The Congress (1988) - full transcript

Man:
"WHAT IS GOVERNMENT ITSELF

"BUT THE GREATEST OF ALL
REFLECTIONS ON HUMAN NATURE?

IF MEN WERE ANGELS, NO
GOVERNMENT WOULD BE NECESSARY."

JAMES MADISON.

Man:
THAT'S THE PLACE
WHERE OUR GOVERNMENT WORKS.

IT'S THE ENGINE OF DEMOCRACY.

THIS IS OUR MOST
IMPORTANT BUILDING.

WE'RE SO ACCUSTOMED

TO SEEING OUR HISTORY
MEASURED BY THE PRESIDENCY

THAT WE FORGET THE EXTENT
TO WHICH

THE REAL STORY OF OUR COUNTRY
TAKES PLACE RIGHT THERE.



THAT'S THE PLACE TO GO,
TO THE HILL.

ALL THE VOICES ARE THERE.

( gavel raps )

Man:
THE HOUSE WILL BE IN ORDER.

OUR PRAYER WILL BE OFFERED
BY THE CHAPLAIN.

Chaplain:
O GOD, AS WE THINK
ON THE GLORIES

OF YOUR SPIRITUAL WORLD...

Tour guide:
FOLKS, PLEASE GRAB A TICKET

FOR A TOUR OF THE HISTORIC
SECTION OF THE BUILDING.

Tour guide #2:
WE ARE NOW STANDING IN THE
ORIGINAL SECTION OF THE CAPITOL.

( tour guide speaking Hebrew )

Nixon:
...OLD SOLDIERS NEVER DIE.

THEY JUST FADE AWAY...

Man:
...SENATOR McCARTHY, HAVE YOU
NO SENSE OF DECENCY, SIR?...



Man 2:
...MR. RODINO...

Man 3:
...IT IS POSSIBLE FOR AN
AMERICAN TO DISAGREE WITH YOU

ON AID TO THE CONTRAS

AND STILL LOVE GOD
AND STILL LOVE THIS COUNTRY...

Woman:
...MR. SPEAKER, THE OFFICIAL
STATE SONG OF MY HOME STATE

IS ENTITLED
"BEAUTIFUL NEBRASKA."

I WANT MY COLLEAGUES TO KNOW
ABOUT THE ACCOMPLISHMENT...

Man 4:
...WITH CONGRESS, EVERY TIME
THEY MAKE A JOKE, IT'S A LAW.

YOU KNOW?

AND EVERY TIME THEY MAKE
A LAW, IT'S A JOKE.

( laughter, applause )

LOOK,
THERE IT IS!

WHO? WHAT?

THE CAPITOL
DOME.

YES, SIR,
BEEN THERE A
LONG TIME NOW.

YES, SIR.

THIS WAY, SENATOR.

Man:
THE CONGRESS AND THE PRESIDENT
AND THE SUPREME COURT--

THEY'RE THE THREE THINGS WE GOT.

BUT THE CONGRESS
IS WHERE WE SPEAK.

THE CONGRESS IS WHERE WE ARE.

THE CONGRESS IS WHERE
ORDINARY MORTALS

GO ABOUT THE BUSINESS
OF COMPROMISE--

OF COMPROMISE WHICH GETS US
THROUGH THE DAY.

CONGRESS IS THE FIRST
BRANCH OF GOVERNMENT

IN THE SENSE THAT
IT IS THE REMINDER

THAT PEOPLE IN A REPUBLIC

ARE SUPPOSED TO DO
THEIR OWN BUSINESS

AND THEY ARE NOT SUPPOSED
TO ABDICATE THEIR BUSINESS

TO SOMEONE ELSE.

Man:
THERE WAS STILL SOME
LINGERING THOUGHTS

THAT THEY MADE A MISTAKE IN
GIVING UP THE IDEA OF A KING.

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN CAME ALONG.

THE STORY IS HE CAME ALONG AND
HE STOPPED AND LISTENED A MOMENT

AND WHEN THERE WAS A CHANCE TO
SAY A WORD, HE JUST SAID THIS:

"IN AMERICA, THE PEOPLE GOVERN."

Man:
"THIS HUGE GRAY HALL FILLED
WITH PERPETUAL CLAMOR

"THIS MULTITUDE OF EAGER FACES

"THIS CEASELESS COMING
AND GOING OF MANY FEET

"THIS IRREVERENT PUBLIC,
WATCHING FROM THE GALLERIES

"AND FORCING ITS WAY
ONTO THE FLOOR

"ALL SPEAK OF
THE MIGHTY DEMOCRACY

"DESTINED IN ANOTHER CENTURY

"TO FORM ONE HALF
OF CIVILIZED MANKIND

"WHOSE AFFAIRS ARE HERE DEBATED.

"OF WHAT TREMENDOUS STRUGGLES

"MAY NOT THIS HALL BECOME THE
THEATER IN AGES YET FAR DISTANT

WHEN THE PARLIAMENTS OF EUROPE
HAVE SHRUNK TO INSIGNIFICANCE?"

McCullough:
ONE MILE EAST AND 88 FEET
ABOVE THE POTOMAC RIVER

ON WHAT WAS ONCE
CALLED JENKINS HEIGHTS

STANDS THE MOST RECOGNIZABLE
BUILDING IN AMERICA.

DESIGNED BY AN ENGLISHMAN,
INSPIRED BY A RUSSIAN CHURCH

DECORATED BY ITALIAN CRAFTSMEN
AND BUILT IN PART BY SLAVES

IT IS THE NEAREST
THING AMERICANS HAVE

TO A NATIONAL TEMPLE.

