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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: Simulating Congressional Action in the Classroom
- *New* Editorial Cartoons
- *New* Dirksen’s Funeral Procession, Pekin, IL
- Congress in the Classroom 2009 A Success!
- Professional Development Program: U.S. Capitol Constitution Week
- *New* Creating the United States: Word Search - United States Constitution & Trivia
- Postscript Information
- PEOPLE WHO SERVED IN CONGRESS
Sketches of famous and not-so-famous Senators and Representatives
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Henry M. Teller (1830-1914) a Senator from Colorado; born in Granger, Allegany County, N.Y., May 23, 1830; attended Rushford and Alfred Academies in New York; taught school; studied law and was admitted to the bar in Binghamton, N.Y., in 1858; moved to Illinois in 1858 and to Colorado in 1861; major general of Colorado militia 1862-1864; involved in railroad and real estate development; upon the admission of Colorado as a State into the Union in 1876 was elected as a Republican to the United States Senate; reelected, and served from November 15, 1876, until his resignation on April 17, 1882, to accept a Cabinet position; chairman, Committee on Civil Service and Retrenchment (Forty-fifth Congress), Committee on Pensions (Forty-seventh Congress); appointed Secretary of the Interior in the Cabinet of President Chester Arthur 1882-1885; elected as a Republican to the United States Senate in 1885 and 1891, as a Silver Republican in 1897, and as a Democrat in 1903, and served from March 4, 1885, to March 3, 1909; declined to be a candidate for renomination; chairman, Committee on Mines and Mining (Forty-ninth Congress), Committee on Patents (Fiftieth through Fifty-second Congresses), Committee on Privileges and Elections (Fifty-second Congress), Committee on Claims (Fifty-fourth and Fifty-fifth Congresses), Committee on Private Land Claims (Fifty-sixth through Sixtieth Congresses); member of the United States Monetary Commission 1908-1912; engaged in the practice of law until his death in Denver, Colo., February 23, 1914; interment in Fairmount Cemetery.
Sources:
Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress: http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=T000116
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African-Americans in Congress:
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John Roy Lynch (1847-1939). A Representative from Mississippi; born near Vidalia, Concordia Parish, La., September 10, 1847; after his father’s death moved with his mother to Natchez, Miss., in 1863, where they were held as slaves; after emancipation engaged in photography and attended evening school; appointed by Governor Ames as a justice of the peace in 1869; member of the State house of representatives 1869-1873 and served the last term as speaker; delegate to the Republican National Conventions in 1872, 1884, 1888, 1892, and 1900; elected as a Republican to the Forty-third and Forty-fourth Congresses (March 4, 1873-March 3, 1877); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1876 to the Forty-fifth Congress; successfully contested the election of James R. Chalmers to the Forty-seventh Congress and served from April 29, 1882, to March 3, 1883; unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1882 to the Forty-eighth Congress; returned to his plantation in Adams County, Miss., and engaged in agricultural pursuits; chairman of the Republican State executive committee 1881-1889; member of the Republican National Committee for the State of Mississippi 1884-1889; temporary chairman of the Republican National Convention at Chicago in 1884; Fourth Auditor of the Treasury for the Navy Department under President Harrison 1889-1893; studied law; was admitted to the Mississippi bar in 1896; returned to Washington, D.C., in 1897, where he practiced his profession until 1898, when he was appointed a major and additional paymaster of Volunteers during the Spanish-American War by President William McKinley; was appointed by President McKinley as a paymaster in the Regular Army with the rank of captain in 1901; was promoted to major in 1906; retired from the Regular Army in 1911; moved to Chicago, Ill., in 1912 and continued the practice of his profession until his death in that city on November 2, 1939; interment in Arlington National Cemetery. Image courtesy of Library Congress
Sources:
Black Americans in Congress: http://baic.house.gov/member-profiles/profile.html?intID=8
Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress: http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=L000533
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Women in Congress:
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Ruth Bryan Owen (1885-1954) (later Mrs. Borge Rohde, daughter of William Jennings Bryan), a Representative from Florida; born in Jacksonville, Morgan County, Ill., October 2, 1885; educated in public schools, Lincoln, Nebr.; attended Monticello Seminary, Godfrey, Ill., and the University of Nebraska at Lincoln; member of the executive committee of the American Women’s War Relief Fund in London, England; war nurse in the Voluntary Aid Detachment in the Egypt-Palestine campaign, 1915-1918; lecturer, Lyceum and Chautauqua lecture circuit, Miami, Fla., 1918-1928; board of regents of the University of Miami, Miami, Fla., 1925-1928; author; elected as a Democrat to the Seventy-first and to the succeeding Congress (March 4, 1929-March 3, 1933); unsuccessful candidate for renomination to the Seventy-third Congress in 1932; delegate to the Interparliamentary Union at London, 1930; appointed Minister to Denmark (April 13, 1933-August 30, 1936); special assistant, Department of State, United Nations Conference, San Francisco, Calif., 1945; alternate delegate, United Nations General Assembly, 1949; member of the Advisory Board of the Federal Reformatory for Women, 1938-1954; member of the board of trustees of the Starr Commonwealth for Boys, 1941-1954; died on July 26, 1954, in Copenhagen, Denmark; interment in Ordrup Cemetery, Copenhagen, Denmark. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress.
Sources:
Women in Congress: http://womenincongress.house.gov/member-profiles/
Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress: http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=O000154
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CORRECTION: In last month’s entry for Henry Styles Bridges, we mistakenly noted that Bridges was named one of the five “most outstanding” former members of the Senate. He wasn’t (and isn’t). Bridges served on the committee that selected those members.
