|
|
|
|
|
|
1861 - 1865: A DEVASTATING CIVIL WAR By 1861, the country was divided with Abraham Lincoln as president of the United States and Jefferson Davis as president of the newly formed Confederate States of America. In April 1861, the Union troops at Fort Sumter in South Carolina came under Confederate fire and surrendered the fort. For the next four years the nation endured a violent civil war. In Congress, members’ attention was focused on the war’s oversight and financing. Legislative duties continued as well and Congress passed landmark legislation unrelated to the war effort. |
|
|
April 18, 1861: Union Troops at the U.S. Capitol At the beginning of the Civil War, the Capitol was briefly transformed from the center of government to a military barracks, hospital and bakery. First arriving on April 18, 1861, Union troops occupied the Rotunda and newly constructed wings. To pass the time, soldiers sang songs, wrote letters home and even held noisy mock sessions in the new Senate Chamber. Unfortunately, the stench of the soldiers’ quarters became so terrible that Architect Thomas U. Walter refused to have his office in the building. They vacated the Capitol before summer arrived. However, following the Second Battle of Bull Run, the Capitol was briefly transformed into a temporary hospital to care for wounded troops in September 1862. |
|
|
April 1861: Clara Barton, “Angel of the Battlefield” When troops arrived in Washington, D.C., nurse Clara Barton cared for wounded soldiers. She also read to them and comforted them by listening to their concerns. Later in the war, Barton petitioned the government and army to allow her to bring medical supplies to the battlefield. Because of her efforts, Barton became known as the “Angel of the Battlefield.” She is most famous for founding the American Red Cross in 1881. |
|
|
April 27, 1861: Writ of Habeas Corpus Suspended After the attack on Fort Sumter, President Abraham Lincoln called for support from state militias. Confederate sympathizers in Maryland ambushed some of the northern troops en route to Washington. Lincoln declared martial law in the region and authorized General Winfield Scott, General-in-Chief of the Union army, to suspend the writ of habeas corpus if necessary to control rebellion. President Lincoln defended his controversial action to Congress when it met in a special session on July 4, 1861, and asked Congress to authorize his decision. Congress passed a bill – signed into law on March 3, 1863 – supporting the president and giving him authority to suspend the writ of habeas corpus as necessary for public safety during the rebellion. |
|
|
July 4, 1861: Congress’s Summer Session At President Abraham Lincoln’s request, a special summer session of Congress - unusual in the 19th century - was convened with a prayer for “wisdom and…speed to their conclusions.” President Lincoln’s message to Congress explained the actions he had taken since the outbreak of the war that included calling up troops and instituting a naval blockade. Congress eventually authorized all of his actions and appropriated $500 million to put 500,000 Union soldiers in the field. |
President Abraham Lincoln’s Message to Congress, July 4, 1861 
Proclamation Calling Forth the Militia and Convening an Extra Session of Congress, April 15, 1861 |
|
July 1861: Senators Expelled In March 1861, the Senate considered the seats of most rebel senators to simply be vacant. They viewed their absence this way in order to avoid officially recognizing secession. After the war began and hope of reconciliation faded, ten Senators were expelled on July 11, 1861, for disloyalty to the Union. That number reached fourteen on February 5, 1862, when Jesse Bright of Indiana became the last senator expelled for supporting the Confederacy. |
Resolution to Expel Senators, July 10, 1861 
Congressional Directory, Seating Chart for 37th Congress, Third Session, United States Senate, 1863 |
|
July 4, 1861: Absence of House Members To fulfill the Constitution’s biennial election requirement, the entire House membership stood for re-election to the 37th Congress (1861-1863). Unlike the Senate, which formally acted to expel 14 sitting members in the spring of 1861, most representatives-elect from southern states simply never showed up to claim their seats when the House organized itself on July 4, 1861. Though the House weighed some contested elections in Unionist areas of Virginia and Tennessee, members representing several of these districts were seated. Under the extraordinary conditions of 1861, the total membership of the House had simply become those elected and sworn in. During the war, the House formally expelled three border-state representatives for taking up arms against the Union (two from Missouri and one from Kentucky). |
|
|
July 21, 1861: Civil War Spectators With picnic baskets in hand, many curious members of Congress and Washington, D.C. residents traveled to Centreville, Virginia, to watch the battle at Bull Run (Manassas). The Confederate forces defeated an overconfident Union army. In the mayhem that ensued, Confederates captured a member of Congress. In response to the embarrassing defeat at Bull Run, and later, at Ball’s Bluff, Congress created the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War to investigate many aspects of the war. |
"The First Battle of Bull Run, Virginia, Sunday afternoon, July 21, 1861" |
