, privileges, and immunities heretofore granted by law to the Christian churches…to the Hebrew congregation of said city…”

The Washington Hebrew Congregation - the first Jewish religious institution in the nation’s capital - was founded in 1852. In 1856 its members petitioned Congress for a congressional charter because the laws of the District of Columbia did not contain provisions permitting Jewish religious organizations the right to “be constituted a congregation, having power to purchase and hold for their common use and religious exercise a place of worship or other real estate…”

Senator and presidential aspirant Lewis Cass of Michigan enthusiastically introduced the petition on February 5 in a moving speech that criticized prejudice against the “faith of the patriarchs and prophets of Israel…” The petition was referred to the Senate Committee on the District of Columbia. Senator Albert Gallatin Brown of Mississippi, chairman of the committee, reported favorably on the petition and introduced Senate Bill 199.

Although an 1844 act had conferred powers and rights on religious bodies “without restriction as to sect…” the congregation felt a charter was warranted to resolve any doubts about their right to build a house of worship and operate a congregation. Both houses of Congress and President Pierce agreed, and S. 199 became law.

Petition of Jewish Residents of the District of Columbia, SEN 34A-H5, 2/5/1856, Records of the U.S. Senate

It’s the first day of winter! Can you believe it? We know, we can’t either! Today we are featuring a cartoon by Jim Berryman, son of Clifford Berryman, called All in the Point of View. In this cartoon, Berryman humorously highlights the differing points of view on winter snow. While on one day you might enjoy the beautiful snow on Washington’s monuments, your view changes considerably when trying to dig your car out the next day. Here’s hoping that none of you have to dig your cars out of the “drifted snow and shimmering ice” this winter! All in the Point of View by Jim Berryman, 12/2/1928, U.S. Senate Collection (ARC 6011977)
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It’s the first day of winter! Can you believe it? We know, we can’t either! Today we are featuring a cartoon by Jim Berryman, son of Clifford Berryman, called All in the Point of View. In this cartoon, Berryman humorously highlights the differing points of view on winter snow. While on one day you might enjoy the beautiful snow on Washington’s monuments, your view changes considerably when trying to dig your car out the next day. Here’s hoping that none of you have to dig your cars out of the “drifted snow and shimmering ice” this winter!

All in the Point of View by Jim Berryman, 12/2/1928, U.S. Senate Collection (ARC 6011977)