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1915

1915

1915 (MCMXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar).

Events


- January 12 - The Rocky Mountain National Park is established by an act of the U.S. Congress.
- January 12 - United States House of Representatives rejects proposal to give women the right to vote.
- January 13 – An earthquake (6.8 in Richter scale) in Avezzano, Italy - 32.610 dead
- January 19 - George Claude patents the neon discharge tube for use in advertising.
- January 19 - German zeppelins bomb the cities of Great Yarmouth and King's Lynn in the United Kingdom for the first time, killing more than 20.
- January 21 - Kiwanis International is founded in Detroit, Michigan.
- January 27 - United States Marines occupy Haiti.
- January 27 - Chinese president Yuan Shikai declares himself Emperor
- January 28 - An act of the U.S. Congress creates the United States Coast Guard.
- January 31 - World War I: Germany uses poison gas against Russians.
- February 8 - The controversial film The Birth of a Nation by D.W. Griffith premieres (Los Angeles, California).
- February 12 - In Washington, DC the first stone of the Lincoln Memorial is put into place.
- March 3 - NACA, the predecessor of NASA, is founded.
- March 14 - World War I: Off the coast of Chile, the Royal Navy sinks the German battleship SMS Dresden.
- March 14 - Britain, France and Russia agree to give Constantinople and the Bosporus to Russia in case of victory (the treaty is later nullified by the Bolshevik revolution)
- March 18 - World War I: British attack on the Dardanelles fails.
- March 19 - Pluto is photographed for the first time but was not recognized as a planet.
- March 25 - US submarine F-4 sinks off Hawaii - 21 dead
- March 28 - The first Roman Catholic Liturgy is celebrated by Archbishop John Ireland at the newly consecrated Cathedral of Saint Paul in Saint Paul.
- April 13 - Mexican Revolution - Pancho Villa's attack against Alvaro Obregon's troops in Celaya. Charge of Villa's troops is no match against Obregon's barbed wire and machineguns
- April 22 - World War I: Second Battle of Ypres - German troops introduce poison gas at Ypres, Belgium.
- April 24 - Turkish troops attack the Armenian region of Van, starting the Armenian Genocide. In Constantinople, Turkish officers round up 300 ethnically Armenian intellectuals and execute them
- April 25 - The Anzac tradition begins during World War I with a landing at Gallipoli on the Turkish coast.
- April 30 - Australian submarine AE2 sunk in Sea of Marmora.
- May 3 - John McCrae writes In Flanders Fields
- May 7 - World War I: The RMS Lusitania is sunk by a German U-boat killing 1,198.
- May 9 - World War I: Second Battle of Artois - German and French forces fight.
- May 17 - The last purely Liberal government in the United Kingdom ends when Prime Minister Herbert Henry Asquith forms an all party coalition.
- May 22 - Quintinshill railway disaster, Scotland, UK. 200 killed.
- May 23 - World War I: Italy joins the Allies after they declare war on Austria-Hungary.
- June 3 - Troops of Obregon and Villa clash at León. Obregon loses his right arm in grenade attack but Villa is decisively defeated
- June 9 - U.S. Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan resigns over a disagreement regarding his nation's handling of the RMS Lusitania sinking.
- June 16 - Foundation of the British Women's Institute
- June 29 – Roger Casement is sentenced to be hanged for treason
- July 24 - The steamer Eastland capsizes in central Chicago, Illinois, with the loss of 845 lives.
- August 5 – 23 - hurricane over Galveston and New Orleans – 275 dead
- August 6 - World War I: Battle of Sari Bair begins - The Allies mount a diversionary attack timed to coincide with a major Allied landing of reinforcements at Suvla Bay.
- August 16 - The Entente promises the Kingdom of Serbia, should victory be achieved over Austro-Hungary and it's allied Central Powers, the territories of Baranja, Srem and Slavonia from the Cisleithanian part of the Dual Monarchy; Bosnia and Herzegovina; and eastern 2/3 of Dalmatia (from the river of Krka to Bar).
- August 17 - Jewish American Leo Frank is lynched for the alleged murder of a 13-year-old girl in Atlanta, Georgia.
- September 6 - The first prototype tank is tested for the British Army for the first time.
- September 7 - Former cartoonist John B. Gruelle is given a patent for his Raggedy Ann doll.
- October 12 - World War I: British nurse Edith Cavell is executed by a German firing squad for helping Allied soldiers escape from Belgium.
- October 19 - US recognizes Mexican government of Victoriano Carranza de facto (not de jure until 1917)
- October 27 - William Morris Hughes becomes 7th Prime Minister of Australia.
- November 25 - The theory of general relativity is formulated.
- December 26 - Irish Republican Brotherhood Military Council decides to stage a rising on Easter Sunday 1916.

Unknown dates


- Alfred Wegener proposes the theory of Pangea.
- Emory College is rechartered as Emory University, and plans to move its main campus from Oxford, Georgia to Atlanta.
- U.S. recognizes government of President Venustiano Carranza of Mexico.
- Lord Beaverbrook buys the London Daily Express.
- Automobile speed record of 102.6 m.p.h. set at Sheepshead Bay, N.Y.. by Gil Anderson driving a Stutz.
- The first stop sign appears in Detroit, Michigan.
- Female suffrage in Denmark and Iceland
- Henri Désiré Landru begins his serial kills
- Typhoid Mary isolated

Ongoing events


- World War I (1914-1918)
- Armenian Genocide (1915-1918)
- Assyrian Genocide (1914-1922)

Births

January


- January 5 - Arthur H. Robinson, American geographer and cartographer (d. 2004)
- January 14 - Mark Goodson, American television game show producer (d. 1992)
- January 20 - Ghulam Ishaq Khan, President of Pakistan
- January 23 - Arthur Lewis, British economist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1991)
- January 24 - Robert Motherwell, American painter (d. 1991)
- January 30 - Joachim Peiper, German SS officer (d. 1976)
- January 31 - Alan Lomax, American folklorist and musicologist (d. 2002)
- January 31 - Thomas Merton, American monk and author (d. 1968)

