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Welcome to The Dirksen Congressional Center's Communicator–a web-based e-newsletter providing educators with news and ideas to improve the understanding of Congress: http://www.webcommunicator.org
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
- People Who Served in Congress
- Congress Defined
- *New* Lesson Plan: Creating a Metaphor for the Three Branches of Government
- *New* Editorial Cartoons
- *New* Joint Senate-House Republican Leadership Minutes, 1961-68
- *New* Video: U.S. Long-Term Fiscal Health
- Congressional Research Award Winners
- *New* The Road to the Capitol, Principles of the U.S. Constitution, & Trivia
- Postscript Information
- PEOPLE WHO SERVED IN CONGRESS
Sketches of famous and not-so-famous Senators and Representatives
Faddis, Charles Isiah (1890-1972), a Representative from Pennsylvania; born in Loudonville, Ashland County, Ohio, June 13, 1890; moved with his parents to Waynesburg, Green County, Pa., in 1891; attended the public schools and Waynesburg (Pa.) College; was graduated from the agricultural department of Pennsylvania State College at State College in 1915; served as a sergeant in the Tenth Infantry, Pennsylvania National Guard, on the Mexican border in 1916; served during the First World War with the Forty-seventh Regiment, United States Infantry, and the Fourth Ammunition Train; rose to rank of lieutenant colonel of Infantry; served in the Army of Occupation in Germany; awarded the Purple Heart Medal; engaged in the general contracting business in Waynesburg, Pa., 1919-1926; attended United States Army Command and General Staff School, Fort Leavenworth, Kans., in 1930; broker of oil and gas properties 1926-1933; elected as a Democrat to the Seventy-third and to the four succeeding Congresses and served from March 4, 1933, until his resignation on December 4, 1942, to enter the United States Army; unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1942 to the Seventy-eighth Congress; during the Second World War was a colonel in the United States Army; awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star; engaged in raising Hereford cattle, producing oil and gas, and operating coal mines; died in Matzatlan, Mexico, April 1, 1972; interment in Rosemont Cemetery, Rogersville, Pa. |
Sources:
Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress: http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=F000001
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African-Americans in Congress:
Image courtesy of Moorland–Spingarn Research Center, Howard University |
O’Hara, James Edward (1844-1905), a Representative from North Carolina; born in New York City February 26, 1844; pursued an academic course; studied law in North Carolina and at Howard University, Washington, D.C.; engrossing clerk in the constitutional convention of North Carolina in 1868, also in the State house of representatives in 1868 and 1869; chairman of the board of commissioners for Halifax County 1872-1876; was admitted to the bar in 1873 and practiced; member of the State constitutional convention in 1875; unsuccessfully contested the election of William H. Kitchin to the Forty-sixth Congress; elected as a Republican to the Forty-eighth and Forty-ninth Congresses (March 4, 1883-March 3, 1887); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1886 to the Fiftieth Congress; resumed the practice of law in New Bern, Craven County, N.C., and died there September 15, 1905; interment in Greenwood Cemetery.
Sources:
Black Americans in Congress: http://baic.house.gov/member-profiles/profile.html?intID=10
Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=O000054 |
Women in Congress:
Image courtesy of the Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives |
Clarke, Marian Williams (1880-1953), (wife of John Davenport Clarke), a Representative from New York; born at Standing Stone, Bradford County, Pa., July 29, 1880; moved with her parents to Cheyenne, Wyo., in 1881; attended the public schools and spent one year in the art school of the University of Nebraska at Lincoln; was graduated from Colorado College at Colorado Springs in 1902; resided in seven different States from 1881 to 1918; moved to Delaware County, N.Y., in 1918 and settled on a farm near Fraser; elected as a Republican to the Seventy-third Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of her husband, John Davenport Clarke, and served from December 28, 1933, to January 3, 1935; was a candidate for renomination in 1934 to the Seventy-fourth Congress, but withdrew her name before the primary election; returned to her farm, “Arbor Hill,” near Delhi, N.Y., where she resided until 1950; died in Cooperstown, N.Y., April 8, 1953; interment in Locust Hill Cemetery, Hobart, N.Y.
Sources:
Women in Congress: http://womenincongress.house.gov/member-profiles/profile.html?intID=45
Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress: http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=C000467 |
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- CONGRESS DEFINED
Words and phrases that describe congressional processes
Calendar. (1) A list of measures or other matters that are eligible for floor consideration. The House has five calendars; the Senate has two. A place on a calendar does not guarantee consideration. Each house decides which measures and matters it will take up, and in what order, in accordance with its rules and practices. (2)The familiar name for the daily publications of each house that contain their calendars and other information.
Source: Congressional Quarterly’s American Congressional Dictionary, 3rd edition (2001):31.
- * NEW LESSON PLAN * CREATING A METAPHOR FOR THE THREE BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENT
During our annual Congress in the Classroom® workshop –– http://www.dirksencenter.org/print_programs_CongressClassroom.htm –– participants are asked to introduce the lesson plans, resources, and techniques that have proven successful in teaching about Congress in their classrooms. A past participant presented a lesson entitled, Creating a Metaphor for the Three Branches of Government.
Students will create a metaphor poster that completes this comparison: “The three branches of government under the Constitution are like a…” They will also design and create an illustration for their metaphor, complete with a brief written explanation of why the metaphor is accurate. Each group’s metaphor must have the features listed in the lesson plan.
Find Creating a Metaphor for the Three Branches of Government at: http://www.congresslink.org/print_lp_metaphor.htm
- * NEW * EDITORIAL CARTOONS
The Dirksen Congressional Center recently announced additions to the Editorial Cartoon Collection project: http://www.congresslink.org/cartoons/index.htm.
