J.P. Morgan, the Senate Banking Committee, and a Circus Dwarf

Tags

Barnum & Bailey Circus, J.P. Morgan, Pecora Hearings, Senate Banking and Currency Committee

–by Joanna Hallac

Upon first glance of the title of this post, you might think I was about to tell some kind of joke, but alas no, this is a true story. If you have been keeping up with our Twitter feed and fact-a-day Facebook page, then you know on Friday we tweeted about a bizarre moment prior to a hearing held by the Senate Banking Committee on J.P. Morgan’s banking activities in 1933, in what became known as the Pecora hearings. Given the fact that this episode was just about one of the strangest I’ve ever heard of, I thought I would dig into this and get more of the whole story for all of you.

So before we can get to strange meeting that occurred on June 1, 1933, I think it’s important to understand what Morgan was even doing there. The Senate Banking and Currency Committee had summoned J.P. Morgan to appear before them to testify about what they viewed as very suspect banking practices. The committee counsel, Ferdinand Pecora, was determined to show that Morgan was selling stock below market price to some of his friends, including some important government officials. Additionally, Morgan had 167 of his own men in directorates within the nation’s largest corporations, and had not paid a single cent in income taxes for the previous two years (any of this sound somewhat familiar?). Senator Carter Glass had remarked during the hearings that things had turned rather circus-like. I’m sure at the time Senator Glass had no idea how prescient that notion would be–the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus were in fact in D.C. that week. This is where things get truly strange.

Apparently, the newspapers that were there to cover the testimony of Morgan before the committee were beginning to get nervous that the hearing wouldn’t start in time and that they wouldn’t make their deadlines for the evening papers. One of those reporters, Ray Tucker, had an idea to get some sort of headline, regardless if it was about Morgan’s testimony or not. It was at this point that he remembered seeing a peculiar pair in the hallway earlier. Determined, Tucker headed out of the caucus room where he found a female circus dwarf, Lya Graf, and a circus press agent, Charles Leef. Tucker told them that he was going to introduce her to J.P. Morgan and so into the caucus room they went.

J.P. Morgan with Lya Graf, a Barnum & Bailey circus dwarf, on his lap on June 1, 1933. Morgan was waiting to testify before the Senate Banking Committee (NY Magazine)

Although he was initially startled, Morgan was genial and rose and shook her hand. Naturally, the photographers were stepping all over each other to get a picture of the exchange. Just as Tucker was about to lead them out, content that he had his newspaper headline, Leef, seeing a perfect press opportunity for himself and the circus, waited for Morgan to sit down and then scooped up Graf and placed her in J.P. Morgan’s lap. Morgan apparently laughed and had a brief exchange with the demure lady, in which he told her he had a grandchild bigger than her. It has since gone down as one of the outrageous and bizarre meetings to ever take place in any Senate meeting room…well, that we know about at least.

I hope you enjoyed this foray into the absurd. It isn’t often here that we delve into such material, but when we get the chance, how could we possibly resist?

Source consulted:

Smith, Sherwin D. “Thirty Years Ago: A midget sat on J.P. Morgan’s lap and showed that the great banker was only human.” New York Times. May 26, 1963.

National Statuary Hall Collection Tidbits

Tags

Dennis Chavez, Edward Bartlett, John Burke, Joseph Ward, Kamehameha I, National Statuary Hall Collection

As part of our fiftieth anniversary celebrations, the Society’s next newsletter includes a timeline highlighting some of the events in and additions to the Capitol since 1962, the year USCHS was founded. Obviously we couldn’t include everything, so here are a few of the pieces of art that didn’t make the cut (and one that did—check out the newsletter in June to see which!).

All of these statues are part of the National Statuary Hall Collection, to which each state can contribute two statues. The legislation authorizing the collection was passed in 1864, but it wasn’t until 2005 that 100 statues had arrived in Washington. Even now, the collection is in flux; legislation from 2000 allows a state to replace an already-donated statue with a new one. Many of the statues can be seen during a visit to the Capitol Visitor Center and a tour of the Capitol, or you can learn more about them on the Architect of the Capitol’s website.