February


- February 1 - Artur London, Czech statesman (d. 1986)
- February 1 - Sir Stanley Matthews, English footballer (d. 2000)
- February 2 - Khushwant Singh, Indian writer
- February 4 - Sir Norman Wisdom, English comedian, singer, and actor
- February 5 - Robert Hofstadter, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1990)
- February 16 - Jim O'Hora, American college football coach, (d. 2005)
- February 28 - Peter Medawar, Brazilian-born scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1987)

March


- March 9 - John Edgar "Johnnie" Johnson, English WW2 pilot (d. 2001)
- March 10 - Harry Bertoia, Italian artist and designer (d. 1978)
- March 11 - Vijay Hazare, Indian cricketer (d. 2004)
- March 14 - Alexander Brott, Canadian conductor and composer (d. 2005)
- March 20 - Sviatoslav Richter, Ukrainian born Soviet pianist (d. 1997)
- March 23 - Vasily Zaitsev, Soviet sniper, World War II hero (d. 1991).
- March 30 - Arsenio Erico, Paraguayan footballer in Argentina (d. 1977)
- March 31 - Albert Hourani, English Middle Eastern historian (d. 1993)

April


- April 4 - Muddy Waters, American blues musician (d. 1983)
- April 7 - Billie Holiday, American jazz and blues singer (d. 1959)
- April 21 - Anthony Quinn, Mexican actor (d. 2001)

May


- May 1 - Krystyna Skarbek, Polish-born heroine of World War II (d. 1952)
- May 1 - Archie Williams, American athlete (d. 1993)
- May 2 - Doris Fisher, American singer and songwriter (d. 2003)
- May 5 - Alice Faye, American entertainer (d. 1998)
- May 6 - Orson Welles, American film director (d. 1985)
- May 10 - Denis Thatcher, husband of Margaret Thatcher (d. 2003)
- May 15 - Paul Samuelson, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate
- May 20 - Moshe Dayan, Israeli military leader and politician (d. 1981)
- May 26 - Sam Edwards, American actor (d. 2004)
- May 29 - Karl Münchinger, German conductor (d. 1990)

June


- June 1 - John Randolph, American actor (d. 2004)
- June 10 - Saul Bellow, Canadian-born writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2005)
- June 15 - Thomas Huckle Weller, American virologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- June 17 - Karl Targownik, Hungarian psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor (d. 1996)
- June 24 - Sir Fred Hoyle, British astronomer (d. 2001)

July-August


- July 28 - Charles Townes, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- August 22 - Hugh Paddick, British actor (d. 2000)
- August 27 - Norman F. Ramsey, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate

September-October


- September 23 - Clifford Shull, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2001)
- September 30 - Lester Maddox, Governor of Georgia (d. 2003)
- October 13 - Terry Frost, English artist (d. 2003)
- October 9 - Clifford M. Hardin, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture
- October 17 - Arthur Miller, American playwright (d. 2005)
- October 24 - Bob Kane, American comic book creator, Creator of Batman (d. 1998)
- October 24 - Tito Gobbi, Italian baritone (d. 1984)
- October 29 - William Berenberg, American physician (d. 2005)

November


- November 9 - Sargent Shriver, American politician
- November 11 - William Proxmire, American politician
- November 12 - Roland Barthes, French philosopher and literary critic (d. 1980)
- November 14 - Martha Tilton, Britih actress
- November 19 - Earl Wilbur Sutherland Jr., American physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1974)
- November 25 - Augusto Pinochet, President of Chile
- November 30 - Brownie McGhee, American musician (d. 1996)
- November 30 - Henry Taube, Canadian-born chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2005)

December


- December 7 - Eli Wallach, American actor
- December 8 - Ernest Lehman American screenwriter (d. 2005)
- December 9 - Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, German soprano
- December 12 - Frank Sinatra, American entertainer (d. 1998)
- December 19 - Edith Piaf, French singer (d. 1963)
- December 27 - Gyula Zsengellér, Hungarian footballer

Deaths


- January 15 - Mary Slessor, Scottish Christian missionary (b. 1848)
- February 5 - Ross Barnes, baseball player (b. 1850)
- March 31 - Wyndham Halswelle, Scottish runner (b. 1882)
- April 16 - Nelson W. Aldrich, Senator from Rhode Island (b. 1841)
- April 23 - Rupert Brooke, English poet (b. 1887)
- July 16 - Ellen G. White, American prophetess, co-founder of Seventh-Day Adventism (b. 1827)
- August 20 - Paul Ehrlich, German scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1854)
- August 26 - John Bunny American silent film comedian (b. 1863)
- September 9 - Albert Spalding, baseball player and sporting goods manufacturer (b. 1850)
- September 13 - Andrew L. Harris, American Civil War hero and Governor of Ohio (b. 1835)
- October 12 - Charles Sorley, British poet (b. 1895)
- November 15 - Booker T. Washington, African-American educator (b. 1856)

Marriages


- January 20 - Richard E. Byrd & Marie Donaldson
- April 27 - Bert Wheeler & Margaret Grae
- June 26 - T.S. Eliot & Vivienne Haigh-Wood
- August 11 - Buck Jones & Odelle Osborne
- August 29 - Julian Reed & Mrs. Mary Darcey Goodwin
- September 21 - Averell Harriman & Kitty Lawrence
- September 22 - Siegfried Wagner & Winifred Wagner
- October 21 - Graciliano Ramos & Maria Augusta de Barros
- December 5 - Kurt Schwitters & Helma Fischer
- December 12 - Mae Busch & Francis McDonald
- December 17 - Benito Mussolini & Donna Rachele Guidi
- December 18 - Paul Hoffman & Dorothy Brown
- December 18 - Woodrow Wilson & Edith Bolling Galt

Nobel Prizes


- Chemistry - Richard Willstätter
- Literature - Romain Rolland
- Medicine - not awarded
- Peace - not awarded
- Physics - William Henry Bragg and William Lawrence Bragg Category:1915 ---- ko:1915년 ms:1915 ja:1915年 simple:1915 th:พ.ศ. 2458

Common year starting on Friday

This is the calendar for any common year starting on Friday (dominical letter C), for example, 2010. (A common year is a year with 365 days—in other words, not a leap year.)
Millennium Century Year
2nd Millennium: 19th century: 1802 1813 1819 1830 1841 1847 1858 1869 1875 1886 1897
2nd Millennium: 20th century: 1909 1915 1926 1937 1943 1954 1965 1971 1982 1993 1999
3rd Millennium: 21st century: 2010 2021 2027 2038 2049 2055 2066 2077 2083 2094
3rd Millennium: 22nd century: 2100 2106 2117 2123 2134 2145 2151 2162 2173 2179 2190
Category:FridayCategory:Weeksko:금요일로 시작하는 평년th:ปีปกติสุรทินที่วันแรกเป็นวันศุกร์

January 12

January 12 is the 12th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 353 days remaining (354 in leap years).