DAVY CROCKETT SAT HERE.

SO DID JOSEPH PULITZER
AND HORACE GREELEY

AND WILLIAM RANDOLPH HEARST
AND EMILY DICKINSON'S FATHER

AND ISADOR STRAUS,
THE FOUNDER OF MACY'S

AND A MAN WHO PITCHED
A PERFECT GAME

FOR THE PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
IN 1964.

OVER 10,000 MEN AND WOMEN
HAVE SERVED HERE--

FARMERS AND HOUSEWIVES

RHODES SCHOLARS AND EX-SLAVES

ASTRONAUTS AND PRIESTS

BASKETBALL STARS
AND CONVICTED FELONS

SCHOOLTEACHERS AND PLAYWRIGHTS

AND LAWYERS-- ALWAYS LAWYERS.

Man:
"IF THE PRESENT CONGRESS
ERR TOO MUCH IN TALKING

"HOW CAN IT BE OTHERWISE

"IN A BODY TO WHICH THE PEOPLE
SEND 150 LAWYERS

WHOSE TRADE IS
TALK BY THE HOUR?"

McCullough:
ONE MEMBER HAS GONE INSANE
IN OFFICE.

ONE HAS TAKEN MATERNITY LEAVE

AND SEVERAL HAVE SERVED
JAIL TERMS FOR BRIBERY.

MEMBERS HAVE FOUGHT ON THE FLOOR
WITH FISTS AND FIRE TONGS

SHOT EACH OTHER
ON DUELING GROUNDS

AND BEEN SHOT AT
FROM THE GALLERIES.

23 FROM CONGRESS
HAVE BECOME PRESIDENT.

IN 200 YEARS, CONGRESS HAS,
IN THE NAME OF THE PEOPLE

PUSHED OPEN THE WEST,
BUILT RAILROADS, FREED SLAVES

MADE WAR, PASSED SOCIAL SECURITY

PUT G.I.s THROUGH COLLEGE

AND PAID TO LAND MEN
ON THE MOON.

THEY'VE DRIVEN INDIANS FROM
THEIR LAND, OUTLAWED ALCOHOL

AND FILIBUSTERED WITHOUT MERCY.

THEY'VE CREATED MOTHER'S DAY
AND DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME

DOMINATED PRESIDENTS
AND BEEN DOMINATED BY THEM

STARTED WARS AND STOPPED THEM.

"CONGRESS,"
THOMAS JEFFERSON SAID

"IS THE GREAT COMMANDING THEATER
OF THIS NATION.

IT IS THE PLACE
WHERE LAWS ARE MADE."

Man:
HE WAS ONCE ASKED
BY A RATHER IMPATIENT MAN

AT THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION

"MR. MADISON,
COULD YOU PLEASE TELL US

WHAT ARE THE PRINCIPLES,
IF THERE ARE ANY

TO BE OF AMERICAN GOVERNMENT?"

AND HE SAID,
"YES, THERE ARE THREE:

COMPROMISE, COMPROMISE,
COMPROMISE."

I AM MOST IMPRESSED
BY THEIR IMAGINATION.

THIS WAS A LEAP
OF THE IMAGINATION--

THE IDEA THAT YOU'RE GOING
TO TURN OVER TO THE PEOPLE

THROUGH THEIR REPRESENTATIVES

THE POWER TO MAKE WAR
AND THE POWER TO TAX.

...THAT THE PEOPLE WHO WERE
GOING TO TAKE YOUR MONEY AWAY--

OR YOUR SONS-- WERE THE PEOPLE
WHO WENT HOME EVERY WEEKEND...

THEY HAD TO BE UP FOR
RE-ELECTION EVERY TWO YEARS.

IT'S HARD TO IMAGINE THAT
WHEN THEY MET IN NEW YORK

THERE WAS NO STRUCTURE
FOR THEM TO BEGIN WITH

AND THEY INVENTED THIS CONGRESS
THAT STILL EXISTS TODAY

RECOGNIZING THAT EVERY DECISION
THEY MADE IN THOSE TWO YEARS

WOULD BECOME A PRECEDENT FOR
AS LONG AS THE CONGRESS ENDURED.

IF THAT'S NOT A MIRACLE

THAT WE HAD THAT KIND OF
POLITICAL TALENT AVAILABLE

IN A SMALL COUNTRY
OF FOUR MILLION PEOPLE

AT THAT TIME IN OUR HISTORY,
I DON'T KNOW WHAT A MIRACLE IS.

Man:
"YOU AND I, DEAR FRIEND,
HAVE BEEN SENT INTO LIFE

"AT A TIME WHEN
THE GREATEST LAWGIVERS

"WOULD HAVE WISHED TO LIVE.

"HOW FEW OF THE HUMAN RACE HAVE
EVER ENJOYED AN OPPORTUNITY

"OF MAKING AN ELECTION
OF GOVERNMENT

FOR THEMSELVES AND
THEIR CHILDREN."

JOHN ADAMS.

McCullough:
IN 1789, KINGS STILL RULED
IN FRANCE AND ENGLAND

A CZAR IN ST. PETERSBURG,
A SULTAN IN CONSTANTINOPLE

A DIVINELY INVESTED EMPEROR
IN PEKING AND A SHOGUN IN JAPAN.

BUT ON MARCH 4, 1789

IN THE SUN-FILLED CHAMBERS
OF NEW YORK'S CITY HALL

NEWLY REMODELED AS
A TEMPORARY CAPITOL

THE FIRST CONGRESS
OF THE UNITED STATES

TOOK UP ITS BUSINESS
UNDER THE NEW CONSTITUTION.