Some of the additions since 1962 (all pictures courtesy Architect of the Capitol):

Added in 1963: John Burke (North Dakota) by Avard Fairbanks

John Burke (1859-1937) was born in Iowa but made his name in North Dakota as a lawyer and then judge. He served in the state legislature and then as governor (1907-13). He was renowned for his integrity and reformed North Dakota’s political system as well as supporting progressive reform measures, including child labor and sanitation laws. Woodrow Wilson named Burke US treasurer in 1913 (he served until 1921), and Burke was later elected to the Supreme Court of North Dakota.

Added in 1963: Joseph Ward (South Dakota) by Bruno Beghé

Joseph Ward (1838-1889) arrived in the Dakota Territory in 1869 as a missionary; he soon opened a school as well, which eventually became the first high school in Dakota. Ward helped found the first collegiate-level institution in the upper Mississippi area as well as the Dakota Hospital for the insane. A strong supporter of South Dakota statehood, he attended many statehood conventions, helped present the statehood petition to Congress, and played a key role in drafting the state constitution.

Added in 1966: Dennis Chavez (New Mexico) by Felix W. de Weldon

Dennis Chavez (1888-1962) was born in New Mexico and eventually represented the state in Congress. He first came to Washington as a senator’s Spanish interpreter and graduated from Georgetown University Law School. After practicing law in Albuquerque and serving in the New Mexico House of Representatives, he served several terms in the U.S. House before being appointed to the Senate in 1935 and winning the 1936 election. He held the seat until his death. Chavez supported the New Deal as well as the rights of American Indians and Puerto Ricans.

Added in 1969: Kamehameha I (Hawaii) by Thomas R. Gould

King Kamehameha I (1758?-1819) was a Hawaiian warrior who eventually united all the inhabitants of Hawaii under his rule, which brought an end to wars amongst Hawaiians. During his rule, he encouraged trade and opened Hawaii to the world. This statue is a copy of one first modeled in Rome in 1879, which now stands outside the Judiciary Building in Honolulu, and is one of the heaviest in the collection.

Added in 1971: Edward Lewis Bartlett (Alaska) by Felix W. de Weldon

A native of Washington state, Edward Lewis Bartlett (1904-1968) graduated from the University of Alaska in 1925 and stayed for a career in journalism and then politics. He served as a delegate to Congress for the Alaska Territory, worked hard for Alaskan statehood, and was the first senator from Alaska when it became a state in 1959. According to a Library of Congress estimate, he had more bills passed than any other member of Congress in history.

Any recently added Capitol artwork that you’re particularly fond of? Let us know in the comments and we’ll consider featuring it in a future post!

Congressional Cemetery

–by Joanna Hallac

 

I had occasion to take a tour of Congressional Cemetery a couple of weeks ago, an experience I found to be very interesting for a few reasons, mostly stemming from the fact that I am a lover of history and dogs, of which both are in abundance. We’ll get to the dogs, but first a little history.

While Congressional Cemetery was started in 1807, this was not its original name. According to their website, the name evolved over some time; it went from having no name for its first four years, to being called “Washington Parish Burial Ground” until 1830. From this point, as Congress put more money into the site, it became known as “Congressional burying ground,” and then simply “Congressional Cemetery.”

The cemetery is home to tens of thousands of deceased persons, some of whom were members of Congress, but most of whom were not; however a great number of empty tombs, called cenotaphs, are lined up in the cemetery for members of the House and Senate who died in office up until the 1870’s, when they decided to discontinue the practice. Few members of Congress have been given that honor since, but one cenotaph that was approved by Congress and put in since that time was in 1972 when the plane carrying Congressman Nick Begich, an Alaska Democrat, and House Majority Leader Thomas “Hale” Boggs, a Louisiana Democrat and father to Cokie Roberts, disappeared in Alaska (presumably after crashing, though the wreckage was never recovered), with both men eventually being declared dead; Boggs and Begich share the same cenotaph. According to the Congressional Cemetery website, the last member of Congress to have a “cenotaph of non-standard design” put in the cemetery was former Speaker Tip O’Neill (Massachusetts), who passed away in 1994.

The cenotaph for Majority Leader Hale Boggs (LA) and Rep. Nick Begich (AK).