Events


- 1528 - Gustav I of Sweden crowned king of Sweden.
- 1592 - Titus Andronicus first staged at the Rose Theatre.
- 1773 - The first public Colonial American museum opens in Charleston, South Carolina.
- 1777 - Mission Santa Clara de Asís is founded in what is now Santa Clara, California.
- 1838 - In order to avoid anti-Mormon.persecution, Joseph Smith, Jr. and his followers leave Ohio for Missouri.
- 1866 - Royal Aeronautical Society is formed in London.
- 1872 - Yohannes IV is crowned Emperor of Ethiopia in Axum, the first imperial coronation in that city in over 200 years.
- 1875 - Kwang-su becomes emperor of China.
- 1896 - H. L. Smith takes the first x-ray photograph.
- 1898 - Ito Hirobumi begins his third term as Prime Minister of Japan.
- 1908 - A long-distance radio message is sent from the Eiffel Tower for the first time.
- 1915 - The Rocky Mountain National Park is formed by an act of U.S. Congress.
  - United States House of Representatives rejects proposal to give women the right to vote.
- 1926 - Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll premiere their radio program Sam 'n' Henry, a precursor to Amos 'n' Andy; possibly the first situation comedy.
- 1932 - Hattie W. Caraway becomes the first woman elected to the United States Senate.
- 1940 - World War II: Russia bombs cities in Finland.
- 1942 - PresidentFranklin Roosevelt creates the National War Labor Board.
- 1945 - World War II: The Soviets begin a large offensive in Eastern Europe against the Nazis.
- 1964 - Rebels in Zanzibar begin a revolt and later proclaim a republic.
- 1966 - Lyndon B. Johnson states that the United States should stay in South Vietnam until Communist aggression there is ended.
  - Batman the TV series debuts on ABC.
- 1969 - Super Bowl III: New York Jets upset the Baltimore Colts, 16-7.
  - Hard rock band Led Zeppelin release their eponymous first album.
- 1970 - Biafra capitulates, ending the Nigerian civil war.
- 1971 - All in the Family debuts on CBS.
  - Harrisburg Six: The Reverend Philip Berrigan and five others are indicted on charges of conspiring to kidnap Henry Kissinger and of plotting to blow up the heating tunnels of federal buildings in Washington, DC.
- 1976 - UN Security Council votes 11-1 to allow the Palestinian Liberation Organization to participate in a Security Council debate (without voting rights).
- 1986 - Space shuttle Columbia takes-off with the first Hispanic-American astronaut, Dr. Franklin R. Chang-Diaz.
- 1991 - Persian Gulf War: An act of the U.S. Congress authorizes the use of military force to drive Iraq out of Kuwait.
- 1992 - A new constitution, providing for freedom to form political parties, is approved by referendum in Mali.
- 1995 - Malcolm X's daughter, Qubilah Shabazz, is arrested for conspiring to kill Louis Farrakhan.
- 1998 - Nineteen European nations agree to forbid human cloning.
- 2005 - Deep Impact (space mission) launches from Cape Canaveral by a Delta 2 rocket.

Births

1562 to 1899


- 1562 - Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy (d. 1630)
- 1576 - Petrus Scriverius, Dutch writer (d. 1660)
- 1591 - Giuseppe Ribera, Spanish painter (d. 1652)
- 1628 - Charles Perrault, French folklorist (d. 1703)
- 1715 - Jacques Duphly, French composer (d. 1789)
- 1716 - Antonio de Ulloa, Spanish general and governor of Louisiana (d. 1795)
- 1723 - Samuel Langdon, American President of Harvard University (d. 1797)
- 1729 - Edmund Burke, Irish statesman and philosopher (d. 1797)
- 1737 - John Hancock, American statesman (d. 1793)
- 1746 - Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, Swiss pedagogue (d. 1827)
- 1751 - King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies (d. 1825)
- 1786 - Sir Robert Inglis, Bt, English politician (d. 1855)
- 1849 - Jean Béraud, French painter (d. 1935)
- 1856 - John Singer Sargent, American artist (d. 1925)
- 1863 - Swami Vivekananda, Indian guru (d. 1902)
- 1873 - Spiridon Louis, Greek runner (d. 1940)
- 1876 - Jack London, American author (d. 1916)
- 1876 - Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari, Italian composer (d. 1948)
- 1877 - Frank J. Corr, Mayor of Chicago (d. 1934)
- 1878 - Ferenc Molnár, Hungarian writer (d. 1952)
- 1879 - Ray Harroun, American race car driver (d. 1968)
- 1882 - Milton Sills, American actor (d. 1930)
- 1884 - Texas Guinan, American actress (d. 1933)
- 1892 - Mikhail Gurevich, Russian aircraft designer (d. 1976)
- 1893 - Hermann Göring, Nazi official (d. 1946)
- 1893 - Alfred Rosenberg, Nazi official (d. 1946)
- 1896 - Rex Ingram, Irish director and actor (d. 1950)
- 1899 - Paul Hermann Müller, Swiss chemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1965)