- CONGRESS DEFINED
Words and phrases that describe congressional processes
Extension of Remarks. An appendix to the daily Congressional Record that consists primarily of miscellaneous extraneous materials submitted by members. It often includes members’ statements not delivered on the floor, newspaper articles and editorials, praise for a member’s constituents, among other types of material. Materials may be placed in Extension of Remarks only by unanimous consent.
Source: Congressional Quarterly’s American Congressional Dictionary, 3rd edition (2001):97.
- * NEW * SIMULATING CONGRESSIONAL ACTION IN THE CLASSROOM
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 2009 participant, Dennis J. Duffy, Libertyville High School, Libertyville, Illinois, presented a lesson entitled, Simulating Congressional Action in the Classroom.
After completing this lesson, students will have a practical understanding of the congressional system of committees and floor action. Students also will have engaged directly in informal negotiations with fellow student-legislators in order to get legislation passed.
Find Simulating Congressional Action in the Classroom at: http://www.congresslink.org/print_lp_simulatecongaction.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 four new cartoons:
We now have a total of 88 cartoons posted!
- * NEW * DIRKSEN’S FUNERAL PROCESSION, PEKIN, IL
Thursday, September 11, 1969. Glendale Memorial Gardens, Pekin, Illinois. Everett McKinley Dirksen was buried today in his hometown. Several thousand mourners, most of them his neighbors and constituents, stood in tribute during the graveside services. Frank Look took his movie camera to the ceremony and recorded, from some distance, the arrival of the hearse and the procession to the gravesite.
The clip shows troops of the 5th Army who held honor guard positions along the fence and Route 9, bordering the cemetery. The ceremony itself was brief, only 15 minutes—the recording does not depict the service. Three ministers read short prayers. The Rev. Edward L.R. Elson, chaplain of the Senate, said in his eulogy, “The last march has ended. A mighty man of God has answered his last roll call. His battles are all fought, his victories all won.”
An estimated 10,000 people watched the funeral procession proceed the 15 miles from the Peoria airport, south on Route 24, through Pekin on Route 9, to the cemetery on the east side of town where more than 6,000 stood in waiting. Among the dignitaries accompanying the procession were Vice President Spiro Agnew, five members of President Richard Nixon’s cabinet, 42 U.S. senators, and 27 U.S. representatives. Dozens of state officials joined them, as did over 200 members of the press.
Frank Look’s film is the only known, surviving moving-image documentation of the event. His daughter, Pat Slack, donated a digitized version to The Center in June 2009.
Find the reproduced 2:56 minute clip at: http://www.dirksencenter.org/recordings/dirksen_funeral.htm
- CONGRESS IN THE CLASSROOM 2009 A SUCCESS!
The key element to The Dirksen Center’s national, award-winning education program, Congress in the Classroom, is the participation and collaboration among the teachers who attend the program.
Congress in the Classroom is dedicated to the exchange of ideas and information on teaching about Congress. Although the program featured a variety of sessions, the 2009 program focused on two themes: (1) developments in the 111th Congress, and (2) new resources for teaching about Congress.
Read what our 2009 participants had to say about the program at: http://www.dirksencenter.org/print_programs_CongressClassroom.htm#say
- PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM: U.S. CAPITOL CONSTITUTION WEEK
Recommended for Middle and High School Teachers
Dates Offered:
Wednesday, September 16, 4 - 7 p.m.
Thursday, September 17, 4 - 7 p.m.
Monday, September 21, 4 -7 p.m.
Spend an afternoon at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center learning about the U.S. Constitution and the establishment of Congress and the Capitol. The Visitor Center will partner with the Library of Congress and the National Archives to host this special Constitution Week event.
Join us for a tour of the Visitor Center’s exhibition, E Pluribus Unum, Out of Many One; see the inspiring Orientation film; engage in lively discussions with our historians and curators about Congress and the Constitution; and participate in hands-on activities highlighting newly-developed educational resources.
Each three-hour session is designed to provide middle and high school educators with teaching tools to increase students’ knowledge and understanding of the Constitution.
The sessions are free. Each session is limited to 50 participants. It is recommended that you RSVP early to cvceducation@aoc.gov. Please include your name, the name of your school, grade level, email address, and a daytime phone number. The Capitol Visitor Center is below the East Plaza of the Capitol at First Street and East Capitol Street, NE., Washington, DC.
For more information about the Visitor Center, including directions, visit their website at www.visitthecapitol.gov.
- CREATING THE UNITED STATES: WORD SEARCH - UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION
Find words that relate to a founding document of the United States, the United States Constitution. Note: You need Flash 9 to use this interactive activity.
Find Creating the United States: Word Search – United States Constitution at: http://www.congressforkids.net/games/Constitution_workbegins/2_workbegins.htm
Word Spy!
Match the word(s) in the left-hand column to complete the questions or statements in the right-hand column. Check your answers.
Find Word Spy: Writing the Constitution at: http://www.congressforkids.net/wordspy/wspy_Constitution_writingconstitution.htm
Trivia: Which man put the ideas of the Constitution into actual words?
- James Madison
- Alexander Hamilton
- Roger Sherman
- Gouverneur Morris
*Find the answer in next month's issue.
Answer to July 2009’s Fun, Facts, and Trivia: http://www.webcommunicator.org/classroomresources/funfactstrivia_ans0709.htm
- POSTSCRIPT INFORMATION
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