 

There are more than a few notable people actually buried on the 30-acre grounds, including the nation’s fifth vice president and signer of the Declaration of Independence, Elbridge Gerry (pronounced like Gary, not Jerry). Gerry served under President Madison and is the only vice president buried in the cemetery. Interestingly, Gerry’s name is where the term “gerrymander” originates from; as the Governor of Massachusetts he was the first to redistrict his state in a way that benefited his party and in a way that looked quite ridiculous on the map. The Boston Gazette printed a political cartoon depicting a newly redrawn district that looked like a salamander, but they called it a “Gerry-mander,” hence the term we use today to refer to that same way of redistricting along party lines to protect incumbents.

The headstone of Vice President Elbridge Gerry.

Some other persons of notoriety interred at Congressional Cemetery are John Phillip Sousa, Belva Lockwood, and more than one of the conspirators involved in President Lincoln’s assassination plot. It is also worth noting that people can still be buried there and apparently they inter people pretty consistently throughout the year.

John Philip Sousa’s grave at Congressional Cemetery. Every year on his birthday, November 6th, they have a party at his burial site.

The headstone of Belva Lockwood, the first woman to run and receive votes for president as the candidate for the Equal Rights Party in 1884 (and since no women could as yet vote, this means men actually voted for her, which was no small feat).

As for the dogs, Congressional Cemetery may be even better known in the District for the many dogs and their owners who are able to use the grounds as an off-leash dog park than for the many persons who have been laid to rest there over the past 200 years. The memberships they offer to those who want to walk their dogs there make up the bulk of the money Congressional Cemetery needs to keep up its grounds and maintain the large, 30-acre swath. On my visit, we were greeted by quite a few dogs, including a Chocolate Lab named Wilson, who was just about as happy as a dog could ever be, and he made my tour experience even more memorable. Sadly, however, I didn’t get a picture of the good-natured pup to share with all of you.

One last note—two of our former Capitol Fellows, Ronald and Abby Arthur Johnson, have a new book coming out on the history of the cemetery, so be sure to keep an eye out for that one.

I highly recommend that if you are planning a visit to DC (or are a native Washingtonian who has never been) and are looking for something a little less touristy and highly enjoyable to do one day that you consider stopping by Congressional Cemetery. It is worth the trip.

 

Women Spies of the Civil War

Tags

Antonia Ford, Civil War, Old Capitol Prison, women spies

–by Joanna Hallac

In researching for a post I wrote last week on the Homestead Act, I came across the website for Smithsonian Magazine, which has a whole section dedicated to the 150^th anniversary of the Civil War. Among the many interesting articles included there is an examination of women who served as spies during the war, on both the Union and Confederate sides. I found the stories of the women to be quite compelling and decided to do a little more research on the subject to see what I could find.

In many cases, the women had ties to very high-level military or government officials through which they could either steal information from or deliver secrets to, in some cases having a direct impact on the outcome of battles. In other cases, it was former slaves and slave holders working in concert to not only free others, but also smuggle secrets to Union officials. Most of the Confederate spies who came under suspicion would spend some time in the Old Capitol Prison, which is where the Supreme Court building now sits, and where members of Congress met while the repairs to the Capitol were being made after the British burned it in 1814.

Old Capitol Prison (Library of Congress)

The stories about the women featured on the website were very compelling and I encourage all of you to take a look for yourselves. Here are some pictures of the women spies that can be seen on the site:

Harriet Tubman was a spy for the Union Army in addition to her work on the Underground Railroad (Library of Congress)

Antonia Ford would be imprisoned at Old Capitol Prison for being a spy for the Confederacy, but ended up marrying one of her captors, Union major Joseph Willard, who subsequently had to take an oath of allegiance to the Union as did Ford (Photo by O.H. Willard, Library of Congress Philadelphia Manuscript Division, Gift of the Willard Family)

I have also included some interesting and informative websites that have all sorts of information about women spies from this and other American wars:

The National Women’s History Museum website
http://www.nwhm.org/online-exhibits/spies/8.htm

Smithsonian Magazine
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/Women-Spies-of-the-Civil-War.html

While these are merely a sampling, there is no shortage of available information on this topic and it is something that surprisingly few people know about; however, the importance that women played in every American war, whether as spies, soldiers, or otherwise cannot possibly be overlooked.