1900 to 1999


- 1902 - King Saud of Saudi Arabia (d. 1969)
- 1905 - Tex Ritter, American actor and singer (d. 1974)
- 1906 - Daniil Kharms, Russian playwright (d. 1942)
- 1907 - Patsy Kelly, American actress (d. 1981)
- 1907 - Sergei Korolev, Russian rocket scientist (d. 1966)
- 1908 - Jean Delannoy, French film director
- 1908 - Clement Hurd, American children's book illustrator (d. 1988)
- 1910 - Luise Rainer, German actress
- 1915 - Paul Jarrico, American writer (d. 1997)
- 1916 - Pieter Willem Botha, President of South Africa
- 1916 - Jay McShann, American musician
- 1920 - James L. Farmer, Jr., American civil rights activist (d. 1999)
- 1923 - Ira Hayes, American soldier
- 1925 - Scottie MacGregor, American actress
- 1926 - Ray Price, American singer
- 1928 - Ruth Brown, American singer
- 1930 - Tim Horton, Canadian hockey player and entrepreneur (d. 1974)
- 1930 - Glenn Yarborough, American singer and songwriter
- 1932 - Des O'Connor, British television presenter
- 1935 - Kreskin, mentalist
- 1937 - Shirley Eaton, British actress
- 1944 - Joe Frazier, American boxer
- 1946 - George Duke, American musician
- 1948 - Khalid Abdul Muhammed, American Nation of Islam spokesman (d. 2001)
- 1949 - Wayne Wang, Hong Kong-born film director
- 1950 - Sheila Jackson Lee, American politician
- 1951 - Kirstie Alley, American actress
- 1951 - Rush Limbaugh, American radio personality
- 1952 - Walter Mosley, American author
- 1954 - Howard Stern, American radio host
- 1955 - Rockne O'Bannon, writer and television producer
- 1957 - John Lasseter, American director, writer, and animator
- 1959 - Blixa Bargeld, German singer (Einstürzende Neubauten)
- 1959 - Per Gessle, Swedish songwriter
- 1960 - Oliver Platt, Canadian actor
- 1960 - Dominique Wilkins, American basketball player
- 1964 - Jeff Bezos, American entrepreneur
- 1966 - Rob Zombie, American musician, artist, and writer
- 1970 - Zack de la Rocha, American musician (Rage Against the Machine)
- 1970 - Raekwon, American rapper
- 1972 - Espen Knutsen, Norwegian hockey player
- 1974 - Melanie Chisholm, British singer
- 1974 - Tor Arne Hetland, Norwegian cross-country skiier
- 1997 - HAL 9000, Computer by Arthur C. Clarke

Deaths

1321 to 1899


- 1321 - Maria of Brabant, queen of Philip III of France (b. 1256)
- 1519 - Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1459)
- 1583 - Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alva, Governor of the Spanish Netherlands (b. 1508)
- 1665 - Pierre de Fermat, French mathematician and lawyer (b. 1601)
- 1674 - Giacomo Carissimi, Italian composer (b. 1605)
- 1705 - Luca Giordano, Italian artist (b. 1634)
- 1732 - John Horsley, British archaeologist
- 1735 - John Eccles, English composer (b. 1668)
- 1777 - Hugh Mercer, American Revolutionary War officer (mortally wounded in battle)
- 1781 - Richard Challoner, English Catholic prelate (b. 1691)
- 1817 - Juan Andres, Spanish Jesuit (b. 1740)

1900 to 1999


- 1943 - Jan Campert, Dutch journalist and writer (b. 1902)
- 1944 - Lance C. Wade, American pilot (b. 1915)
- 1960 - Nevil Shute, English writer (b. 1899)
- 1965 - Lorraine Hansberry, American writer (b. 1936)
- 1976 - Agatha Christie, English writer (b. 1890)
- 1983 - Nikolai Podgorny, President of the USSR (b. 1903)
- 1991 - Keye Luke, Chinese-born actor (b. 1904)
- 1997 - Charles B. Huggins, Canadian-born cancer researcher, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1901)
- 1999 - Betty Lou Gerson, American voice actress (b. 1914)

2000 onwards


- 2000 - Marc Davis, American animator (b. 1913)
- 2000 - Bobby Phills, American basketball player (b. 1969)
- 2001 - Affirmed, American racehorse (b. 1975)
- 2001 - William Hewlett, American engineer and businessman (b. 1913)
- 2002 - Stanley Unwin, South African comedian (b. 1911)
- 2002 - Cyrus Vance, U.S. Secretary of State (b. 1917)
- 2003 - Kinji Fukasaku, Japanese director (b. 1930)
- 2003 - Leopoldo Galtieri, dictator of Argentina (b. 1926)
- 2003 - Maurice Gibb, British singer, songwriter, and musician (Bee Gees) (b. 1949)
- 2005 - Amrish Puri, Indian actor (b. 1932)
- 2005 - Edmund S. Valtman, Estonian-born cartoonist (b. 1914)

Holidays and observances


- Tanzania - Zanzibar Revolution Day
- Yennayer - Berber New Year

Fiction


- In 2001: A Space Odyssey, the fictional computer HAL becomes operational on January 12. In the movie by Stanley Kubrick HAL was "born" in 1992, while in the book by Arthur C. Clarke the same event occurs in 1997.
- In the television series The X-Files, the third season episode [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_X-Files_%28season_3%29#Syzygy SYZYGY], has two girls, Terri & Magi, both born on January 12, 1979. Strange astrological properties with 3+ celestial bodies in alignment gives them great power which they use to kill off several of their high school classmates on their birthday in 1996.
- In the USA's Monk (TV series), the 4th season episode of [http://www.usanetwork.com/series/monk/theshow/episodeguide/episodes/s4_andmrsmonk/index.html MR. MONK AND MRS. MONK (#T-2351)] indicates that Monk spilt something on January 12, 1999 during an earthquake. He stated "Earthquakes count, I don't make the rules."

