January 18, 1803

On this date, President Thomas Jefferson sent a secret letter to Congress that requested financing for a transcontinental exploration that became the Lewis and Clark expedition of 1804–1806. In the letter, Jefferson asked for $2,500, obliquely describing the expedition as being “for the purpose of extending the external commerce of the United States.” The appropriation would be “understood and considered by the Executive as giving the legislative sanction, would cover the undertaking from notice, and prevent the obstructions which interested individuals might…prepare in its way.” Jefferson outlined a route and suggested that “an intelligent officer, with ten or twelve chosen men…might explore the whole line, even to the Western Ocean, have conferences with the natives on the subject of commercial intercourse… and return with the information acquired, in the course of two summers.” During the deliberations on the act, the House imposed an “injunction of secrecy” upon itself in order to discuss the issue in complete confidence. Seeking to maintain confidentiality, Congress referred to it as an “act for extending the external commerce of the United States” in published accounts. The House and Senate subsequently passed the act on February 22, 1803. Eight months after approving the funds for the Lewis and Clark expedition, Jefferson finalized the Louisiana Purchase treaty on October 31, 1803.

January 20, 1937

On this date, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was sworn into office at the U.S. Capitol for a second term as President. The inauguration of Roosevelt and Vice President John Nance Garner, the Speaker of the House during the 72nd Congress (1931–1933), was the first to occur after the passage of the 20th Amendment. Nicknamed the Lame Duck Amendment, it moved the inauguration date from March 4th to January 20th. The amendment also changed the opening date of a new Congress to January 3, thereby eliminating extended lame duck congressional sessions. Despite cold, soaking rain, a large crowd assembled in the nation’s capital to witness the first January inauguration. Nearly 250 Representatives from the 75th Congress (1937–1939)—the first new Congress assembled in the month of January—met in the House Chamber before Roosevelt arrived at the Capitol. Majority Leader and future Speaker Sam Rayburn of Texas led the House delegation in the absence of Speaker William Bankhead of Alabama who traveled with the presidential party. “He [Bankhead] asked me to lead you out there,” Rayburn remarked amid laughter from his House colleagues. “I’m going to try to do that. But I can’t make you stay.” Rayburn and Kenneth Romney, the House Sergeant at Arms, directed the procession of Members to the inaugural stand on the East Portico of the Capitol. Those who braved the bad conditions observed a historic first as Garner was sworn in as Vice President on the same outdoor platform as the President—previously the Senate Chamber served as the location for the vice presidential oath. President Roosevelt’s speech and the 1937 inaugural proceedings were broadcast nationwide on the radio.

January 22, 1874

On this date, suffragist Susan B. Anthony’s petition to the 43rd Congress (1873–1875) regarding a fine she received for illegal voting was referred to the House Judiciary Committee. Following the Civil War, Anthony—a lifelong advocate for women’s rights—and other suffragists sought to convince Congress to strike gender-specific language in the 14th and 15th Amendments (which extended equal rights and suffrage to African-American men). Meeting little success, they adopted a “new departure” strategy which interpreted the 14th Amendment as granting all naturalized and native born Americans citizenship, believing that particular status inherently conferred suffrage rights. Anthony was among several women who voted in Rochester, New York, in the November 5, 1872, election. On November 28, she was arrested on the charge of “knowingly and unlawfully” voting. Anthony used her criminal trial as a platform for her views on women’s suffrage, refusing to pay the $100 fine levied upon her conviction in order to gain greater publicity for her cause. After a higher court refused to hear her case, Anthony turned her attention to the legislative branch. She sent a petition and a copy of her trial transcript, imploring the House and Senate to waive her fine. Arguing that she voted “in common with hundreds of other American citizens, her neighbors,” Anthony declared “it is a mockery to call [my] trial a trial by jury.” The House Judiciary Committee failed to act on the petition, though Anthony never paid her fine nor served jail time. Fourteen years after Anthony’s death, the states ratified the 19th Amendment, granting women the right to vote on August 18, 1920.