ONLY 21 MEMBERS
SHOWED UP, HOWEVER

AND THE FIRST CONGRESS ADJOURNED
WITHOUT A QUORUM.

Man:
"THIS IS A VERY
MORTIFYING SITUATION.

"WE LOSE CREDIT,
SPIRIT, EVERYTHING.

"THE PUBLIC WILL FORGET THE
GOVERNMENT BEFORE IT IS BORN.

THE RESURRECTION OF THE INFANT
WILL COME BEFORE ITS BIRTH."

REPRESENTATIVE FISHER AMES.

McCullough:
WHEN THEY FINALLY ALL ASSEMBLED

CONGRESS ADDRESSED ITSELF TO
TEN CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS--

A BILL OF RIGHTS,
GUARANTEEING AMONG OTHER THINGS

THE SEPARATION OF
CHURCH AND STATE.

THE HOUSE THEN PICKED A FORMER
PREACHER FOR ITS FIRST SPEAKER--

FREDERICK MUHLENBERG
OF PENNSYLVANIA.

THEY CREATED NEW DEPARTMENTS
OF STATE, TREASURY AND WAR

DEVISED THE MACHINERY
OF COMMITTEES

AND SET PRESIDENT
GEORGE WASHINGTON'S SALARY

AT THE HUGE SUM
OF $25,000 A YEAR

ALL THE TIME IMPROVISING FREELY.

THEY WERE INVENTING CONGRESS

AND THEY WERE INVENTING
THEMSELVES.

Man:
"I AM VICE-PRESIDENT.

"IN THIS I AM NOTHING,
BUT I MAY BE EVERYTHING

"BUT I AM ALSO PRESIDENT
OF THE SENATE.

"WHEN THE PRESIDENT COMES
INTO THE SENATE, WHO SHALL I BE?

JOHN ADAMS?"

I WOULD HAVE LIKED TO HAVE BEEN
A REPORTER AT THE FIRST CONGRESS

IN THE FIRST DAYS,
WHEN THOSE GUYS CAME IN THERE

TO INVENT WHAT THEY PLANNED
AT PHILADELPHIA.

THERE WAS A MOMENT

WHEN THE PRESIDENT HAD A TREATY
FOR THE SENATE TO RATIFY.

THE SENATE HAD NEVER
RATIFIED A TREATY--

THERE HAD NEVER BEEN A SENATE,
THERE HAD NEVER BEEN A TREATY.

GEORGE WASHINGTON
BORE THE TREATY

TO THE CAPITOL IN HIS HAND.

HE DELIVERED IT TO THE SENATE

AND HE SAID, IN EFFECT,
"RATIFY IT"

AND THE SENATE TOOK IT
AND LOOKED AT IT AWHILE

AND SAID, "YES, SIR, YEAH."

AND IT CAME CLEAR

THAT WASHINGTON EXPECTED
THEM TO RATIFY IT.

THE SENATE ASSERTED ITSELF

NOT KNOWING WHAT
IT WAS ASSERTING

AND SAID, "WE'LL HAVE
TO LOOK AT IT."

WASHINGTON PACED THE HALLS,
IRRITATED, ANGERED.

THE SENATE TOLD HIM

THAT THEY BELIEVED THAT
IT WOULD TAKE TILL TOMORROW

OR MAYBE ANOTHER DAY

AND WASHINGTON HAD TO LEAVE
THE CAPITOL AND GO HOME

AND HE NEVER RETURNED
TO THE CAPITOL.

BUT THE SENATE HAD ASSERTED THAT
IT WOULD DO WHAT THE FOUNDERS--

WHICH GEORGE WASHINGTON
AGREED WITH...

THEY RATIFIED A TREATY
BY ARGUING ABOUT IT

AND MAKING A LITTLE
CHANGE SOMEWHERE

AND THE GOVERNMENT
WAS OPERATING.

Woman:
"AFTER LEAVING BALTIMORE

"WE WANDERED ABOUT
FOR TWO HOURS

"WITHOUT FINDING
A GUIDE OR A PATH.

"WOODS ARE ALL YOU CAN SEE

"FROM THE TIME
YOU LEAVE BALTIMORE

"UNTIL YOU REACH THE CITY,
WHICH IS SO ONLY IN NAME.

"I HAVE BEEN TO GEORGETOWN.

"IT IS THE VERY DIRTIEST HOLE
I EVER SAW

FOR A PLACE OF ANY TRADE OR
RESPECTABILITY OF INHABITANCE."

ABIGAIL ADAMS.

McCullough:
AFTER A YEAR IN NEW YORK
AND TEN IN PHILADELPHIA

CONGRESS FINALLY FOUND
A PERMANENT HOME.

GOVERNMENT SETTLED ON THE BANKS
OF THE POTOMAC

AT THE WEST END
OF JENKINS HEIGHTS.

THE MOVE WAS MADE IN JUNE 1800.

THE GOVERNMENT'S DOCUMENTS
CAME BY SAILING SHIP;

CLERKS, CONGRESSMEN AND JOHN
ADAMS, NOW PRESIDENT ADAMS

BY STAGECOACH AND HORSEBACK.

A LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
WAS ESTABLISHED

AND A SUM OF $15 MILLION VOTED

TO PURCHASE ALL
LOUISIANA TERRITORY

DOUBLING THE SIZE
OF THE COUNTRY.