External links


- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/12 BBC: On This Day] ---- January 11 - January 13 - December 12 - February 12 — listing of all daysko:1월 12일ms:12 Januarija:1月12日simple:January 12th:12 มกราคม

Congress of the United States

The Congress of the United States is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, comprising the House of Representatives and the Senate. The House of Representatives consists of 435 members, each of whom represents a congressional district and serves for a two-year term. House seats are apportioned among the states by population; in contrast, each state has two Senators, regardless of population. There are a total of 100 senators, who serve six-year terms. Both representatives and senators are directly elected by the people, but in some states the governor may appoint a temporary replacement when a Senate seat is vacant. The United States Constitution vests all legislative powers of the federal government in the Congress. The powers of Congress are limited to those enumerated in the Constitution; all other powers are reserved to the states and the people. The enumerated powers of Congress include the authority to regulate interstate and foreign commerce, to levy taxes, to establish federal courts inferior to the Supreme Court, to maintain the armed forces, and to declare war. The Constitution also includes the necessary-and-proper clause, which grants Congress the power to "make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers." The general purposes expressed in the Preamble have also been interpreted as authorizing Acts of Congress. The Senate is fully equal to the House of Representatives, and is not a "chamber of review," as is the case with the upper houses of the bicameral legislatures of many other nations. However, there are some special powers granted to one chamber only. On the one hand, the Senate's advice and consent is required for presidential appointments to high-level executive and judicial positions, and for the ratification of treaties. On the other hand, bills for raising revenue may originate in the House of Representatives alone. Both chambers meet in the Capitol in Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.]

History

The Congress of the United States derives from First Continental Congress, a meeting of representatives of twelve of Great Britain's seventeen North American colonies, in the autumn of 1774. On 4 July1776, the Second Continental Congress declared thirteen former colonies independent states, referring to them as the "United States of America." Under the Articles of Confederation, Congress was a unicameral body in which each state was equally represented, and in which each state had a veto over most action. The ineffectiveness of the federal government under the Articles led Congress to summon the Convention of 1787. Originally intended to revise the Articles of Confederation, it ended up writing a completely new constitution. James Madison called for a bicameral Congress: the lower house elected directly by the people, and the upper house elected by the lower house. The smaller states, however, favored a unicameral Congress with equal representation for the states. Eventually, a compromise was reached; the House of Representatives to provide proportional representation, whereas the Senate would provide equal representation. In order to preserve further the authority of the states, it was provided that state legislatures, rather than the people, would elect senators. The post Civil WarGilded Age was marked by Republican dominance of Congress. Senate elections were tainted by corruption, bribery and gridlock preventing the election of a senator. These issues were addressed by the Seventeenth Amendment (ratified in 1913), which provided for the direct election of senators. The early twentieth century witnessed the rise of party leadership in both houses of Congress. In the House of Representatives, the office of Speaker became extremely powerful. Leaders in the Senate were somewhat less powerful; individual senators still retained much of their influence. In particular, committee chairmen remained particularly strong in both houses until the reforms of the 1970s. During the long administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933–45), the Democratic Party controlled both houses of Congress. Both the Republicans and the Democrats were in control at various points during the next decade. However, after winning the elections of 1954, the Democratic Party was the majority party in both houses of Congress for most of the next forty years. The Republicans finally returned to a majority position, in both houses of Congress, in the election of 1994. The Republicans have controlled both houses since, except that the Democrats held the Senate briefly from 2001 to 2003.

Composition

2003 The House of Representatives consists of 435 members representing the fifty states. Seats are apportioned among the states on the basis of population, but every state, regardless of size, is guaranteed at least one seat. Representatives are directly elected by single-member constituencies known as congressional districts. Each state may draw the boundaries of its districts, subject to certain legal requirements; for instance, districts must have approximately equal populations. Representatives serve for two-year terms. The Senate consists of 100 members, two representing each state regardless of population. A senator is elected not by a district, but by a state as a whole. Senators serve for terms of six years each; the terms are staggered so that approximately one-third of the Senate seats are up for election every two years and so that both seats from a given state are never contested in the same general election (except for the first election of Senators upon admission of a new state). The District of Columbia and the territories are not represented in the Senate in any manner. The Constitution makes no provision for representation in Congress for citizens of the District of Columbia or the territories. Attempts to change the situation, regarding lack of District of Columbia voting rights, including the proposed District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment, have been unsuccessful. Currently, the District of Columbia and the territories of American Samoa, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands are represented by a single delegate each, while Puerto Rico elects a Resident Commissioner. Delegates and Resident Commissioners may participate in debates and vote in committees, but may not vote on the floor of the full House. Delegates serve for two-year terms; the Resident Commissioner serves for a four-year term. Generally, the Republican and Democratic parties choose their candidates in primary elections. Ballot access rules for independent and third partycandidates vary from state to state. General elections are held in every even-numbered year, on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November (Election Day). Special elections are held whenever vacancies arise; in the case of the Senate, however, the Governor of a state normally holds the power to temporarily appoint a senator until a special election can be held. In almost all cases, general and special elections are conducted by the first-past-the-post electoral system. Louisiana, however, uses runoff voting for congressional elections.

Officers

The Constitution authorizes the House of Representatives to elect its own Speaker. The Speaker's powers as presiding officer are extensive; he or she controls the course of debate and enforces the rules of the House. Normally, the Speaker does not personally preside over debates; instead, the task is delegated to other members. The Speaker is also the head of the majority party, outranking the Majority Leader. The Vice President of the United States is ex officio the President of the Senate; he or she has no vote except in the case of a tie. The Senate also elects a President pro tempore, or "temporary President," to preside when the Vice President is absent. The President pro tempore, by custom, is the most senior senator of the majority party. Neither the Vice President nor the President pro tempore regularly presides; instead, the duty is performed by other senators. The powers of the President pro tempore are much less extensive than those of the Speaker. He or she does not head the majority party in the Senate; rather, the Majority Leader is the full head of the Senate majority party.

Women, ethnic and racial minorities

Congress has historically not reflected the full diversity of the United States, despite the fact that the Constitution has never excluded persons from membership in Congress on the basis of race, ethnicity, or sex. The early Congresses were composed largely of upper-class White men. This changed briefly during the post-Civil War era of Reconstruction. The passage of the 13th and 14th Amendments expanded suffrage to former slaves. This, combined with the temporary exclusion of former members of the government of the Confederate States of America, permitted a number of African Americans to win seats. This movement reversed when Reconstruction ended and Southern states began disenfranchising blacks through the use of Jim Crow laws. During the remainder of the 19th century, and into the 20th century, racial, economic, and ethnic prejudice in the rest of the country largely kept out non-Protestants and the new waves of immigrants from southern Europe. This slowly began to change in the 20th century as these groups gained more political clout. The Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s60s again enfranchised African-Americans, who gained more seats as a consequence. Jeannette Rankin was the first woman elected to Congress, in 1916. Women could not vote or be elected in most of the United States until the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified in 1920. Rebecca Felton was the first woman to become a Senator in 1922, when she was appointed to fill a vacancy left by Georgia Senator Thomas E. Watson. As of 2005, there are 69 women serving the U.S. House and 14 in the U.S. Senate. This is the highest number of women to hold Congressional office at one time.

