Smock - Public History and US House of Reps

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Public History at the U.S. House of RepresentativesAuthor(s): Raymond W. SmockSource: The Public Historian, Vol. 17, No. 2 (Spring, 1995), pp. 49-57Published by: University of California PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3378126

Accessed: 05/04/2010 06:05

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PUBLICHISTORY TTHE HOUSEOF REPRESENTATIVES 51I hadapplied oran academicob.I hadsubmitted planof projects ndpublicationsthoughtwouldbe useful orthe upcoming icentennialfCongress. heplanwaspartof the job application.he members f thebipartisanearch ommittee pparentlyikedwhat proposed.Onmy irstdayonthe obI wasusherednto heSpeaker'srivate ffice,whereTipO'Neill atbehind lovelyhand-cased akdesk hatoncewasused by PresidentGroverCleveland. he Republicannd Democraticleaderswere in the roomwaiting o meet me, alongwith several thermembersf Congressncluding ongresswomanindyBoggs f Louisiana,who aterwould ecomemychairman, entor, nd riend. heParliamen-tarian f the House,WilliamHolmesBrownXadtold me to preparebudgetormyofficeanda listof mypriorities.Keept to twopages r ess,"he said.Evelyone reatedme with greatkindness nd respect.The Speakerreferredo meas"TheDoctor." esaid othenMajorityeader imWrightof Texaswhenhe entered he room,"Have oumetthe Doctor, urnewHistorian?"wasnervous shell.I hadneverbeen n a room ullof people1ike hisbefore.Theseweremenandwomen knew romnewspapers,henightly ews, nd romnationaloliticalampaigns.feltas f I was ollidingwithhistoxytself. n the many ears hadworkedn andaroundWashing-ton,D.C., hadalwayspproachedheCapitol sa tourist.Now hingsweredifferent.AsI left that irstmeeting,he Parliamentariansheredme outamidstanother ound f hand hakes nd aid:"Congratulations,hat'st, youarelaunched." was still in a daze.It was late afternoon nd the corridorsoutside he Speaker'sfficewerequietanddeserted.Suddenly,tthefar ndofthehall, figure ppeared,hufflingurriedlytowardmewithhishand n the air."DoctorDoctorone minute lease,want o talk oyou.'ttwas he83-year-oldhairmanf theRulesCommit-tee Claude epper f Florida. e greetedmewarmly,ndwhen shook ishand,he didn'tet gobut ookmyhand n bothof hisand ookedmesquarein theeyewithhisancient utclearblueeyes."Doctor,amsorly missedyourmeetingwiththe Speaker,"e said."Iwanted o be therebut wasdetained. had omethingo dovvith our ppointment,syouknow, ndwanted o wishyouwell."Thenhe told me a littlestory."Iremember,"e said,"what ranklinRooseveltoldme abouthisoldschoolmasterndicott eabody. eabodysaidhistorywasa seriesof peaks ndvalleys, ut f youwere o draw linealong he peaks herewouldbe indicationsf a steady pward rogress.'Chairman epper aid,"I hopeyou will writeabout he peaksand thevalleys."Hepausedora moment efore aying, Ihaveust woquestionswouldlike o askyou, f youdon'tmind.'>Certainlyenator,"said.He wasstillholding ntomyhand nd ookingntentlyntomyeyes,"Doyoubelieve ntheConstitutionftheUnitedStates?"Yesir, do."Thenhe said: Youire


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52 * THEPUBLICHISTORLANnota communist,reyou?"grinnednd aidwith ome mphasis:No ir,I'mnot."

