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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
- Winning A Seat: A Congressional Election Simulation
- *New* Lesson Plan: Greater Debate Issues #3 – Should Moral Principle Matter in Politics?
- *New* Lesson Plan: What Makes a Great Campaign Brochure?
- What High School Government Teachers Should Know about Congressional Elections
- *New* Editorial Cartoons
- *New* U.S. House of Representatives Oral Histories
- 2010 Winners: Robert H. Michel Special Project Grants
- *New* Campaign Game, U.S. Capitol Virtual Tour, Checks And Balances & Trivia
- Postscript Information
- PEOPLE WHO SERVED IN CONGRESS
Sketches of famous and not-so-famous Senators and Representatives
Jack, Summers Melville (1852-1945), a Representative from Pennsylvania; born in Summersville, Jefferson County, Pa., July 18, 1852; attended the public and private schools of Jefferson County and the Indiana Normal School (now State Teachers College) of Pennyslvania; taught school for six years; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1879 and commenced practice in Indiana, Pa.; district attorney for Indiana County 1884-1890; appointed member of the board of trustees of the Indiana Normal School in 1886 and by reappointment served more than forty years; chairman of the congressional conference for the twenty-first district in 1896; elected as a Republican to the Fifty-sixth and Fifty-seventh Congresses (March 4, 1899-March 3, 1903); was not a candidate for renomination in 1902; member of the congressional delegation sent to the Philippine Islands in 1901 to inquire into the advisability of establishing civil government; resumed the practice of law; delegate to the Republican National Convention at Chicago in 1908; died in Indiana, Pa., September 16, 1945; interment in the Oakland Cemetery, Indiana, Pa.
Source:
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African-Americans in Congress:
Image, D.W. Culp, ed. Twentieth Century Negro Literature (Naperville, IL: J.L. Nichols & Co., 1902) |
Murray, George Washington (1853-1926), (relative of James Enos Clyburn), a Representative from South Carolina; born near Rembert, Sumter County, S.C., September 22, 1853; attended the public schools and the University of South Carolina at Columbia; taught school for fifteen years; inspector of customs at the port of Charleston, S.C., 1890-1892; elected as a Republican to the Fifty-third Congress (March 4, 1893-March 3, 1895); successfully contested the election of William Elliott to the Fifty-fourth Congress and served from June 4, 1896, to March 3, 1897; engaged in the real estate business; moved to Chicago, Ill., in 1905 and engaged in literary pursuits and lecturing; delegate to several Republican National Conventions; died in Chicago, Ill., April 21, 1926; interment in Lincoln Cemetery.
Sources:
Black Americans in Congress: http://baic.house.gov/member-profiles/profile.html?intID=21
Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress: http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=M001106 |
Women in Congress:
Image Courtesy of the Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial Library, Washington, D.C. |
Graves, Dixie Bibb (1882-1965), a Senator from Alabama; born Dixie Bibb on a plantation near Montgomery, Montgomery County, Ala., July 26, 1882; attended the public schools; civic leader; trustee of Alabama Boys’ Industrial School, Birmingham, Ala.; president of the United Daughters of the Confederacy 1915-1917; active in the Women’s Christian Temperance Union, the Alabama Federation of Women’s Clubs, and the women’s suffrage movement; appointed on August 20, 1937, as a Democrat by her husband, Governor Bibb Graves, to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Hugo L. Black and served from August 20, 1937, until her resignation on January 10, 1938; was not a candidate for election to fill the vacancy; retired from public life; died in Montgomery, Ala., January 21, 1965; interment in Greenwood Cemetery.
Sources:
Women in Congress: http://womenincongress.house.gov/member-profiles/profile.html?intID=91
Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress: http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=G000391 |
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- CONGRESS DEFINED
Words and phrases that describe congressional processes
Gag Rule. A pejorative term for any type of special rule reported by the House Rules Committee that proposes to prohibit amendments to a measure or only permits amendments offered by the reporting committee.
Source: Congressional Quarterly’s American Congressional Dictionary, 3rd edition (2001):108.
- WINNING A SEAT: A CONGRESSIONAL ELECTION SIMULATION
Jeff Bernstein, Department of Political Science, Eastern Michigan University, designed this simulation of the congressional election process. By using this simulation, your students will gain a solid understanding of how congressional elections are conducted and of what determines who wins and loses these contests. By "playing along" with the election, they will learn to choose among different strategic options for the campaigns. And, because this is an active learning technique, students will learn the material better than if they were passively receiving this information in a lecture. They will become engaged in the game, fostering learning and retention.
The simulation is designed for high school and college and university students.
Find Winning A Seat: A Congressional Election Simulation at: http://www.congresslink.org/print_lp_electionsim_intro.htm
- * NEW LESSON PLAN * GREATER DEBATE ISSUES #3 – SHOULD MORAL PRINCIPLE MATTER IN POLITICS?
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, Greater Debate Issues #3 – Should Moral Principle Matter in Politics?
Many current issues are debated in government classes, issues that real representatives debate in Congress. Yet, there are larger or “greater” issues that deal with core ideas, philosophies or values behind American government that divide politicians or students of politics. In this lesson, the last of three, students will learn, read, and debate the merits of the separation of powers. Assignments for this debate will consist of (a) preview reading/journal, (b) reading and recording of points from a “yes” or “no” point of view, (c) meeting with an opposite point of view, recording notes, and discussing, and (d) post-reading journal. An all-class debate will occur for only some topics.
Find Greater Debate Issues #3 – Should Moral Principle Matter in Politics? at: http://www.congresslink.org/print_lp_greaterdebateissue3.htm
- * NEW LESSON PLAN * WHAT MAKES A GREAT CAMPAIGN BROCHURE?