Restrictions on office holding

Article I, Section 6, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution prohibits members of Congress from also holding a federal civil office, thus differentiating the U.S. from parliamentary systems where cabinet members are drawn from and continue to sit in the legislature. The same section also prohibits members from being appointed to offices created, or granted increased salary, during their term. This is intended to prevent the creation of sinecure positions. The Constitution does not prohibit Representatives or Senators from simultaneously holding a state post. During the eighteenth century, some members of Congress did also serve as state legislators and other state officials. Such cross-federal dual office holding is now prohibited by state constitutions or statutes, or by general custom. It also does not explicitly prohibit a particular person from serving in both the House and Senate at the same time or, for that matter, from simultaneously holding two or more seats in the House of Representatives. However, no person has ever done so; a member holding a seat in one house has always resigned that seat before starting their term in the other house.

Powers

Section 8 of Article One of the United States Constitution sets forth the powers of Congress. The most important powers are the powers to levy and collect taxes, borrow money, regulate commerce with foreign nations and among the states, coin money, establish courts inferior to the Supreme Court, raise and maintain the armed forces, and declare war. There are additional powers other parts of the Constitution grant. For instance, Congress has the power to admit new states to the Union (Article Four). Other powers have been granted, or confirmed, by constitutional amendments. Congress has the power to break deadlocks in the electoral college. If no presidential candidate achieves an electoral majority, the House may elect the President from the three candidates with the highest numbers of electoral votes. Similarly, if no vice presidential candidate achieves an electoral majority, the Senate may elect the Vice President from the two candidates with the highest numbers of electoral votes. Several of the members of the Constitutional Convention expected that, while George Washington would be overwhelmingly elected as first President under the Constitution, selection by the House would be the normal method after him. The "necessary and proper clause" of the Constitution permits Congress to make "all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution" its other powers and the rest of the Constitution. The Supreme Court has interpreted the necessary and proper clause broadly, which has permitted the Congress wide authority. One of the foremost non-legislative functions of the Congress is the power to investigate and to oversee the executive branch. This power is usually delegated to committees—standing committees, special committees, select committees, or joint committees composed of members of both houses. Investigations are conducted to gather information on the need for future legislation, to test the effectiveness of laws already passed, and to inquire into the qualifications and performance of members and officials of the other branches. Committees may hold hearings, and, if necessary, compel individuals to testify by issuing subpoenas. Witnesses who refuse to testify may be cited for contempt of Congress, and those who testify falsely may be charged with perjury. Most committee hearings are open to the public; important hearings are widely reported in the mass media. Article I, Section 9 of the U.S. Constitution places certain limits of congressional authority. For instance, Congress may not suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus (except in extreme cases of rebellion or invasion), pass bills of attainder or ex post facto laws, or grant titles of nobility. Several other restrictions are specified by constitutional amendments, especially the Bill of Rights. The last clause of the Bill of Rights, the Tenth Amendment, provides that "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."

Checks and balances

The constitution provides certain checks and balances among the three branches of the federal government. The influence of Congress on the presidency has varied from one period to another; it depends largely on the leadership and the political influence of the President. The authors of the Constitution expected the greater power to lie with Congress and that is one reason they are described in Article One. Under the first half-dozen Presidents, power seems to have been evenly divided between the President and Congress, in part because early Presidents largely restricted their vetoes to claims of unconstitutionality. Andrew Jackson (1829-37) dominated his Congresses; his successors were weaker men (excluding Abraham Lincoln (1861-65), and perhaps James K. Polk (1845-49) and Martin van Buren (1837-41)). Senators ruled, including Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, John C. Calhoun, Thomas Hart Benton, Stephen Douglas, and Thaddeus Stevens. The impeachment of Andrew Johnson completed this trend, making the presidency much less powerful than Congress. During the late nineteenth century, President Grover Cleveland aggressively attempted to restore the executive branch's power, vetoing over four hundred bills during his first term. The 20th and 21st centuries have seen the rise of the power of the Presidency under Theodore Roosevelt (1901-09), Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-45), Richard Nixon (1969-74), Ronald Reagan (1981-89), and George W. Bush (2001–) (see Imperial Presidency). In recent years, Congress has restricted the powers of the President with laws such as the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 and the War Powers Resolution; nevertheless, the Presidency remains considerably more powerful than during the nineteenth century. The Constitution empowers the House of Representatives to impeach federal officials (both executive and judicial) for "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors." The Senate is constitutionally empowered to try all impeachments. A simple majority in the House is required to impeach an official; however, a two-thirds majority in the Senate is required for conviction. A convicted official is automatically removed from office; in addition, the Senate may stipulate that the defendant be banned from holding office in the future. Impeachment proceedings may not inflict more than this; however, the party may face criminal penalties in a normal court of law. In the history of the United States, the House of Representatives has impeached sixteen officials, of whom seven were convicted. (Another resigned before the Senate could complete the trial). Only two Presidents of the United States have ever been impeached: Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1999. Both trials ended in acquittal; in Johnson's case, the Senate fell one vote short of the two-thirds majority required for conviction. The Constitution entrusts certain powers to the Senate alone. The President may only appoint Cabinetofficials, judges, and other high officers with the "advice and consent" of the Senate. The Senate confirms most presidential nominees, but rejections are not uncommon. Furthermore, treaties negotiated by the President must be ratified by a two-thirds majority vote in the Senate to take effect. The House of Representatives has no formal role in either the appointment of federal officials or the ratification of treaties. The Constitution does not explicitly state that the courts may exercise judicial review (the power to strike down laws on the grounds of unconstitutionality). However, the notion that courts could declare laws unconstitutional was accepted by several delegates; for example, Alexander Hamilton mentioned and expounded the doctrine in Federalist No. 78. In 1803, the Supreme Court, established judicial review of Federal legislation in Marbury v. Madison; Marbury made the particular holding, however, that Congress could not grant unconstitutional power to the Court itself—the general power of judicial review was not exercised until the Dred Scott decision of 1857.

