US Congress for Kids: Over 200 Years of Lawmaking, Deal-Breaking, and Compromising, with 21 Activities
INTRODUCTION pinion poll after opinion poll continues to show that the majority of Americans do not like their Congress very much When ques tioned about their individual representative or senator they are less inclined to be critical they feel the man or woman they have sent to Congress is doing an OK job Not a great job an OK job Of the three branches of govern ment the legislative Congress executive the president and all agencies under his or her control and judicial the courts it is the legislative the one that makes the laws that gets the lowest approval ratings And yet our founding fathers considered Congress to be the most important of the three branches That is why they listed it first when crafting the US Constitution This book has been written in the hopes of showing you despite all the criticism what an amazing institution Congress is For 225 years it has given us the democracy we cherish It was there to overthrow slavery challenge exec utive branch authority give women the right to vote make major strides in civil rights and pro vide the necessary advice and consent rulings among
many other major achievements As you will see the working of Congress has never been smooth With so much national diversity on so many issues it is unre alistic to expect that lawmaking would proceed on an orderly path Congress as a representative institu tion reflects our messy confrontational lives Yet the alternative is an authoritarian form of govern ment that freedom loving people will never endorse If in completing this book you gain a better under standing of the US Congress along with an apprecia tion for the positive good it has done you will be on your way to becoming better equipped to understand American history as it unfolds today SE Capitol Hill is in the center of the picture with congres sional office buildings to the right and the left Library of Congress LC DIG highsm 4879
TIME LINE 1789 March 4 First US Congress meets in New York City 1789 First Congress passes 12 amendments to the Constitution 10 of which are ratified by 1791 becoming the Bill of Rights 1800 Lawmakers hold the first session of Congress inside the new Capitol building in Washing ton DC 1814 During the War of 1812 the British burn the Capitol the White House and other buildings 1819 The Supreme Court case McCulloch v Maryland upholds the implied powers of Congress 1830 The Great Debate over states rights in the Senate grips the Congress and the nation 1857 The House of Representatives moves into its current home in the south wing of the Capitol 1859 The Senate moves into its current home in the enlarged north wing of the Capitol 1865 Congress passes the 13th Amendment abolish ing slavery 1868 For the first time the House of Representa tives impeaches a president Andrew Johnson 1870 Senator Hiram Revels a Mississippi Republi
can becomes the first African American to serve in Congress 1897 Library of Congress building opens 1906 Congress passes the Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act establishing gov ernment regulation over the food industry 1913 The 16th Amendment to the Constitution authorizing an income tax becomes the law of the land 1913 The 17th Amendment to the Constitution authorizing the direct election of senators becomes the law of the land 1916 Jeannette Rankin of Montana becomes the first woman elected to Congress 1919 The 18th Amendment to the Constitution prohibiting the sale of alcoholic beverages becomes the law of the land 1920 With the passage of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution women are allowed to vote in national elections 1932 Hattie Wyatt Caraway of Arkansas becomes the first woman to enter the Senate by election 1933 The 21st Amendment is passed nullifying the 18th Amendment 1953 Joseph McCarthy chairs a Senate committee on communist influence in the government 1957 Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina speaks for more than 24 hours