Hepumpedmyhand igorouslynemore imeand etgosaying,I hinkyouwilldojust ine."He hurriedff towardhe Speaker'sfficeandI stood here Iying oabsorbwhathad usthappened. erewasa manwhowasservingn theUnited tates enate efore wasborn. may avebeen henewhistorian,but he was he embodimentf a greatdealof thepolitical istoryf thetwentiethentury.Hehad ivedmorehistoryhat would e able o writeaboutnmy ifetime.nadditionoawarm elcome,nthatbrief ncounterhegavemeatheory fhistoryassedlongrom president'schoolmaster,anda qualificationsest oroffice.Hehadalso,withdryhumor,made jokeabout imself. ong efore ur ncounter,n 1950,when was nthe ourthgrade, ehadbeenaccusedfbeing communisturing isre-electionidfor heSenate.Hisopponentalled imRedPepper.t costhimhisseat nthe Senate,but he returnedo Congressn 1962and hada long anddistinguishedareernthe House fRepresentatives.I knewrom hatmomentn hat wasgoingo ove his ob.After levenyears' xperience,stillgetexcitedwhen see theCapitol ome. thinkhave hebest ob n Washington,lthoughfewof mycolleagues,uchasthe SenateHistorianichard aker, ould rguehat heyhavet.Which ringsme topublic istory.Mygenerationf historiansidnotinvent his hing alled ublic istory,ven houghmany istoriansn thelast20 years r so havehada rudewake-upall hat he sameeconomicforces hatputsteelworkersut ofwork lsoputhistoriansutof work.Many fmygenerationf historiansad o redefinendrepackagehem-selves nordero getajob.While hiswasa bitter ill or ome,t provedobe a golden pportunityorothers.

I don't nowwhocan laim he itleas he irst ublic istorian.erhapsit wasHerodotus,hucydides,olybius,rCicero.Thesewerehistoriansandphilosophersndaysongbeforehe nventionfthemodernniversitywith tsmany pecializedepartmentsf knowledge.hedialoguef thehistoriansf antiquityasaimed trulers ndrulinglitesaswellas thepublic.The act hat heirwords ave urvivedor20 centuriesr more sproof hathey tillhaveomethingosay ous.Whenomeone sksmehowI canbeanobjective,rofessionalistorianhileworking ithin politicalinstitutionike he Houseof Representatives,quotePolybius, hosaidmore han ,000 ears go: That istorianshouldxveheir wn ountrybreak,grant ou;butnotso as o statehings ontraryo fact." hat s stillgoodadvice,ndwe followt.Since heHouse istoryfficewas stablishedn1983, havenever ncebeenasked yanymemberrstaff erson f either artyo write nythingthat couldnot stand he test of the highest tandardsf professionalhistorical ethodology.eare reatedsprofessionalistorians. ewerenothiredo sing hepraisesf thecurrentoliticaleaders, rtoengagen