Legislative procedure

1857

Term

Under the Twentieth Amendment, congressional terms begin at noon on January 3 of every odd-numbered year. It is conventional to refer to each Congress by the ordinal number of its term. Thus, the current Congress (whose term lasts from 2005 to 2007) is known as the "109th Congress"; the previous Congress (whose term lasted from 2003 to 2005) was the "108th Congress," and so forth. At the beginning of each new term, the entire House of Representatives and one-third of the Senate (those who were chosen in the election the previous November) are sworn in. The oath taken is provided by statute: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God." The House of Representatives also elects a Speaker to preside over debates. The President pro tempore of the Senate, by contrast, holds office continuously; normally, a new President pro tempore is only elected if the previous one retires, or if there is a change in the majority party. A term of Congress is divided into two "sessions," one for each year; Congress has occasionally also been called into an extra, (or special) session. (The Constitution requires Congress to meet at least once each year.) A new session commences on January 3 (or another date, if Congress so chooses) each year. Before the Twentieth Amendment, Congress met from the first Monday in December to April or May in the first session of their term (the "long session"); and from December to March 4 in the second "short session". (The new Congress would then meet for some days, for the inauguration, swearing in new members, and organization.) The Constitution forbids either house from meeting any place outside the Capitol, or from adjourning for more than three days, without the consent of the other house. The provision was intended to prevent one house from thwarting legislative business simply by refusing to meet. To avoid obtaining consent during long recesses, the House or Senate may sometimes hold pro forma meetings, sometimes only minutes long, every three days. The consent of both bodies is required for Congress's final adjournment, or adjournment sine die, at the end of each congressional session. If the two houses cannot agree on a date, the Constitution permits the President to settle the dispute.

Joint sessions

Joint Sessions of the United States Congress occur on special occasions that require a concurrent resolution from both House and Senate. These sessions include the counting of electoral votes following a Presidential election and the President's State of the Union address. Other meetings of both House and Senate are called Joint Meetings of Congress, held after unanimous consent agreements to recess and meet. Meetings of Congress for Presidential Inaugurations may also be Joint Sessions, if both House and Senate are in session at the time, otherwise they are formal joint gatherings. At some time during the first two months of each session, the President customarily delivers the State of the Union Address, a speech in which he or she assesses the situation of the country and outlines his or her legislative proposals for the congressional session. The speech is modeled on the Speech from the Throne given by the Britishmonarch, and is mandated by the Constitution of the United States. Thomas Jefferson discontinued the original practice of delivering the speech in person before both houses of Congress, deeming it too monarchical. Instead, Jefferson and his successors sent a written message to Congress each year. In 1913, President Woodrow Wilson reestablished the practice of personally attending to deliver the speech; few Presidents have deviated from this custom since. Joint Sessions and Joint Meetings are traditionally presided over by the Speaker of the House. However, the Constitution requires the President of the Senate to preside over the counting of electoral votes.

Bills and resolutions

A proposal may be introduced in Congress as a bill, a joint resolution, a concurrent resolution, or a simple resolution. Most legislative proposals are introduced as bills, but some are introduced as joint resolutions. There is little practical difference between the two, except that joint resolutions may include preambles but bills may not. Joint resolutions are the normal method used to propose a constitutional amendment or to declare war. On the other hand, concurrent resolutions (passed by both houses) and simple resolutions (passed by only one house) do not have the force of law. Instead, they serve to express the opinion of Congress, or to regulate procedure. Members of Congress often introduce legislation at the behest of lobbyists. Lobbyists advocate the passage (or rejection) of bills affecting the interest of a particular group (such as a corporation or a labor union). In many cases, the lobbyists write legislation and submit it to a member for introduction. Congressional lobbyists are legally required to be registered in a central database, and are employed by political organizations, corporations, state governments, foreign governments, and numerous other groups. In 2005, there are almost 35,000 registered Congressional lobbyists, representing a doubling since 2000. Some of the most prominent lobbyists are ex-members of Congress, others are family members of sitting members. As an example, Dennis Hastert, Tom DeLay, and Roy Blunt all have immediate family members who are (or were) lobbyists. Bills (and other proposals) may be introduced by any member of either house. However, the Constitution provides that: "All bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives." As a result, the Senate does not have the power to initiate bills imposing taxes. Furthermore, the House of Representatives holds that the Senate does not have the power to originate appropriation bills, or bills authorizing the expenditure of federal funds. Historically, the Senate has disputed the interpretation advocated by the House. However, whenever the Senate originates an appropriations bill, the House simply refuses to consider it, thereby settling the dispute in practice. Although it cannot originate revenue and appropriation bills, the Senate retains the power to amend or reject them. Each bill goes through several stages in each house; the first stage involves consideration by a committee. Most legislation is considered by standing committees, each of which has jurisdiction over a particular subject matter, such as Agriculture or Appropriations. The House has twenty standing committees; the Senate has sixteen. In some cases, bills may be sent to select committees (which tend to have more narrow jurisdictions than standing committees. Each standing and select committee is led by a chairman (who belongs to the majority party) and a ranking member (who belongs to the minority party). Committees are permitted to hold hearings and collect evidence when considering bills. They may also amend the bill, but the full house holds the power to accept or reject committee amendments. After considering and debating a measure, the committee votes on whether it wishes to report the measure to the full house. A decision not to report a bill amounts to a rejection of the proposal. Both houses provide for procedures under which the committee can be bypassed or overruled, but they are rarely used. If reported by the committee, the bill reaches the floor of the full house. The house may debate and amend the bill; the precise procedures used by the House of Representatives and the Senate differ. A final vote on the bill follows. Central party discipline is not as strong in Congress as it is in parliamentary systems, and in the Senate it is weaker than in the House. However, the leadership does have certain powers to sway reluctant legistators to vote with the party. Party leaders derive most of their powers from the ability to fundraise, to control the flow of legislation, and to assign desireable positions; a rebel Congressman may be threatened with a cutoff of funds for his/her campaign, a reduction of pork for his/her district, thwarting of his/her pet legislation, and/or denial of a future committee chairmanship. The party leadership may use the "catch and release" strategy in order to ensure the passage of important legislation with the support of reluctant members. The leaders "catch" a member, pressuring him or her to vote in favor of the legislation even if it is unpopular in the member's constituency. Then, if the bill has sufficient support to pass anyway, the member may be "released," that is, permitted to vote as he or she pleases. Hence, members may avoid alienating influential special interest groups, while remaining loyal to the party. Once a bill is approved by one house, it is sent to the other, which may pass, reject, or amend it. In order for the bill to become law, both houses must agree to identical versions of the bill. If the second house amends the bill, then the differences between the two versions must be reconciled in a conference committee, an ad hoc committee that includes both senators and representatives. In many cases, conference committees have introduced substantial changes to bills and added unrequested spending, significantly departing from both the House and Senate versions. President Ronald Reagan once quipped, "If an orange and an apple went into conference consultations, it might come out a pear." If both houses agree to the version reported by the conference committee, the bill passes; otherwise, it fails. After passage by both houses, a bill is submitted to the President. The President may choose to sign the bill, thereby making it law. The President may also choose to veto the bill, returning it to Congress with his or her objections. In such a case, the bill only becomes law if each house of Congress votes to override the veto with a two-thirds majority. Finally, the President may choose to take no action, neither signing nor vetoing the bill. In such a case, the Constitution states that the bill automatically becomes law after ten days (excluding Sundays). However, if Congress adjourns (ends a legislative session) during the ten day period, then the bill does not become law. Thus, the President may veto legislation passed at the end of a congressional session simply by ignoring it; the maneuver is known as a pocket veto, and cannot be overridden by the adjourned Congress. Every Act of Congress or joint resolution begins with an enacting formula or resolving formula stipulated by law. These are:
- Act of Congress: "Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled."
- Joint resolution: "Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled."

