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.

** The Dirksen Center offers its deepest sympathy to the family of Gerald R. Ford, the 38th president of the United States, who died at the age of 93 on December 26, 2006. **

1. People Who Served in Congress
2. Congress Defined
3. Congress for Kids: Citizenship
4. Robert H. Michel Special Projects Grants
5. Everett Dirksen's Historical Collection
6. Do You Have a Lesson Plan Idea?
7. Trivia
8. Postscript Information



1. PEOPLE WHO SERVED IN CONGRESS
Sketches of famous and not-so-famous Senators and Representatives

Sam Rayburn (1882-1961), Texas legislator, congressman, and longtime Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, was born in Tennessee, on January 6, 1882. In 1887 the family moved to Fannin County, Texas. In 1906 Rayburn won a seat in the Texas House of Representatives; he was reelected to the state legislature in 1908 and 1910; in his third term he served as speaker of the House. In 1912 he was elected to the United States Congress as a Democrat from the Fourth Texas District. After the 1912 election Rayburn had no Republican opponent at any time during his lengthy congressional career.

Rayburn served more than forty-eight years consecutively, the longest record of service in the House ever established (at the time of his death in 1961). He became majority leader in the Seventy-fifth and Seventy-sixth congresses (1937-40) and in 1940 was elected speaker of the House to fill the unexpired term of Speaker William B. Bankhead. Rayburn continued as Speaker in every Democratically-controlled Congress from the Seventy-sixth through the Eighty-seventh (1940-61). During the two periods of Republican majorities in the House (1947-49 and 1953-55), he served as minority leader. Rayburn's congressional career spanned the legislatively active administrations of Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Harry S. Truman; Rayburn was a participant in the passage of most of the significant legislation of the first half of the twentieth century.

He died of cancer at age seventy-nine on November 16, 1961, and was buried in Bonham, Texas.

Source: http://www.famoustexans.com/samrayburn.htm

2. CONGRESS DEFINED
Words and phrases that describe congressional processes

Appropriation. Legislative language that permits a federal agency to incur obligations and make payments from the U.S. Treasury for specified purposes, usually within a set period. “Appropriation” also refers to the specific amount of money made available by such language.

The House of Representatives claims the exclusive right to originate appropriation bills—a claim the Senate denies in theory but accepts in practice.

Source: Congressional Quarterly’s American Congressional Dictionary, 3rd edition, ed. Walter Kravitz (Washington DC: CQ Press, 2001): 12.

3. CONGRESS FOR KIDS: CITIZENSHIP

What are we working on?

We are developing a new Congress for Kids interactive thread that will help teachers teach about, and students better understand, citizenship. Our goal for this new thread is to help students develop a strong commitment to lifelong involvement in their communities and encourage them to actively pursue agendas that lead to a stronger social foundation.

This citizenship thread will address individual responsibilities in three areas: (1) obedience to law, (2) the exercise of free choice, and (3) the importance of social responsibility that lies between. This thread will include interactive activities that are being developed so they can be approached in a simple or complex way and can be easily modified for use at various grade levels, fifth through ninth grade, but possibly even higher. Most of the activities will be designed to encourage group discussions in the classrooms and help students gain knowledge as they discover their own views and examine them for various perspectives. However, we don't want this new thread to "tell" the students what constitutes good or responsible citizenship. We believe these activities will help teachers draw out students' attitudes and values through debate, role–play, and discussion.

We will keep you posted in upcoming issues with further development.

4. ROBERT H. MICHEL SPECIAL PROJECTS GRANTS

The Center announced the resumption of its special project funding in November 2004, now named the Robert H. Michel Special Projects Grants. These financial awards will support work that advances the public understanding of the federal legislature through research and teaching.

The Center serves two primary audiences: scholars who conduct research about Congress and teachers who teach social studies, history, political science, and other subjects which relate to Congress.

The projects must have as their central focus, the U.S. Congress. The Center particularly values innovative endeavors that have the potential to reach a broad audience. Examples of eligible projects include conferences that bring together congressional scholars, the collection or publication of resources useful for research, efforts by teachers to develop creative ways to teach about Congress, and publications, especially those with appeal beyond academia.