This lesson invites students to compare and contrast the campaign brochures of two candidates for the U.S. Senate from Illinois in 1950 in order to (1) determine what elements make for an effective brochure (both content and design); (2) assess the relative effectiveness of the two examples; (3) understand what messages a campaign brochure intends to send; and (4) appreciate the similarities and differences between political campaigns of today and half a century ago.
Find this lesson, What Makes a Great Campaign Brochure, created by the staff of The Dirksen Congressional Center at: http://www.congresslink.org/print_lp_campaignbrochure.htm
- WHAT HIGH SCHOOL GOVERNMENT TEACHERS SHOULD KNOW ABOUT CONGRESSIONAL ELECTIONS
Being an incumbent is one of the greatest advantages in winning election to Congress. Political scientist Jeff Bernstein explains why incumbents win re-election at such an astounding rate and offers suggestions about how to teach the subject to high school and college students.
Find What High School Government Teachers Should Know about Congressional Elections at: http://www.congresslink.org/print_lp_electionsim_resources.htm#what
- * 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 148 cartoons posted!
- * NEW * U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ORAL HISTORIES
Beginning in 2004, the Office of the Clerk authorized the first oral history program for the U.S. House of Representatives. Created to make the rich heritage of the U.S. House of Representatives more accessible to Members, staff, scholars, and the general public, the program seeks to include interviews with a wide variety of House employees such as Member aides, committee staff, support staff, technical assistants, and family of Members. Select former Representatives also are interviewed. Interviews are conducted by the Office of History and Preservation (OHP).
The collection and preservation of the stories and experiences of people who have worked on Capitol Hill greatly contributes to the historical record of the U.S. House of Representatives. Detailed descriptions of legislative processes and procedures, personal and political anecdotes, and recollections about the evolving nature of the institution, represent a vital source of information about the inner workings of Congress.
As an example, watch the video -- Bill Goodwin: Recollections of the 1954 Shooting in the House Chamber – Part One -- http://oralhistory.clerk.house.gov/interviewee.html?name=goodwin-bill&view=media
As a House Page, Bill Goodwin witnessed one of the most violent events in congressional history on March 1, 1954, when four Puerto Rican Nationalists fired hand guns in the House Chamber injuring five Members. In this video clip, Goodwin discusses the tragic events and the response of the Pages and other House employees.
For more information about OHP’s oral history program contact the Office of History and Preservation at (202) 226-1300, or via email at: history@mail.house.gov.
- 2010 WINNERS: ROBERT H. MICHEL SPECIAL PROJECT GRANTS
Congratulations to our 2010 Robert H. Michel Special Project Grants winners!
2010 Scott A. Frisch and Sean Q. Kelly, California State University Channel Islands, “Pork: The Web Site.” Frisch and Kelly will create a multimedia website containing resources for students, teachers, researchers, the media, and the public aimed at increasing understanding of Congress and its power of the purse. The site will focus on congressional earmarks and the congressional appropriations process. This is a two-year commitment.
2010 Oxford University Press, pre-publication support for “Roll Call: A History of the United States Senate” by the late Neil MacNeil. As chief congressional correspondent for Time magazine, MacNeil had unique access to many of the major modern figures in the book—he was a good friend of Everett Dirksen and Lyndon Johnson, for example—and much of his information is drawn from his own archived reporter’s notebooks, in addition to standard historical research. The grant will assist the press in completing the manuscript and supplying footnotes.
The Dirksen Congressional Center announced the resumption of its special project funding, now named the Robert H. Michel Special Project Grants. Through these financial awards, The Center supports work to enhance understanding of the U.S. Congress. Individuals and organizations may apply for a Michel Special Project Grant by following the procedures outlined on our website.
The Michel Special Projects Grants are intended to fund work that advances the public understanding of the federal legislature through research and teaching. 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. IMPORTANT: The projects must have as their central focus the U.S. Congress. We particularly value innovative endeavors that have the potential to reach a broad audience.
Learn more about the Michel Special Project Grants by visiting: http://www.dirksencenter.org/print_grants_specialprojects.htm. The application process is simple and the requirements are minimal. We encourage you to apply!
- * NEW * CAMPAIGN GAME, U.S. CAPITOL VIRTUAL TOUR, CHECKS AND BALANCES & TRIVIA
* CAMPAIGN GAME *
Back a candidate and gain the support of the regions to win the Presidential Election. Find Campaign Game at: http://www.congressforkids.net/games/Elections_candatcon/2_candatconv.htm
* U.S. CAPITOL VIRTUAL TOUR *
U.S. Capitol Virtual Tour is an interactive, user-friendly, comprehensive and integrated multimedia tour of the U.S. Capitol. It includes panorama views and historical information about the rooms of the U.S. Capitol, as well as information about the objects found in those rooms. This tour will leave you with the feel of an actual visit to the U.S. Capitol and serves to provide a unique "Capitol" experience.
Find the U.S. Capitol Virtual Tour at: http://www.congressforkids.net/games/senate/2_senate.htm
* CHECKS AND BALANCES *
Uncle Sam, the word spy, wants you to take a minute and test your knowledge about checks and balances. 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: Checks and Balances at: http://www.congressforkids.net/wordspy/wspy_Constitution_checksandbalances.htm
* TRIVIA *
Congress can explicitly "abrogate," or limit, the Eleventh Amendment immunity of the state, but only when it passes laws pursuant to its authority under what other Constitutional provision?
- The Fourteenth Amendment, Section 5
- The Second Amendment, Section 8
- Article I, section 3, Clause 3
- The Nineteenth Amendment, Section 2
*Find the answer in next month's issue.
Answer to August 2010’s Fun, Facts, and Trivia: http://www.webcommunicator.org/classroomresources/funfactstrivia_ans0810.htm
- POSTSCRIPT INFORMATION
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