AN ADDITIONAL APPROPRIATION OF
$2,500 WENT TO LEWIS AND CLARK

TO FIND OUT WHAT
$15 MILLION HAD BOUGHT.

CONGRESS WAS
BOISTEROUS, HOMESPUN

ENLIVENED NOW BY
A TWO-PARTY SYSTEM

AND OUTRAGED OVER BRITISH
HARASSMENT OF AMERICAN SHIPPING.

SOME WANTED WAR.

MOST PERSUASIVE OF
THESE WAR HAWKS

WAS A YOUNG CONGRESSMAN
FROM KENTUCKY.

Man:
"CLAY IS AN ELOQUENT MAN,
WITH VERY POPULAR MANNERS

"AND GREAT POLITICAL MANAGEMENT.

"HIS SCHOOL HAS BEEN THE WORLD,
AND IN THAT HE IS PROFICIENT.

"HIS MORALS, PUBLIC
AND PRIVATE, ARE LOOSE

BUT HE HAS ALL THE VIRTUES
INDISPENSABLE TO A POPULAR MAN."

McCullough:
ON NOVEMBER 4, 1811

HIS FIRST DAY AS A MEMBER
OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

HENRY CLAY WAS ELECTED SPEAKER.

HE WAS TALL, GALLANT, SHREWD
AND AMBITIOUS, A NATURAL LEADER.

ONLY 35 YEARS OLD, HE TOOK
HIS PLACE IN THE GREAT CHAMBER

AND QUICKLY CHALLENGED
THE WHITE HOUSE

IN ITS HANDLING
OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS.

THE BALANCE OF POWER SHIFTED
TO CONGRESS

AND TO HENRY CLAY.

Man:
"SIR, NO MAN IN THE NATION
WANTS PEACE MORE THAN I

"BUT I'D PREFER THE
TROUBLED OCEAN OF WAR

"WITH ALL ITS CALAMITIES

TO THE TRANQUIL AND PUTRESCENT
POOL OF IGNOMINIOUS PEACE."

McCullough:
IN JUNE OF 1812, THE CONGRESS OF
THE UNITED STATES DECLARED WAR

FOR THE FIRST TIME

THEN ADJOURNED WITHOUT VOTING
THE TAXES TO PAY FOR IT.

TWO YEARS LATER, THE BRITISH
INVADED WASHINGTON.

CONGRESS WAS NOT IN SESSION

WHEN THE BRITISH ARMY
MARCHED INTO THE CITY

AND BURNED THE CAPITOL.

BUT THE PROBLEMS HAD JUST BEGUN.

TWO GREAT QUESTIONS HAVE
PREVAILED ALL THE WAY THROUGH

FROM THE TIME OF
THE EARLIEST CONGRESSES

RIGHT UP UNTIL THE PRESENT

AND THOSE ARE CIVIL RIGHTS
AND GROWTH.

THE CRUCIAL MOMENT
IN THE 19th CENTURY

WAS WHEN THIS NATION WAS
TRYING TO AVERT

THE TRAGEDY OF THE CIVIL WAR

WHICH FINALLY OVERPOWERED
THE STATESMEN OF THAT ERA.

BUT THERE WERE MEN,
CLAY AND OTHERS

WHO TRIED AND USED UP
THEIR LIVES AND CAREERS

TRYING TO AVERT THAT CALAMITY.

THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN A TIME

TO HAVE BEEN A FLY ON THE WALL
IN THE CAPITOL.

Woman:
"THE MISTS OF MORNING STILL HUNG
AROUND THE MAGNIFICENT BUILDING

"WHEN FIRST IT BROKE
UPON OUR VIEW.

"WE WERE STRUCK WITH
ADMIRATION AND SURPRISE.

"NONE OF US, I BELIEVE, EXPECTED
TO SEE SO IMPOSING A STRUCTURE

"ON THAT SIDE OF THE ATLANTIC.

"THE BEAUTY AND MAJESTY
OF THE AMERICAN CAPITOL

"MIGHT DEFY AN ABLER PEN
THAN MINE TO DO IT JUSTICE.

IT STANDS SO FINELY,
TOO, HIGH AND ALONE."

FRANCES TROLLOPE.

McCullough:
BY 1819, THE CAPITOL
HAD BEEN REBUILT

UNDER THE DIRECTION OF BENJAMIN
LATROBE AND CHARLES BULFINCH.

THERE WERE SPACIOUS NEW CHAMBERS
FOR BOTH HOUSES

JOINED BY A HANDSOME ROTUNDA

AND A LOW WOODEN DOME,
SHEATHED IN COPPER.

A PROUD CONGRESS SAT WHILE
THE ARTIST SAMUEL F.B. MORSE

PAINTED IT IN SESSION
IN ITS NEW QUARTERS

THEN SUBSIDIZED HIS
NEW TELEGRAPH SYSTEM.

GROWTH AND IMPROVEMENTS WERE
THE SPIRIT OF THE TIMES.

BUT BECAUSE OF CONFUSION AS TO
WHETHER THE SENATE OR THE HOUSE

HAD AUTHORITY IN THE ROTUNDA,
MERCHANTS SET UP SHOP THERE

AND SOLD STOVES, PIANOS
AND MOUSETRAPS.

Man:
"LET US THEN BIND
THE REPUBLIC TOGETHER

"WITH A PERFECT SYSTEM
OF ROADS AND CANALS.

"LET US CONQUER SPACE.

WE ARE RAPIDLY-- I WAS ABOUT
TO SAY FEARFULLY-- GROWING."

JOHN C. CALHOUN.