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PUBLICHISTORYTTHEHOUSEOFREPRESENTATIVES 53politicalntriFe, aswastheroleof courthistorianshroughout uchofrecordedistory. hishighprofessionaltandardoes,however,ave omepracticalimitations.Wedo,afterall,workortheHouseof Representa-tives.Allbiographicalnformationn sittingmemberss preparedndsubmittedo the sittingmember orapproval.heinformationollowswell-establisheduidelinesorwhat hould rshould otbeincluded,utthe memberhasthe finalapproval. venbiographicalnformationnscholarlyublicationsan ometimes eused npoliticalampaignsohelporhinder candidate'shancesorreelection.f amember'sge sreportedincorrectly, militaxyareernot accuratelyescribed, n educationalrecorddistorted,uchthingscancausepoliticalndigestionor Housemembers ndhistorianslike.Oneof thetoppriorities f myofficewhenwe first tarted p wastopublish neweditionof theBiographicalDirectoryof the UnitedStatesCongress.Thisvolume,irstpublishedn 1859,hadgrowno2,000 arge,densely-packedages. tcontainsbriefbiographicalketch fmore han11,000 ersonswhohave ervedntheHouse ndSenateince1789.Whenmyoff1ce nd heSenateHistorical fficeundertooktsrevision,trepre-sented hefirst ime hatprofessionalistoriansadbeen ncharge fitspublication.Wecorrectedhousandsferrors hathadcrept ntoearliereditions.Forexample,n thepreviousditions f the Directory,JamesMadison, ho ervednthe irstourCongressesnthetIouseofRepresen-tatives,was istedasa memberf theDemocraticarty.But hiswas ongbeforeherewerepoliticalartiesntheHouse.We racedheerror ackothe 1928editionof theDirectory,wheresomeoverzealous emocraticclerksdecided o claimMadison. haterrorwasrepeatednsubsequenteditionsorthe next60years.Subsequentlyepublished lackAmericans n Congress,1870-1989,WomennCongress, 917-1990,Orzgins ftheHouseofRepresentatives:DocumentaryRecord,and put out a newsletteralled"Historyn thefIouse," uring hebicentennialelebrations. ealsodrewupplans orofficial icentennialeremoniesnPhiladelphia,ewYork, ndWashing-ton.The bicentennialctivitiesesultedn severalmajor xhibits t theLibraryfCongressnd heNational ortraitGallery, PBS ilmonthehistoryfCongressyfilmmakerenBurns,nd he ssuance fbicenten-nialpostagetampsndcommemorativeoins,allofwhichheHouseandSenatehistoriansad a hand n as consultants,uppliers f historicalinformation,ndcriticaleaders.While hesepubliceventswereunderway, e conducted nationalsurvey o locatethe papersof formermembers f Congresshatarescatteredllover hecountry.Wepublishedhefindingsna guide othesecollections.testified efore heHouseCommitteenRulesontheneedforgreater ccess o theunpublishedecords f the Housewhichweresealedor50years. hoped o seethemopened fter 0years.TheHouse


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54 * THEPUBLICHISTORIANagreedoopen hemafter 0 years.was earninghatpohticsstheartofcompromise.ow serve y aw n heAdvisoryommitteen heRecordsofCongress,here canplay roleaffectingolicy ecisionselatedo therecords f theHouse.Since hef1reworksave aded ntheofficialelebrationsf thebicen-tennials f the ConstitutionndCongress,ur officehascontinuedoupdate ndrefine heprojects ebegan decade go.lThenameof ouroff1ce as hangedromheOff1ceor heBicentennialotheOff1ceftheHistoriantthebegXnningf the101stCongressn1989.WehaveaddedhundredsfnewbiographiesotheBiographical irectory f the UnitedStatesCongressandcontinuedursearch o locate esearchollectionsrelated o members f the House.We workdirectlywith heofficesofmembers f the Houseas advisors n the properdispositionf theirpersonalapers.Weencourage emberso save heirpapers ndmakethemavailableo researchersnce they eaveoffice.While he off1cialcommitteeecordsf theHouse rewellcaredorat heNationalrchivesthere s noprovisionnder herulesof theHouse egardingmember'soffice iles.We helpmembers nd heir taffsdetermine hat hould ekeptaspartofthehistoricalecord.Themostrecent ublic vent nwhich he-Office ftheHistorian asinvolved vasnOctober3,1993,ncommemorationfthe200th nniver-saxyof the laying f the cornerstonef the Capitol. his ncluded hespectaculareturn yhelicopterfthemassive tatue fFreedom hichsitsatop heCapitol ome, ollowinghefirstmajor efurbishingf thestatue ince twasplacedn opofthedome n1863.Theevent roughtut60,000pectators hoalso awahistoncaleenactmentf thecornerstoneceremony,omplete ithanactor ressed sGeorgeWashingtonnd hefiring f cannon. hoseon thegrounds nd hosewatchingntelevisionwere reatedo brief,wellcrafted,istoricalpeeches y he eadersf theHouseandSenate, yJustice lackmunepresentingheSupreme ourt,andby thepresident ndvicepresidentf theUnitedStates.Alsoon theprogram as he poet aureatefthe UnitedStates,RitaDove.HistorianDavidMcCulloughasmaster fceremonies.izaMinelliang"AmericatheBeautiful,"ccompaniedy heNavyBand nd heHoward niversityChoir. hiskind fceremonysgreat un,mixingolidhistoxyessonswithpageantIyndevenalittle howbusiness.Currentlyhe Off1ce f the Historians conductingour ong-rangeresearchrojects,llofwhichwill ead obook-lengthublications.heseareabibliographyfbooks ndarticles yoraboutmembersf theHouse,acompilationfhistoricalistsand tatisticsbout heHouse, documen-taryhistoxynd lectronicatabasenthepetitionseceived y heHousedunng hefirst14Congresses,789-1817,nda one-volumellustrated