Flying over the Capitol, Part 2

Tags

Autogyro, Graf Zeppelin, Hindenburg, Hiram Bingham, U.S. Capitol, USS Akron

by Don Kennon

Returning to the subject of dramatic visual imagery of flying machines and the United States Capitol, I am struck by how the Capitol has been used for promotional purposes by various aviation agencies, both governmental and commercial.  Consider these two photographs of the visit of the German airship Graf Zeppelin in October 1928, designed to demonstrate the practicality of transoceanic flights.  As the Washington Post reported on October 16:

“The inspiring sight of the great Graf Zeppelin floating over the Capitol and the White House demonstrated to Americans that the practicability of airships for long-distance travel and transport is no longer to be questioned. This airship left Friedrichshafen, Germany, on October 11, and passed into United States territory on the morning of October 15. This is faster time than has ever been made by a steamship, although the Zeppelin swung far to the southward to avoid bad weather. The same mileage could not have been made by the Mauretania or any other steamship in less than seven or eight days. . . .

 “Germany has set an example that spurs other countries to emulation. Americans congratulate the ingenious and persistent Germans who have developed the Zeppelin, and will make their compliments take the sincere form of imitation. Immense airships, sustained by noninflammable gas and driven by powerful motors, will eventually cross the sea carrying the American flag.”

Unfortunately, the destruction of the Graf Zeppelin’s sister ship, the Hindenburg, at Lakehurst, N.J., on May 6, 1937 when it burst into flames as it was preparing to land brought the era of the commercial use of airships.

The first of two photos depicting the “Graf Zeppelin” flying over the U.S. Capitol in October 1931 (Library of Congress).

Second image of the “Graf Zeppelin” floating high above the Capitol, October 1931 (Library of Congress).

Thirty-five passengers and crew of the Hindenburg perished along with one person on the ground, but the deadliest airship accident was the 1933 loss of the USS Akron which crashed into the ocean off the New Jersey coast killing 73 members of its 76-man crew.  Ironically, the Akron was built and commissioned largely as a result of the success of the German zeppelins, and it, too, had flown over the U.S. Capitol on its maiden voyage on November 2, 1931.

The USS Akron on its first voyage as a commissioned airship in the U.S. Navy cruised down the east coast from Lakehurst, N.J. to Washington, D.C. in 1931 (Library of Congress).

We’ll conclude this post with a look at one of the more intriguing aviation oddities, the autogyro, also known as the autogiro, gyrocopter, gyroplane, or rotaplane.  This flying contraption essentially uses an unpowered rotor in autorotation to develop lift, and an engine-powered propeller, similar to that of a fixed-wing aircraft, to provide thrust.  Invented by a Spanish engineer, Juan de la Cierva, the autogyro first flew in 1923.  Although the development of the helicopter largely displaced autogyros, they were used in the 1930s by the Postal Service to deliver airmail between the Camden, N.J. airport and the Philadelphia post office.  U.S. Senator Hiram Bingham of Connecticut (1924-1933), an aviator who had commanded the primary Air Service flying school in France during World War I, was an avid supporter of the autogyro, which he claimed was almost as safe as a church pew.

An autogyro lands on the grounds of the Washington post office with the Capitol in the background in 1939 to demonstrate the feasibility of a shuttle airmail service (Library of Congress).

An autogyro aircraft, possibly a Pitcairn PA-18, in flight over the US Capitol. This image was likely taken on the same occasion as the next photograph (George Mason University Library).

Senator Hiram Bingham poses on the wing of an autogiro after returning to the Capitol from a round of golf in 1931. The Bingham Genealogy Project, by Douglas K. Bingham (http://www.telusplanet.net/public/dkbing/genproj.htm).

References:
Airships: The Hindenburg and Other Zeppelins (http://www.airships.net/lz127-graf-zeppelin)
Autogyros (http://www.jefflewis.net/autogyros.html#history)

The Homestead Act and the Civil War

Tags

Abraham Lincoln, Civil War, Congress, Homestead Act, secession

–by Joanna Hallac

The Civil War is known and remembered for many actions and speeches that took place on and off the battlefield; however, what can sometimes get overlooked or overshadowed in the midst of all the action was what kind of legislations was (or wasn’t) moving through Congress during that period. While the decade leading up to the outbreak of the war was fraught with severe divisions within Congress, once the obstructionist southern Democrats left both chambers in 1861, numerous pieces of legislation were able to finally move through, including the Homestead Act.