Individuals and organizations may apply for a Michel Special Project Grant by following the procedures posted on The Dirksen Center website –– http://www.dirksencenter.org/print_grants_specialprojects.htm. We welcome your project idea and accept proposals at any time.

5. EVERETT DIRKSEN'S HISTORICAL COLLECTION

The Center has posted the guides to the following sections of the Dirksen papers:

Remarks and Releases, 1930–69
http://www.dirksencenter.org/guides_emd/RemarksReleases1930-69/intro.htm
The complete digitized guide to Dirksen's Remarks and Releases dated 1930–69. This series consists of three divisions: remarks, releases, and interviews; radio–television; and model statements. It includes drafts and transcripts of speeches, selected remarks in Congress, radio and television interviews, Republican leadership press releases, weekly constituent newsletters, transcripts of Your Senator Reports, and Dirksen's newspaper column.

Notebooks, 1932–69
http://www.dirksencenter.org/guides_emd/Notebooks1932-69/intro.htm
This series includes more than 12,500 pages of outlines and texts, references materials, and other documents collected by Dirksen and kept in a set of personal notebooks.

Politics, 1928–69
http://www.dirksencenter.org/guides_emd/Politics1928-69/intro.htm
Correspondence and material related to Dirksen's campaigns and political activities, including his participation in Republican National Conventions.

Working Papers, 1857–1969
http://www.dirksencenter.org/guides_emd/Workingpapers1857-69/intro.htm
Dirksen and his staff used the Working Papers series as a topically arranged reference file for legislation, selected constituent cases, speeches, and other matters. The bulk contains information concerning legislation between 1964 and 1969. Topics receiving relatively substantial attention include civil rights, foreign trade, Internal Revenue Code amendments, attempts to repeal Section 14(b) of the Taft-Hartley Act, Dirksen's prayer amendment and reapportionment amendment, and the activities of the Trading With the Enemy Act subcommittee.

6. DO YOU HAVE A LESSON PLAN IDEA?

The Dirksen Center currently offers a library of lessons posted on CongressLink –– http://www.congresslink.org/print_lp_contents.htm. We are seeking new lessons to publish and expand our library. The Center will pay up to $250 to teachers who submit approved lesson plans using CongressLink resources and features and who follow a few guidelines.

Example: Suppose we want to post a lesson plan that teaches about federalism or a type of government in which the power is divided between the national government and other governmental units using CongressLink resources and features. The learning objectives or skills could include:

(1) students will consider how the national government should relate to the states,
(2) students will explore the role played by different branches of government in shaping that relationship, and
(3) students will understand the political implications of changes in the federal structure.

While the Constitution addresses only the relationship between the federal government and the states, the American people are under multiple jurisdictions. Students could make conscious value judgments based on clearly defined criteria about these multiple jurisdictions.

As an example, take a look at this CongressLink lesson plan - Checks and Balances: The Line Item Veto -- http://www.congresslink.org/print_lp_lineitem.htm. In this lesson, students cite evidence from primary sources, constructing a position on the Line-Item Veto Amendment. While writing a persuasive letter to their Congress Member, demonstrating their knowledge, understanding, and mastery of the concepts of checks and balances, students will refer to facts and frequently asked questions such as "Do any forms of government in Federalism use the line-item veto?" -- http://www.congresslink.org/print_lp_lineitem.htm#faqs.

If you are interested in creating a lesson that teaches about federalism or have other lesson plan ideas, contact Frank Mackaman at: fmackaman@dirksencenter.org.

7. TRIVIA

Trivia: For most of its history, the U.S. Congress has been a largely white male affair. As the membership grows more diverse, test your wits about those who broke ground.

What was the first state to be simultaneously represented by two female senators?

A) Maine
B) California
C) Kansas
D) Washington

*Find the answer in next month's issue.

Answer to November's Fun, Facts, and Trivia: http://www.webcommunicator.org/classroom%20resources/funfactstrivia_ans1106.htm.

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