1. For urthernformationn thebicentennialfCongress,eeCharleneBangsBickford,"ACelebrationwithSubstance: he Observance f the Bicentennialf the UnitedStatesCongress,"hePublicHistorian 12 (Winter 990),6S75.


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PUBLICHISTORY TTHE HOUSEOFREPRESENTATIVES 55historyof the Houseof Representatives,hich s ourmost ambitiousproject.Wehope t willbe a majorontributiono theexistingiteraturentheHouseandan ncentiveoothers o do further esearchn someof theareaswewillexplore. here ssimply othingn print ightnow hatcanserveas agoodhistory f theHouse.Theclosest xamples erepublishedmore hana quarterentury go.Ourdocumentaryistory roject nvolves tudyingheapproximately10,00()etitionshat heHouse eceived uringtsfirst28years.Theseareamonghe most ascinatingndrevealing ocumentsfAmericanistoryandAmericanoliticalevelopmenthat have ver een.Theywillchangethe waywe think bout hedevelopmentf the HouseofRepresentativesand addwonderful ew materialhat shouldbe of interest o a broadspectrumf scholarstudyingAfricanmericans,ndians, omen, nviron-mentalssues, conomicevelopment,nd hedevelopmentf governmentitself.Wehaveshared omeof thesepetitionswithhighschool eachers,who ind hem o be fascinatingesourcesorclassroomse.Everything e do is designedoexpand istoricalnderstandingf theHouseof Representatives.ince he Househas not beenthe subject fintensetudy yacademicistoriansordecades, e havemanyundamen-taltaskso perform.Ourdifficultiesrecompoundedythedecentralizednatureof the House,which catters o manyof its important istoricalresourcesn all50 states.Beforewe couldbeginwriting narrativeistoryof theHouse,we hadto locate he manuscripts,ublishedmaterial, ndbiographiesn members f theHouse.Simultaneouslyithworkon thenarrativeistory, e began ompilingistoricalistsandmaterialshatwillbe usedfor manypurposes,ncludinghe narrativeistory.But a moreimmediate se of the materials to meet the demands f members fCongress,heirstaff, he press,academic esearchers,ndthe generalpublic orhistoricalnformationboutheHouse.Our ffice nd heSenateHistorical fficehavebecomenationallearinghousesorhistoricalnfor-mation n Congress.Theres one majormisconceptionboutwhatwe arecapable f doing.Manypersons, speciallymembers f the presswho callour officeforinformation,ssume hatwe haveat ourfingertips s muchnformationabout heHouseas the averageports nnouncerasabouthe history fbaseball.Callers ssumewe havea giantcomputerhatwe can tap forinstantnformationn members ftheHouse. wishwe didhave hekindof handle n theHouse hatwehaveonournationalastime.wish knewor hadaccess o all the voting ecords, ommitteessignments,nvestiga-tions,andother opics n the samedetail swe knowbattingverages ndotherbaseball tatistics.We areslowlyworkingn thatdirection, ut wehavemanymiles o go beforewecanachievehat evelofdetail.Perhapstisareflectionfpopularinterest,ndto omedegree cademicnterest,hatwe havemany inds f books, ncyclopedias,ndevenCD-ROMs n thestatisticsf sport utvery ewonsucha fundamentallymportantnstitution