The importance of the Homestead Act in our country’s history cannot be overstated, but it is an interesting idea to think about how if not for the Civil War and the secession of the southern states that the legislation likely would not have passed. For years prior to its passage, the Senate in particular had blocked every previous attempt to pass a homestead bill. Given its significance, I think digging a little deeper into why there was legislative opposition to the Homestead Act prior to the Civil War and why it was such a key piece of our country’s history and continued expansion westward is an important exercise.

Much like every other major issue in the mid-19^th century, making lands in the western territories more readily and easily available to American settlers was a divisive one. Southern plantation owners were opposed to homesteading because they feared that more small farms would begin to pop up and compete with them, not to mention the fact that they were worried that any new states created would want to ban slavery. Northern factory owners were afraid that new business opportunities opening up across the expanding country would drain their steady stream of cheap laborers. Prior to the mid-19^th century, most Americans couldn’t afford to buy lands out west; with the arrival of more and more immigrants in our country, many of them wanted to seek new lives in the western territories, as well. With the property acquired after the Mexican War, more opportunities presented themselves for further settlement and expansion westward and there seemed to be a greater level of support for homesteading. The House passed homesteading legislation three times in the 1850’s—1852, 1854, and 1859— only to have the Senate fail to do so as well. When a bill finally did pass both chambers in 1860, the measure was vetoed by President Buchanan.

With the strongest opposition removed from the Senate chamber by late 1861, Congress finally took up and passed the Homestead Act, which President Abraham Lincoln signed into law on May 20, 1862; this Sunday marks the 150^th anniversary of the law’s enactment. The Homestead Act created a three-tier process to allow all Americans and those intending to become American citizens (the one stipulation is that none of them could have ever fought against the United States at any time) to acquire 160-acre swaths of land out west. According to the law, once the application for the land was filed, the claimant had to spend the next five years living on and cultivating the land, including constructing a dwelling that measured 12 feet by 14 feet, and by also growing crops. Following the five years, the claimant could file for his or her deed by submitting the proof of residency and necessary paperwork to a local land office for approval.

The first land application was filed in Nebraska on January 1, 1863, and the last was filed in Alaska in 1979, although the law would officially be replaced in 1976 (since Alaska still had lands available, the law was phased out there in 1986). Despite the seeming ease of the application process, it was a difficult life in many areas of the unsettled west and a number of those who attempted to make a new life, simply could not and did not make it through the five year period. Once the Railroad Act was passed a few years later, which paved the way for the transcontinental railroad, life was certainly made easier in this regard, although it still was not a walk in the park.

The Homestead Act helped our country rapidly increase the speed at which we were able to complete our expansion westward, leading to much eventual economic prosperity for our country. Unfortunately, while land grants were allowed for nearly every American who wanted one, including many women and African Americans, the one group who continue to get forcibly removed and displaced until they were relegated to the reservations upon which they stay today were Native Americans. Our shameful treatment of them haunts our country’s history to this very day.

Overall, the Homestead Act was a law that was so significant to our country’s history for so many reasons, not the least of which was that it allowed ordinary Americans to create a home for themselves and their families and live out their version of the ‘American Dream.” Perhaps some legislation would have eventually passed the Congress to allow for homesteading and to make federal lands available and affordable for the masses, but there is no question that the Civil War made such a law inevitable.

Sources consulted:
National Archives
http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/homestead-act/

Smithsonian Magazine
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/How-the-Homestead-Act-Transformed-America.html

Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month: Oral Histories

Tags

APA Heritage Month, Congressional oral histories, Eni Faleomavaega, Japanese internment, Norm Mineta, Rep. Doris Matsui, Rep. Mike Honda, Sen. Daniel Akaka, Sen. Daniel Inouye, WWII veterans

May is Jewish American Heritage Month, and it’s also Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month.