McCullough:
THERE WAS ONE PROBLEM THAT
COULD UNBIND THE REPUBLIC.

AS EACH NEW STATE
WAS ADDED TO THE UNION

IT THREATENED TO TEAR
THE COUNTRY APART.

SOUTHERNERS FEARED THE NORTH
MIGHT FORBID SLAVERY.

NORTHERNERS FEARED SLAVERY
MIGHT MOVE WEST.

Man:
"THERE WAS NEVER A MOMENT
IN OUR HISTORY

"WHEN SLAVERY WAS NOT
A SLEEPING SERPENT.

"IT LAY COILED UP
UNDER THE TABLE

"DURING THE DELIBERATIONS OF
THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION.

"THEREAFTER, SLAVERY WAS
ON EVERYONE'S MIND

IF NOT ALWAYS ON HIS TONGUE."

McCullough:
THE FIRST GREAT CRISIS
CAME IN 1820.

AFTER FIERCE DEBATE, CONGRESS
PASSED THE MISSOURI COMPROMISE

ADMITTING MAINE AS A FREE STATE
AND MISSOURI AS A SLAVE STATE.

HENRY CLAY ENGINEERED
THE COMPROMISE

USING ALL THE FORCE OF
HIS EXTRAORDINARY PERSONALITY.

THERE WAS WIDESPREAD RELIEF.

THEY HAD SAVED
THE UNION FOR NOW.

Man:
"ALL LEGISLATION IS FOUNDED

"UPON THE PRINCIPLE
OF MUTUAL CONCESSION.

"LET HIM WHO ELEVATES HIMSELF
ABOVE HUMANITY

"SAY IF HE PLEASES,
'I NEVER WILL COMPROMISE'

"BUT LET NO ONE WHO IS
NOT ABOVE THE FRAILTIES

OF OUR COMMON NATURE,
DISDAIN COMPROMISE."

McCullough:
IT WAS A TIME OF ORATORY.

AND THERE WERE GIANTS
ON CAPITOL HILL:

THOMAS HART BENTON OF MISSOURI,
THE VOICE OF WESTERN EXPANSION

WHO HAD ONCE SHOT ANDREW JACKSON
IN A STREET BRAWL;

SAM HOUSTON,
FUTURE PRESIDENT OF TEXAS

WHO SAT IN THE HOUSE CHAMBER,
WHITTLING A PINE STICK;

JOHN QUINCY ADAMS,
OLD MAN ELOQUENT

WHO LIKE NO OTHER
FORMER PRESIDENT

WENT BACK TO SERVE IN THE HOUSE;

AND WEBSTER, GOD-LIKE DANIEL
OF MASSACHUSETTS--

IT WAS SAID NO MAN
WAS EVER SO GREAT

AS DANIEL WEBSTER
LOOKED OR SOUNDED.

Man:
"WHEN MY EYES SHALL BE TURNED
TO BEHOLD FOR THE LAST TIME

"THE SUN IN THE HEAVENS

"MAY I NOT SEE HIM SHINING
ON THE BROKEN FRAGMENTS

"OF A ONCE GLORIOUS UNION,
ON A LAND RENT WITH CIVIL FEUDS

"OR DRENCHED IT MAY BE
IN FRATERNAL BLOOD.

"LET THEIR LAST FEEBLE
AND LINGERING GLANCE

"RATHER BEHOLD THE GORGEOUS
ENSIGN OF THE REPUBLIC

"STILL FULL HIGH ADVANCED.

"LIBERTY AND UNION,
NOW AND FOREVER

ONE AND INSEPARABLE."

McCullough:
SPEECH BY SPEECH,
COMPROMISE AFTER COMPROMISE

WORDS HELD THE COUNTRY TOGETHER.

GENERATIONS OF SCHOOLCHILDREN
LEARNED WEBSTER'S WORDS BY HEART

AND TOOK THEM TO HEART.

Man:
"BEFORE DELIVERING A SPEECH,
HE OFTEN APPEARED ABSENTMINDED.

"RISING TO HIS FEET

"HE SEEMED TO RECOVER
PERFECT SELF-POSSESSION

"WHICH WAS AIDED
BY THRUSTING THE RIGHT HAND

"WITHIN THE FOLDS OF HIS VEST

"WHILE THE LEFT HUNG GRACEFULLY
BY HIS SIDE.

"HIS DARK COMPLEXION GREW WARM
WITH INWARD FIRE.

HIS EYES WOULD START FROM
THEIR CAVERNOUS DEPTHS."

McCullough:
WEBSTER WAS A GENIAL HOST

A WARM FRIEND OF BUSINESS
AND OF THE SIDEBOARD DECANTER

AND NOT AVERSE TO TAKING
CASH GIFTS FROM ADMIRERS.

HENRY CLAY, TOO, ENJOYED
HIS WHISKEY AND HIGH LIVING

GAMBLING AND HORSE RACING.

A WAR HAWK NO MORE

HE HAD BECOME THE SUPREME
CHARMER OF AMERICAN POLITICS--

THE GREAT COMPROMISER.

Man:
"I DON'T LIKE HENRY CLAY.

"HE IS A BAD MAN, AN IMPOSTER,
A CREATOR OF WICKED SCHEMES.

I WOULDN'T SPEAK TO HIM,
BUT BY GOD I LOVE HIM."

JOHN C. CALHOUN.

McCullough:
SOMBER, INTELLECTUAL
JOHN C. CALHOUN

HAD NO INTEREST IN COMPROMISE.