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56 * THEPUBUC HISTOR>NasCongress.WhenKenBurns idhis ilmTheCongress,n 1989,t wasa90-minuteroduction. is monumentalerieson the CivilWarwas 11hoursnlength, ndhisseries n baseballan or18hours.Mysmalloff1ce f fivepersons,nda slightlyarger fficeof SenatehistoriansXannot ossiblywriteallthe historiesndbiographiesf theHouseandSenate.Whatwe cando is act as a stimuluso studiesofcongressionalistory, e cando someof thework urselves,e canhelpgllide ther esearcherso valuable aterial,ndwe canhelppreserveheimportantistoricalecordso theywillbe thereor uture enerations.Oneof the bestexamplesf howwe canbe a stimuluso researchyothers s a project aunchedouryearsago. It is the EncyclopediafCongress roject,whichwe wereinstrumentaln getting tarted s abicentennialf Congress roject.This majorpublications under hegeneral ditorshipfDonaldC. Bacon,RogerH.Davidson,ndMortonKeller, ournalist,oliticalcientist,ndhistonan,espectively.t sa four-volumellustratedncyclopediahich ringsogetherhetalents f morethan500authors. imon& Schusterublishedt in 1994.Therearealsoplans ora CD-ROMdition.In theonginal ebates ver he creationf theOffice f theHistorian,somemembersf theHouse aid hat hestudy fCongresshould e lefttoacademicistorians.utunfortunatelycademicistorianseldomtudyCongressnymore.hereasonsor his ould e thesubject fa book f itsown.But he short nswers that hestudy f politicalnstitutionsmongacademic istorians asabandonedn favor f socialhistoxyn the pastthreedecades. here reonly fewgoodbiographiesfthe11,000 ersonswhohave ervedntheHouse ndSenateince1789, ven houghomeofthese ndividualserepowerfuligures ho nfluencedhedevelopmentfthiscountly.

William . Leuchtenburg,nhispresidentialddressefore heOrgani-zation fAmerican istoriansan 1986,predictedhat he new rontierfhistoricalnquilywould e politicalistoxy. e urged s not onegAecthestudyof importantoliticalnstitutionswasmuch ncouragedy thataddress,oming s it did ustthreeyearsafter heestablishmentf theHousehistoxyffice.But ince hen have eennogroundswellf graduatestudentsn histoFwhohave aken pLeuchtenburg'shallenge.t is hardto findahistory epartmenthatoffers coursentheHistoxyfCongressXso there s no encouragemento studentsrom hatquarter.eoplewhowantto studygoveInmentre supposedo go to the departmentsfgoverrsmentndpolitics,which, nouroverspecializedcademic orlds,seldom ontainoom or historians,nymore hanhistory epartmentsopen heir rms o politicalcientists.

2. William E. Leuchtenburg, '4ThePertinence of Polidcal History: Reflections on theSignificanceof ie State in America,"Journal f AmericanHtstory(December 1986),585-600.See also, William E Leuchtenburg, '4TheHistonan and the Public Realm," AmericanHtstortcalRevtew 97 (Feb. 1992), 1-18.


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PUBLICHISTORY TTHE HOUSEOF REPRESENTATIVES 57Butwhethert is indepartmentsf politicalcience r history, r n theofflcesof publichistorians,his s a great ime obe studying ongress. s

DavidMcCulloughaidnhisaddress efore jointmeeting f Congressn1989,"Twohundredearsafter he creation f Congresswe haveonlybegun o tellthe story f Congress-which, fcourse,means he opportu-nity or hosewhowriteandwho each ouldnotbe greater."Theone hing hatwouldmake he ifeof thispublic istorianvenmorerewardinghan t is wouldbe to see greater articipationn the studyofCongressromour academicolleagues ndto see a new generationfgraduatetudentsediscoverhe oysand hallengesfpolitical istory.donot wantto see the lines betweenpublichistory nd academic istoryharden;would ike osee them oftened. hegreat eservoirf interestnhistoryn thiscountry eeds o be revitalized,otby publicor academichistoriansorkinglone, utbyallofusworkingogether. othingess satstake han he memoryf the nation.

Smock - Public History and US House of Reps

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