The Library of Congress hosts a collaborative website that explains more about the origins of the celebration:

Like most commemorative months, Asian-Pacific Heritage Month originated in a congressional bill. In June 1977, Reps. Frank Horton of New York and Norman Y. Mineta of California introduced a House resolution that called upon the president to proclaim the first ten days of May as Asian-Pacific Heritage Week. The following month, senators Daniel Inouye and Spark Matsunaga introduced a similar bill in the Senate. Both were passed. On October 5, 1978, President Jimmy Carter signed a Joint Resolution designating the annual celebration. Twelve years later, President George H.W. Bush signed an extension making the week-long celebration into a month-long celebration. In 1992, the official designation of May as Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month was signed into law.

Several years ago, the U.S. Capitol Historical Society began an oral history project that includes an exploration of the contributions of Asian-Pacific Americans in Congress. The Yielding the Floor series includes interviews with Sen. Daniel Akaka (Hawaii), Rep. Michael Makato Honda (California), Congressional Delegate Eni F. H. Faleomavaega (American Samoa), Sen. Daniel K. Inouye (Hawaii), Rep. Doris O. Matsui (California), and Norman Yoshio Mineta, who represented California in the House before serving as Secretary of Commerce and then Secretary of Transportation.

Both videos and transcripts are available on the USCHS website. Use the drop-down menu to select the interview you wish to explore. Several of the members discuss their experiences during WWII, including their participation in the armed services and their time in the internment camps. Other topics include the members’ journeys to Congress, memorable legislation, mentors, and partisanship in Congress.

Flying over the Capitol, Part 1

Tags

Earth vs. Flying Saucers, Space Shuttle Discovery, Thaddeus Lowe, U.S. Capitol

by Don Kennon

The recent dramatic flight over the Capitol and National Mall by the Space Shuttle Discovery on the back of a 747 reminded me of some other historic images of manned flight at, near, or above the Capitol.

Perhaps the first instance of manned flight (okay, technically it wasn’t flight as the balloon probably remained tethered to the ground) in the nation’s capital took place in June 1861 when Thaddeus S.C. Lowe demonstrated his lighter-than-air balloon to President Abraham Lincoln.  In this photograph, Lowe’s generators are seen pumping gas into the balloon prior to its ascension to a height of 500 feet with the U.S. Capitol in the background.  Lowe’s test ascension convinced Lincoln of the balloon’s potential for military reconnaissance.  Lowe, who was often referred to as “Professor”—a title conferred on enterprising balloonists—was appointed chief aeronaut of the Union Army Balloon Corps.

The Capitol’s unfinished dome provides a dramatic backdrop for the 1861 demonstration of Thaddeus Lowe’s balloon, which is being inflated here. (National Archives)

Here is a shot of Lowe’s balloon, the Intrepid, inflated and airborne in Virginia in 1862.

Lowe’s balloon, Intrepid, in Fair Oaks, Virginia, May 1862 (Library of Congress)

The next photograph that proposed to show manned flight above the Capitol is an enterprising fake.  At some point, someone drew in an image of a flying apparatus suspended from a balloon above the Capitol in a 1906 photograph of the Capitol copyrighted by G.V. Buck.

1906 photograph of the Capitol purporting to show a flying ship above the dome. (Library of Congress)

A blow up of the “flying ship” clearly shows that it had been penciled in.

A close-up of the above-mentioned photo shows that it was in fact doctored (Library of Congress)

While we’re on the subject of fakes, let me include one of my favorites—the scene in the 1956 Columbia Pictures movie Earth vs. the Flying Saucers in which an alien spacecraft crashes into the Capitol Dome.  Technically, of course, alien flying saucers don’t qualify as “manned” flight, but I couldn’t resist sharing this picture for those who haven’t seen the movie.  There is a similar scene in Tim Burton’s hilarious 1996 parody Mars Attacks!, but the original is better, in my humble opinion.

Special effects wizard Ray Harryhausen crafted the meticulous miniatures and stop action photography for Earth vs. the Flying Saucers.

In a second post, I’ll present some photographs of zeppelins, blimps, and autogyros (what’s that?) flying over the Capitol.  Stay tuned.

Jewish American Heritage Month

Tags

Arlen Specter, Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, Jewish American History Month, Jewish Heritage Week, Jews

–by Joanna Hallac

May is Jewish American Heritage Month (it’s also Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, and we’ll have a future post on that topic, too), and as such, we thought we’d delve a little bit into the history of this month and how it evolved from a week-long celebration into a month-long one. Additionally, we will examine the issue of why May was ultimately chosen over April as the month to commemorate the contributions of Jewish Americans.