LIKE CLAY, HE WAS A SLAVE OWNER

BUT UNLIKE CLAY,
HE BECAME SO SINGLE-MINDED

IN HIS DEFENSE OF
THE INSTITUTION

THAT HE SEEMED POSSESSED.

HE GAVE UP THE VICE-PRESIDENCY
TO TAKE A SEAT IN THE SENATE

TO LEAD THE SOUTHERN CAUSE.

Man:
"NOTHING CAN BE MORE
UNFOUNDED AND FALSE

"THAN THE PREVALENT OPINION THAT
ALL MEN ARE BORN FREE AND EQUAL

"FOR IT RESTS UPON
THE ASSUMPTION OF A FACT

WHICH IS CONTRARY TO
UNIVERSAL OBSERVATION."

JOHN C. CALHOUN.

Man:
"HERE IS OUR COUNTRY, UPON
THE VERY VERGE OF A CIVIL WAR

"WHICH EVERYONE PRETENDS
TO BE ANXIOUS TO AVOID

"YET EVERYONE WANTS HIS OWN WAY

IRRESPECTIVE OF THE WISHES
OF OTHERS."

HENRY CLAY.

Man:
"THE FEELING AMONG
THE SOUTHERN MEMBERS

"FOR DISSOLUTION OF THE UNION
IS BECOMING MORE GENERAL.

"MEN ARE NOW BEGINNING
TO TALK OF IT SERIOUSLY

"WHO 12 MONTHS AGO
HARDLY PERMITTED THEMSELVES

"TO THINK OF IT.

THE CRISIS IS NOT FAR AHEAD."

ALEXANDER STEPHENS.

McCullough:
WHEN THE CORNERSTONE
OF THE CAPITOL WAS LAID

THERE WERE ONLY 209 POST OFFICES
IN THE COUNTRY.

BY 1850, THERE WERE 21,551.

GOLD HAD BEEN FOUND
IN CALIFORNIA.

TEXAS WAS IN THE UNION.

THE COUNTRY NOW STRETCHED
ALL THE WAY TO THE PACIFIC.

Man:
"IT IS OUR MANIFEST DESTINY

"TO OVERSPREAD THE CONTINENT
ALLOTTED BY PROVIDENCE

FOR THE FREE DEVELOPMENT OF OUR
YEARLY MULTIPLYING MILLIONS."

Man:
"THERE ARE GRAVE DOUBTS
AT THE HUGENESS OF THE LAND

AND WHETHER ONE GOVERNMENT
CAN COMPREHEND THE WHOLE."

McCullough:
THE NEXT CRISIS CAME
IN 1850 OVER CALIFORNIA.

WOULD THE NEW STATE
BE SLAVE OR FREE?

CLAY TOOK THE FLOOR
ON FEBRUARY 5.

HE HAD ARRIVED SO WEAK, HE HAD
TO BE HELPED UP THE STEPS.

BUT IN THE OVERHEATED CHAMBER,
HE SPOKE NEARLY THREE HOURS

PLEADING FOR ANOTHER COMPROMISE.

HE WARNED THAT THE UNION
MIGHT BE DESTROYED

AND CALLED FOR A FREE CALIFORNIA
TO PLEASE THE NORTH.

TO PLEASE THE SOUTH, HE
PROPOSED TO STRENGTHEN THE LAW

THAT RETURNED RUNAWAY SLAVES
TO THEIR OWNERS.

CLAY KNEW WHAT A CONCESSION
HE WAS ASKING

OF WEBSTER AND THE NORTH.

Man:
"YOU ARE NUMERICALLY MORE
POWERFUL THAN THE SLAVE STATES

AND GREATNESS AND MAGNANIMITY
SHOULD EVER BE ALLIED TOGETHER."

McCullough:
CALHOUN, RACKED WITH FEVER,
TOO ILL EVEN TO TALK

SAT WRAPPED IN A BLACK CLOAK,
GLARING DEFIANCE

WHILE HIS SPEECH WAS READ FOR
HIM BY JAMES MASON OF VIRGINIA.

HE WAS SURE THE ABOLITIONISTS
WOULD MAKE SLAVES INTO MASTERS

AND MASTERS INTO SLAVES.

ON MARCH 7,
DANIEL WEBSTER TOOK HIS TURN.

PLAGUED BY INSOMNIA FOR WEEKS

HE REINFORCED HIMSELF
WITH DRUGS.

IT WAS HIS LAST GREAT SPEECH.

Man:
"MR. PRESIDENT,
I WISH TO SPEAK TODAY

"NOT AS A MASSACHUSETTS MAN,
NOR AS A NORTHERN MAN

"BUT AS AN AMERICAN
AND A MEMBER OF THE SENATE.

"I SPEAK FOR THE PRESERVATION
OF THE UNION.

HEAR ME FOR MY CAUSE."

McCullough:
HE HAD MADE A BRAVE DECISION.

HE WOULD SUPPORT
THE CLAY COMPROMISE

INCLUDING THE FUGITIVE SLAVE LAW
HIS CONSTITUENTS SO DESPISED

BECAUSE HE THOUGHT IT THE ONLY
WAY TO STAVE OFF CIVIL WAR.

CLAY AND WEBSTER WON.

THE COMPROMISE OF 1850
HELD THE UNION TOGETHER

FOR TEN MORE YEARS.

BUT WEBSTER, CLAY
AND CALHOUN WERE SPENT.

DEFIANT UNTIL THE END

CALHOUN DIED EVEN BEFORE THE
COMPROMISE WAS ENACTED INTO LAW.