|
August 6, 1861: The First Confiscation Act Union army officers noted that the Confederate army’s use of slaves for labor gave them an advantage. In response, Congress passed the First Confiscation Act that allowed the Union army to seize any property used by rebels while fighting. That included slaves, whom the army liberated from their Confederate masters. While some freed slaves found a better life in their new freedom, others died in contraband camps, which lacked adequate food and shelter. |
|
|
October 21, 1861: Senator Slain in Battle Oregon Senator Edward Baker, a Mexican War veteran and confidant of President Lincoln, led 1,200 Union troops across the Potomac River in an attempt to take Leesburg, Virginia. His brigade was stopped by rebel forces at Ball’s Bluff, where they suffered heavy casualties, including Senator Baker. He became the first and only sitting senator to die in a military engagement. Eighty years later, the War Department banned active duty service of all members during the early months of World War II. |
|
|
1860s: Civil War Era Female Journalist in Congress Emily Briggs moved to Washington, D.C., in 1861. Her journalism career began at age 19 with an anonymous letter to the Washington Chronicle in the early days of the Civil War, refuting charges that female clerks were inefficient. Impressed with her writing, a Philadelphia newspaper editor asked for a daily column. Writing under the pen name, “Olivia,” Briggs commented on war-time Washington and the post-war political battles in the House and Senate, including the 1868 Senate impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson. |
|
|
December 9, 1861: The Joint Committee on the Conduct of War After the Union army’s embarrassing defeats at the battles of Bull Run and Ball’s Bluff, Congress established the Joint Committee on the Conduct of War to “inquire into the causes of the disasters.” It was composed of both senators and representatives, with Radical Republican Representative Thaddeus Stevens and Senator Charles Sumner supporting its formation. The committee’s purview was broadened to include investigations into all aspects of the war, including fraudulent war contracts and mistreatment of Union prisoners and troops by the Confederate army. The Committee publicized its findings, which received wide coverage in the American media. |
"Union soldiers in Andersonville Prison: Sickness, Starvation, Death" |
|
1861: Soldier Pensions In 1861 Congress enacted legislation granting pension benefits to veterans with war-related disabilities and dependents of Civil War soldiers killed in action, including widows. Over the next three decades, Congress expanded the program and the pension office became the largest government department outside the military. Those denied pensions – including women who had served as scouts, disguised themselves as soldiers or provided auxiliary support – petitioned Congress directly with their claims. |
|
|
1861: "Greenbacks" Gold and silver coin, the only federally-accepted legal tender at the start of the Civil War, became increasingly scarce as the war progressed. The shortage hindered the government’s ability to finance the war. In response, Congress passed the Legal Tender Act, authorizing the U.S. Treasury to issue $150 million in notes, known popularly as “greenbacks.” The Treasury also collected revenue through an income tax that varied according to a person's income level, similar to the system we have today. |
Legal Tender Act, February 25, 1862 
|
|
February 13, 1862: The Capital's Fortification System Congress approved the construction of a system of fortifications to protect the District of Columbia from Confederate attack. By 1865, it included 68 forts, 20 miles of rifle pits, 807 guns and 98 mortars strategically placed along a 37-mile circle of fortifications. Washington, D.C., became the most heavily fortified city in the country. |
"Washington, District of Columbia. Officers of 3rd Regiment Massachusetts Heavy Artillery" |
|
February 22, 1862: George Washington’s Farewell Address To boost morale during the Civil War, members of the Senate, the House of Representatives, the Supreme Court and the president’s cabinet gathered to hear Secretary of the Senate John Forney read Washington’s Farewell address. Washington’s address, which implored Americans to set aside sectional and partisan agendas in favor of common national interests, provided inspiration during the war’s darkest days. Early in 1888, the Senate recalled this ceremony, and it became an annual event in 1893. Each year, a U.S. Senator reads Washington’s famous address in the Senate Chamber on or near Washington’s birthday. |
|
|
April 16, 1862: Slavery Abolished in the District of Columbia The D.C. Compensated Emancipation Act, passed by Congress and signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln on April 16, 1862, abolished slavery in the District of Columbia. The act freed approximately 3,000 slaves and obligated the federal government to compensate their owners. This act and the Emancipation Proclamation, which was issued on January 1, 1863, were two important steps in the long road toward full emancipation for African Americans. |
Celebration of the Abolition of Slavery in the District of Columbia, April 19, 1866 
|
|