Jewish girls protest child labor in 1909 NYC (Library of Congress)

In 1980, President Jimmy Carter became the first in a succession of U.S. presidents to declare Jewish Heritage Week following an authorization and request of Congress to do so. The week chosen was in April, as that month coincided with the anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising and Independence Day in Israel, as well as Holocaust Remembrance Day. Given the clear importance of the month of April in the history of Israel and the Jewish people, it is interesting that when a month was first dedicated to honoring Jewish Americans it was May and not April that was settled upon; however, according to the official government website dedicated to Jewish American Heritage Month, May was settled upon because in May 2004 there was a very successful celebration of the 350^th anniversary of American Jewish History; therefore they decided to go that route.

After years of setting aside a week to celebrate Jewish heritage, the month of May was first declared Jewish American Heritage Month in 2006, when President George W. Bush proclaimed it as such. This was the culmination of a long and concerted effort by the Jewish Museum of Florida, as well as members of the South Florida Jewish community, who were able to get Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (FL) and then-Senator Arlen Specter (PA) to introduce identical bills in the House and Senate to authorize the President to issue a proclamation. The House bill passed unanimously in December 2005 and the Senate bill also passed unanimously in February 2006, followed by the presidential proclamation in late April 2006.

In the first presidential proclamation in 1980, President Carter, in speaking about the contributions of Jewish Americans to our history and culture, said “In medicine, education, trade, the law, politics, the labor movement, religion, motion pictures, athletics, literature, and more, the Jewish people have richly endowed America and the American way of life. American Jews have made their heritage, a heritage of struggle for freedom, knowledge, and human dignity, part of the inheritance of all.” (American Presidency Project)

Jews in NYC pray, early 20th century (Library of Congress)

Lastly, back in the fall, I wrote a post about Jewish members of Congress in celebration of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, so feel free to take a look back at that post as we commemorate the many contributions that Jewish Americans have made to this country since they first arrived in New Amsterdam in 1654. Enjoy!

 

Sources consulted:
Jewish American Heritage Month website

Library of Congress

American Presidency Project

Dome by the Numbers

–by Maggie Esteves

The U.S. Capitol Dome has defined the Washington, D.C. skyline for almost 200 years.  Inside the Dome is the Rotunda, a room that inspires all who step inside whether you are visiting for the first time or have worked in the Capitol for years.  It is hard to comprehend the size and scope of this incredible architectural structure and the historical significance of the rotunda, so we wanted to lay out a few numbers for you to get a better idea of its magnitude, both physically and historically:

3-5 million and growing: the number of visitors to the U.S. Capitol building and Rotunda each year

288 feet: height from East Front ground to top of Statue of Freedom on the Dome

8,909,200 pounds: weight of cast iron used to create the Dome

180: number of windows in the Dome

365: number of steps to take the staircase from the Capitol basement to top of the Dome

48 feet: height of original sandstone walls inside Rotunda (everything above was added after 1855)

96 feet: diameter of Rotunda

1.3 million cubic feet: volume of Rotunda

180 feet: height of Apotheosis of George Washington Painting on Rotunda ceiling

The Capitol Rotunda (Architect of the Capitol)

$40,000: cost to create the Apotheosis of George Washington fresco by Constantino Brumidi

4,664 square feet: size of Brumidi’s Apotheosis painting

12: number of statues in the Rotunda (Former Presidents Reagan, Eisenhower, Jefferson, Washington, Grant, Lincoln, Garfield, Jackson, and Ford; as well as Martin Luther King, Jr, the Pioneers of the Women’s Suffrage Movement, and Alexander Hamilton)

32: the number of individuals who have lain in state or in honor in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda – the first was Henry Clay on July 1, 1852

President Ford lying in state (Architect of the Capitol)

1: the number of presidential inaugurations that took place in the Rotunda (Pres. Reagan’s 2^nd Inauguration was on Monday, January 21, 1985 and was moved indoors from the West Front of the Capitol when the weather was predicted to reach a high of 7 degrees, with a wind chill of -20 degrees.  It remains the coldest inauguration on record).

Sources consulted:
Architect of the Capitol website
www.aoc.gov