CLAY AND WEBSTER DIED IN 1852.

HENRY CLAY OF KENTUCKY WAS
THE FIRST MAN TO LIE IN STATE

IN THE ROTUNDA OF THE CAPITOL.

I LIKE ORATORY.

IT'S A... ONE
OF MY CHARACTER FAILINGS

AND WEBSTER, CLAY, CALHOUN
APPARENTLY WERE

THREE JUST MAGIC ORATORS.

I WOULD HAVE SAT
AND I WOULD HAVE LISTENED

AS YOU WOULD LISTEN TO
A GREAT WURLITZER SOMEWHERE.

I WOULD HAVE, I HOPE, BEEN
ABSOLUTELY AWED AT THE WAY

IN THE MIDDLE OF ALL THAT
MELLIFLUOUS RAGING

THEY WERE ISOLATING ISSUES

AS VERY FEW MEMBERS ARE ABLE
TO DO TODAY.

THEY WERE SPEAKING

ABOUT THE GREATEST DIVISIONS
IN THE COUNTRY

WITH INCREDIBLE PRECISION
APART FROM THEIR ELOQUENCE.

BUT WHEN I'M
IN THE PRESENCE OF THAT

I READ ABOUT IT THE NEXT DAY.

I SIT AND LISTEN
AS TO THE CONCERT.

McCullough:
NOW CAPITOL HILL BECAME
A CONSTRUCTION SITE.

TWO HUGE NEW WINGS
WERE PLANNED--

GRAND STAIRWAYS, SUMPTUOUS
RECEPTION ROOMS AND A NEW DOME.

THE ARCHITECT WAS
FROM THE NORTH--

THOMAS WALTER OF PENNSYLVANIA.

THE MAN IN CHARGE
WAS FROM THE SOUTH--

JEFFERSON DAVIS OF MISSISSIPPI.

BUT WHILE THE CAPITOL
WAS GROWING

THE COUNTRY WAS COMING APART.

FINALLY, WORDS FAILED.

ON THE FLOOR OF THE SENATE

SOUTH CAROLINA CONGRESSMAN
PRESTON BROOKS SAVAGELY BEAT

THE ABOLITIONIST SENATOR
CHARLES SUMNER OF MASSACHUSETTS

WITH A CANE.

SUMNER TRIED SO DESPERATELY
TO GET AWAY

HE WRENCHED HIS DESK LOOSE
FROM THE FLOOR.

MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE
BEGAN CARRYING PISTOLS.

IN NOVEMBER OF 1860, ABRAHAM
LINCOLN WAS ELECTED PRESIDENT.

IN DECEMBER, SOUTH CAROLINA
SECEDED FROM THE UNION.

THERE WERE MORE AND MORE
EMPTY SEATS IN THE NEW CHAMBERS.

ON JANUARY 21, 1861, SENATOR
JEFFERSON DAVIS ROSE TO SPEAK.

Man:
"I AM SURE I FEEL
NO HOSTILITY TOWARD YOU

"SENATORS OF THE NORTH.

"I AM SURE THERE IS
NOT ONE OF YOU

"WHATEVER SHARP DISCUSSION
THERE MAY HAVE BEEN BETWEEN US

"TO WHOM I CANNOT SAY
IN THE PRESENCE OF MY GOD

'I WISH YOU WELL'."

McCullough:
ABRAHAM LINCOLN TOOK THE OATH
OF OFFICE ON THE EAST STEPS

BENEATH THE BOOMS
AND SCAFFOLDING

FOR THE COLOSSAL NEW DOME
OF CAST IRON.

CANNON GUARDED
THE CAPITOL GROUNDS.

SHARPSHOOTERS LINED THE ROOF.

DESPITE PROTEST AT THE COST

LINCOLN INSISTED THAT WORK
ON THE UNFINISHED DOME GO ON.

"I TAKE IT AS A SIGN," HE SAID,
"THAT THE UNION WILL CONTINUE."

BUT ON APRIL 12, 1861, WAR CAME.

NOW THERE WAS ANOTHER
AMERICAN CONGRESS--

THE PROVISIONAL CONGRESS OF THE
CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA

IN MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA.

Woman:
"WASHINGTON CITY WAS
NO LONGER A NAME

"TO THE MOTHER WAITING AND
PRAYING IN THE DISTANT HAMLET.

"HER BOY WAS CAMPED
ON THE FLOOR OF THE ROTUNDA.

"NEVER, TILL THAT HOUR

"DID THE FEDERAL CITY BECOME TO
THE HEART OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE

TRULY THE CAPITAL
OF THE NATION."

McCullough:
THE CAPITOL BECAME
A MAKESHIFT BARRACKS

THEN A HOSPITAL.

CONGRESS AND THE COUNTRY
WERE NOW CONFRONTING

THEIR GREATEST CRISIS.

AT NOON, DECEMBER 2, 1863,
AS THE WAR DRAGGED ON

A 19-FOOT BRONZE GODDESS
OF "FREEDOM TRIUMPHANT"

WAS AT LAST HOISTED INTO PLACE.

THE GREAT DOME WAS FINISHED.

IN JANUARY OF 1865

CONGRESS PASSED
A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT

ABOLISHING SLAVERY
EVERYWHERE AND FOR ALL TIME.

HIRAM REVELS OF MISSISSIPPI
BECAME THE FIRST BLACK MAN

EVER TO SERVE IN
THE UNITED STATES SENATE

FILLING THE SEAT LAST HELD
BY JEFFERSON DAVIS.

