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Origins & Development of the United States Senate

The framers of the United States Constitution deliberated at length over the Senate's role in the new federal government. Since that time, the Senate has evolved into a complex legislative body, while remaining true to its constitutional origins.


Original Ledger Found

Image of Senate Ledger Spine

"Probably the oldest book of consecutive accounts kept by government officers," noted an 1885 newspaper article, "is a time-worn volume kept in the office of General Anson G. McCook, secretary of the senate." Marked S-1, this financial ledger records nearly a century of salary and mileage payments to senators, from 1790 to 1881. McCook, recognizing the ledger's importance, had it restored and rebound in 1884. Future employees were not so careful. In the early 1960s, S-1 and nearly sixty other financial ledgers were stored in the basement of the Capitol, and then forgotten. Rediscovered in late 2002, this collection is a unique treasure of Senate history. S-1 has been digitized by the Library of Congress and is now available online.

This Week in Senate History

October 31, 1791

The entire Senate walked from its quarters in Philadelphia's Congress Hall to the nearby residence of President George Washington. Vice President John Adams, on behalf of the Senate, presented a formal written reply to the president's annual message, delivered several days earlier before a joint Congressional session in the Senate's chamber.

November 1, 1860
Photo of Senator Boies Penrose of Pennsylvania
Boies Penrose (R-PA)

Boies Penrose, Pennsylvania's legendary Republican political boss was born on this day in 1860. A brilliant member of Philadelphia's aristocracy, Penrose won a seat in the state legislature at age twenty-four. Twelve years later, he began a U.S. Senate career that would last nearly a quarter century, until his death in 1921. Weighing more than 350 pounds, Penrose reportedly consumed a breakfast typically consisting of a dozen eggs, twelve rolls, a quart of coffee, and a slab of ham. For lunch, he favored an entire stuffed turkey.

November 2, 1920
WarrenHarding

Warren G. Harding, an Ohio Republican, became the first incumbent senator to be elected president of the United States. Although fifteen of the nation's forty-two presidents served in the Senate at some point in their public careers, John F. Kennedy (D-MA) is the only other person to reach the White House directly from the Senate.

 
  

Senate and the Constitution
Senate is Created
Senate Moves to Washington
Permanent Committees Created
Annotated Senate Time Line
Majority & Minority Parties
Institutional Bibliography (pdf)



Historical information provided by the Senate Historical Office.