May - July 1862: Western Settlement America's push west continued unimpeded during the Civil War. Congress passed three acts in rapid succession in 1862 that promoted westward expansion. The Homestead Act granted federal land in western territories to any citizen who agreed to improve and live on the land. The Pacific Railway Act provided federal funds for building the first transcontinental railroad. The Morrill Land Grant College Act supported the establishment of colleges in each state through the sale of public lands, much of which were in the West. All three of these major initiatives had been stalled in Congress for years due to sectional disputes over their provisions. Secession allowed their successful passage. |
Morrill Act (Morrill Land Grant College Act), Passed July 2, 1862 
|
|
July 2, 1862: Ironclad Test Oath In 1862, Congress enacted the “Ironclad Test Oath.” Civil servants and military officers had to swear future loyalty to the Union and affirm no previous disloyal conduct – a clause aimed at Confederate sympathizers. In 1864, the oath became mandatory for all senators. After the war, Congress created an alternative vow for southerners as an act of reconciliation. The Ironclad Test Oath was repealed in 1884 and replaced with the one used today. |
"Vice-President [sic] Wade Administering the Oath to Schuyler Colfax ", 1869 
|
|
July 17, 1862: The Militia Act The Militia Act bolstered Union forces by allowing President Abraham Lincoln to employ “persons of African descent” in military or naval service. African Americans were initially recruited for noncombatant roles such as scouts, laborers and nurses. But the Emancipation Proclamation, issued on January 1, 1863, announced that African Americans could engage in combat. Nearly 200,000 African Americans enlisted as soldiers and sailors served in the Civil War. |
|
|
March 3, 1863: The Conscription Act Congress passed the Conscription Act stating that all male citizens between 20 and 35 and all unmarried men between 35 and 45 could be drafted for military service. A draft lottery was held on July 11, 1863, to fill the Union army’s ranks. Potential draftees could avoid conscription by hiring a substitute or paying $300 to the government. Bloody riots broke out in New York City to protest the draft and its inequities. |
"Charge of the Police on the Rioters at the 'Tribune' Office," 1863 |
|
December 2, 1863: The Statue of Freedom The 19 ½ -foot Statue of Freedom was raised to the top of the Capitol Dome in five main sections and then assembled. The final section was raised on December 2, 1863, accompanied by a 35-gun salute. By then Philip Reid, who worked as a slave on the statue, was a free man. During the statue’s casting, Reid solved the problem of how to separate the plaster model into five sections that could be cast in bronze and reassembled into one seamless statue representing freedom and unity. The motto on its pedestal read “E Pluribus Unum,” which means “Out of Many, One.” |
Installing the Statue of Freedom 
|
|
1864: The Wade-Davis Bill While the war still raged on in 1864, Senator Benjamin Franklin Wade of Ohio and Representative Henry Winter Davis of Maryland devised a plan to rebuild the Union when the war ended. Their proposal, known as the Wade-Davis Bill, would require Confederate states to amend their constitutions to grant suffrage to African Americans. It also stipulated that 50 percent of males in each former Confederate state had to take the loyalty oath before the state could be readmitted to representation in the Union. President Lincoln wanted a more lenient and tolerant plan, however, so he pocket-vetoed the bill. Although the plan never came to fruition, it did set the stage for the Radical Republicans’ postwar agenda. |
|
|
July 2, 1864: National Statuary Hall in 1890 and 1932 In 1864, even before the end of the Civil War, Congress passed legislation that invited every state to contribute two statues to be placed in the old House Chamber, renamed National Statuary Hall. The statues of deceased citizens known for “their historic renown or for distinguished civic or military services” eventually included those who had served during the Civil War on both sides as soldiers, generals and politicians. In 1870, the statue of Revolutionary War hero Nathaniel Greene of Rhode Island became the first to arrive. |
|
|
March 2, 1865: Growth of Congressional Committees Federal expenditures tripled during the Civil War to cover the war’s costs. In response, on March 2, 1865, the House of Representatives formed two new committees out of the Ways and Means Committee: the Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on Banking and Currency. The Senate created its Committee on Appropriations in 1867. After the Civil War, the number of congressional committees expanded even further to include committees with jurisdiction over issues such as railroads, mining, forestry and civil service. By 1918 the House had established nearly 60 committees and the Senate 74. |
|
|
March 3, 1865: The Freedmen’s Bureau and Freedman's Bank Congress created The Freedmen’s Bureau to provide food, clothing, medicine, education, employment opportunities and legal services to former slaves and impoverished southerners. One significant component of the Bureau was the Freedman’s Bank, which helped some 70,000 African Americans build their savings and investments. Sadly, it failed in 1873 due to mismanagement and an economic downturn. |
|