Quorum and voting

The Constitution specifies that a majority of members constitutes a quorum to do business in each house. The rules of each house provide that a quorum is assumed to be present unless a quorum call demonstrates the contrary. Representatives and senators rarely force the presence of a quorum by demanding quorum calls; thus, in most cases, debates continue even if a majority is not present. Both houses use voice voting to decide most matters; members shout out "aye" or "no," and the presiding officer announces the result. The Constitution, however, requires a recorded vote on the demand of one-fifth of the members present. If the result of the voice vote is unclear, or if the matter is controversial, a recorded vote usually ensues. The Senate uses roll call votes; a clerk calls out the names of all the senators, each senator stating "aye" or "no" when his or her name is announced. The House reserves roll call votes for the most formal matters; normally, members vote by electronic device. In the case of a tie, the motion in question fails. In the Senate, the Vice President may (if present) cast the tiebreaking vote.

Privileges

Under the Constitution, members of both houses enjoy the privilege of being free from arrest in all cases, except for treason, felony, and breach of the peace. This immunity applies to members "during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same." The term "arrest" has been interpreted broadly, and includes any detention or delay in the course of law enforcement, including court summons and subpoenas. The rules of the House very strictly guard this privilege; a member may not waive the privilege on his or her own, but must seek the permission of the whole house to do so. Senate rules, on the other hand, are less strict, and permit individual senators to waive the privilege as they see fit. The Constitution also guarantees absolute freedom of debate in both houses, providing, "for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place." Hence, a member of Congress may not be sued for slander because of remarks made in either house. However, each house has its own rules restricting offensive speeches, and may punish members who transgress them. Obstructing the work of Congress is a crime under federal law, and is known as contempt of Congress. Each house of Congress has the power to cite individuals for contempt, but may not impose any punishment. Instead, after a house issues a contempt citation, the judicial system pursues the matter like a normal criminal case. If convicted in court, an individual found guilty of contempt of Congress may be imprisoned for up to one year. Another privilege is the use of the Library of Congress. The Library's primary mission is to serve the Congress and its staff. To do this, the Congressional Research Service provides detailed, up-to-date and non-partisan research for Senators, Representatives, and their staff to help them carry out their functions as national servants.

Member groups


- Congressional Black Caucus, a group of African-American members of Congress
- Congressional Hispanic Caucus, a group representing Hispanics in the United States and Puerto Rico
- Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, a group representing Asian Pacific Americans

See also


- List of United States Congresses
- Current members: House of Representatives
- Current members: Senate
- Library of Congress

References


- Baker, Ross K. (2000). House and Senate, 3rd ed. New York: W. W. Norton.
- Berg-Andersson, Richard E. (2001). [http://www.thegreenpapers.com/Hx/SessionsExplanation.html Explanation of the types of Sessions of Congress]
- Berman, Daniel M. (1964). In Congress Assembled: The Legislative Process in the National Government. London: The Macmillan Company.
- Davidson, Roger H., and Walter J. Oleszek. (1998). Congress and Its Members, 6th ed. Washington DC: Congressional Quarterly.
- Herrick, Rebekah. (2001). "Gender effects on job satisfaction in the House of Representatives." Women and Politics, 23 (4), 85–98.
- Hunt, Richard. (1998). "Using the Records of Congress in the Classroom," OAH Magazine of History, 12 (Summer): 34–37.
- Imbornoni, Ann-Marie, David Johnson, and Elissa Haney. (2005). [http://www.infoplease.com/spot/womensfirsts1.html "Famous Firsts by American Women." Infoplease.]
- Lee, Frances and Bruce Oppenheimer. (1999). Sizing Up the Senate: The Unequal Consequences of Equal Representation. University of Chicago Press: Chicago.
- Rimmerman, Craig A. (1990). "Teaching Legislative Politics and Policy Making." Political Science Teacher, 3 (Winter): 16–18.
- Ritchie, Donald A. (1997). "What Makes a Successful Congressional Investigation." OAH Magazine of History, 11 (Spring): 6–8.
- Story, Joseph. (1891). Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States. (2 vols). Boston: Br