The editorial cartoons and related lesson plans will teach students to identify issues, analyze symbols, acknowledge the need for background knowledge, recognize stereotypes and caricatures, think critically, and appreciate the role of irony and humor.
This month we have posted five new cartoons:
We now have a total of 128 cartoons posted!
- * NEW * JOINT SENATE-HOUSE REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP MINUTES, 1961-68
The Joint Senate-House Republican Leadership Minutes are the minutes of the Republican leadership during the presidential administrations of John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson. In their original state, each session’s minutes generally include attendance, brief summaries of topics discussed, and background “fact sheets” for statements at press conferences following the meetings. The digitized document presented here include only the formal minutes. The press conferences following the leadership meetings achieved fame as the “Ev and Charlie” and “Ev and Jerry” shows. For audio samples and curricular materials associated with a small sample of these minutes, please visit “The 1960s: A Multi-Media View from Capitol Hill” at http://www.dirksencenter.org/emd_audio/index.htm.
We have created a searchable index to the PDF documents of Joint Senate-House Republican Leadership Minutes, 1961-68.
Find the index to the Joint Senate-House Republican Leadership Minutes, 1961-68 at: http://www.dirksencenter.org/guides_emd/Minutes 1961-1968/index.htm
- * NEW * VIDEO: U.S. LONG-TERM FISCAL HEALTH
C-SPAN officially launched the C-SPAN Video Library, a free, searchable online collection of every C-SPAN program aired since 1987. This means teachers will now have access to over 160,000 hours of searchable digital video. You will also be able to create your own embeddable clips for lessons and presentations in your classroom.
C-SPAN's Video Library easily equips teachers with thousands of free resources to create authentic learning experiences for students that deepen their understanding of U.S. and world history, the workings of governments, the role of the media, and current political events.
This month we will highlight a video where President Obama delivered remarks underscoring the importance of forging bipartisan consensus around recommendations to meaningfully improve our long-run fiscal health.
Find U.S. Long-Term Fiscal Health at: http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/293200-1
- CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH AWARD WINNERS
Congratulations to the following Congressional Research Awards winners for the 2010 round of competition:
- Richard A. Arenberg, A. Alfred Taubman Center for Public Policy, Brown University and Robert B. Dove, Patton Boggs LLP
Soul of the Senate: Defending the Filibuster, $3,500
- Matthew N. Beckmann, Department of Political Science, University of California, Irvine
Assessing Washington’s Arranged Marriage: Presidents and Their Party’s Congressional Leaders, $3,500
- Logan Dancey, Department of Political Science, University of Minnesota
Restoring Congressional Integrity: Legislative Responsiveness to Citizens’ Concerns, $1,133
- Christine DeGregorio, Department of Government, American University
Reconsidering the Power of Congressional Member Organizations in the U.S. House, 1992-2002 and 2007-2010, $3,500
- Matthew N. Green, Department of Politics, Catholic University of America
Influence Without Power: The Challenge of Minority Party Leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives, $2,250
- Justin Grimmer and Matthew Blackwell, Department of Government and Institute for Quantitative Social Science, Harvard University
It’s the flow, not the stock: Congressional Staff and Their Influence on Policy Outcomes, $2,000
- Laurel Harbridge, Department of Political Science, Northwestern University
Bipartisanship in a Polarized Congress, $3,500
- *Joshua C. Huder, Department of Political Science, University of Florida
Cycles of Opposition: Reform Politics and Congressional Development, 1878-2009, $3,500
- Jeffrey A. Jenkins, Department of Politics, University of Virginia
Investigating the Determinants of Landmark Economic Legislation, $3,500
- *Joshua M. Ryan, Political Science Department, University of Colorado at Boulder
Interchamber Bargaining Processes and Institutions, $3,500
- D.E. “Betsy” Sinclair, Department of Political Science, University of Chicago
Socializing in Session: The Social Foundations of Legislative Organization, $3,500
- Katherine Tate, Department of Political Science, University of California, Irvine
Black Legislative Behavior from Carter to Obama, $3,500
* PhD candidate
Learn more about these projects and others at: http://www.dirksencenter.org/print_grants_CRAs.htm#Grntrecipient00
For more information about how to submit a Congressional Research Awards grant proposal, please visit: http://www.dirksencenter.org/print_grants_CRAs.htm.
Since 1978, The Center has awarded $813,071 to support 390 research projects. The Dirksen Congressional Center intends to award grants in 2010, with February 1 the deadline for proposals. If you have questions about the Congressional Research Awards, contact Frank Mackaman.
- * NEW * THE ROAD TO THE CAPITOL, PRINCIPLES OF THE U.S. CONSTITUTION, & TRIVIA
* THE ROAD TO THE CAPITOL *
The National Student and Parent Mock Election, the nation’s oldest, largest, and most successful voter-education project, has created this civic education game. In The Road to the Capitol, the player role-plays a candidate running for Congress.
Find The Road to the Capitol at: http://www.congressforkids.net/games/Elections_campaign/2_campaign.htm
* PRINCIPLES OF THE U.S. CONSTITUTION *
Learning new things is one of the joys of life, but it is even better if you can retain that knowledge. When it comes right down to it, we will remember far more from our education than we think we do, and proving that is as easy as sitting down and solving a crossword puzzle like this one. Find Principles of the U.S. Constitution at: http://www.congressforkids.net/games/writingconstitution/principles_constitution.htm
* TRIVIA *
Who ran for President of the United States with the campaign slogan "A chicken in every pot and a car in every garage"?
- William McKinley
- Woodrow Wilson
- Herbert Hoover
- Calvin Coolidge
*Find the answer in next month's issue.
Answer to March 2010’s Fun, Facts, and Trivia: http://www.webcommunicator.org/classroomresources/funfactstrivia_ans0310.htm
- POSTSCRIPT INFORMATION
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