ONLY ONE SOUTHERN SENATOR HAD
REMAINED LOYAL TO THE UNION--

VICE-PRESIDENT ANDREW
JOHNSON OF TENNESSEE.

WHEN HE ASSUMED THE PRESIDENCY
AFTER LINCOLN'S ASSASSINATION

A POWER STRUGGLE BROKE OUT

BETWEEN CONGRESS
AND THE EXECUTIVE.

JOHNSON'S RECONSTRUCTION PLAN
WAS TOO LENIENT

FOR RADICAL REPUBLICANS

LIKE THADDEUS STEVENS
OF PENNSYLVANIA

WHO WANTED TO ENFORCE CIVIL
RIGHTS THROUGHOUT THE SOUTH.

IN 1868, CONGRESS VOTED
TO IMPEACH THE PRESIDENT.

JOHNSON SURVIVED REMOVAL
BY ONLY ONE VOTE.

BUT CONGRESS, NOT THE PRESIDENT

WOULD CONTINUE
TO DOMINATE WASHINGTON

FOR THE NEXT THREE DECADES.

NOT A BAD DESK,
EITHER.

DANIEL WEBSTER USED IT.

DANIEL WEBSTER
SAT HERE?

HOLY MACKEREL.

GIVE YOU A GOAL--

IF YOU FIGURE
ON TALKING.

OH, NO,
I'LL JUST LISTEN.

THAT'S THE WAY
TO GET REELECTED.

Man:
"THESE HARDY KNAVES
AND STUPID FOOLS

"SOME APISH AND PRAGMATIC MULES

"SOME SERVILE, ACQUIESCING TOOLS

THESE-- THESE COMPOSE
THE CONGRESS."

"WHEN JOVE RESOLVED
TO SEND A CURSE

"AND ALL THE WOES
OF LIFE REHEARSE

"NOT PLAGUE, NOT FAMINE,
BUT MUCH WORSE;

HE CURSED US WITH A CONGRESS."

McCullough:
GOVERNMENT DURING
THE FIRST 76 YEARS

MEANT BUILDING
AND THEN SAVING A NATION.

NOW, IN THE AFTERMATH
OF CIVIL WAR

IT OFTEN MEANT EXPLOITING IT.

Man:
"IT COULD PROBABLY BE SHOWN
BY FACTS AND FIGURES

"THAT THERE IS NO DISTINCTLY
NATIVE AMERICAN CRIMINAL CLASS

EXCEPT CONGRESS."

"READER, SUPPOSE
YOU WERE AN IDIOT

"AND SUPPOSE YOU WERE
A MEMBER OF CONGRESS.

BUT I REPEAT MYSELF."

MARK TWAIN.

McCullough:
THE LEAD PARTS
ON CAPITOL HILL NOW

WERE ASSUMED BY A NEW BREED--
THE BOSSES.

THROUGH POLITICAL MACHINES
AND THE POWER OF PATRONAGE

MANY SENATORS CONTROLLED

THE STATE LEGISLATURES
THAT ELECTED THEM.

Man:
"SCARCELY ANY OF THE GREAT
RAILWAY MEN GO INTO CONGRESS.

"THE ABSENCE OF RAILWAY MEN
BY NO MEANS IMPLIES

"THE ABSENCE
OF RAILWAY INFLUENCE

"FOR IT IS AS EASY FOR A COMPANY
TO INFLUENCE LEGISLATION

FROM WITHOUT CONGRESS,
AS FROM WITHIN."

Man:
"WE MEET IN THE MIDST
OF A NATION

"BROUGHT TO THE VERGE OF MORAL,
POLITICAL AND MATERIAL RUIN.

"CORRUPTION DOMINATES.

"FROM THE SAME PROLIFIC
WOMB OF INJUSTICE

"WE BREED THE TWO GREAT CLASSES:

TRAMPS AND MILLIONAIRES."

McCullough:
LELAND STANFORD OF CALIFORNIA
WAS PRESIDENT AND DIRECTOR

OF THE CENTRAL PACIFIC RAILROAD

THE WHOLE TIME
HE SAT IN THE SENATE

NOW KNOWN AS
"THE MILLIONAIRE'S CLUB."

BUT MOST CONSPICUOUS
OF THE BOSSES

WAS SENATOR ROSCOE CONKLING,
REPUBLICAN OF NEW YORK.

HE WAS HANDSOME AND HUGELY VAIN.

WOMEN THOUGHT HIM GORGEOUS.

HE WAS FOR BIG BUSINESS
AND THE RAILROADS.

THEY MADE THE COUNTRY GREAT.

HE SNEERED AT REFORMERS

AND CALLED THE CIVIL SERVICE
"THE SNIVEL SERVICE."

Man:
"THE CONTEMPT OF THAT LARGE-
MINDED GENTLEMAN IS SO WILTING

"HIS HAUGHTY DISDAIN,
HIS GRANDILOQUENT SWELL

"HIS MAJESTIC, SUPER-EMINENT
TURKEY GOBBLER STRUT

"HAS BEEN SO CRUSHING

"THAT IT WAS AN ACT OF
THE GREATEST TEMERITY FOR ME

TO VENTURE UPON
A CONTROVERSY WITH HIM."

JAMES G. BLAINE.

McCullough:
CONKLING'S CHIEF RIVAL

WAS SPEAKER JAMES
GILLESPIE BLAINE OF MAINE.

HE MIGHT HAVE BECOME PRESIDENT
HAD HE NOT, LIKE SO MANY OTHERS

ACCEPTED FINANCIAL SUPPORT
FROM THE INTERESTS--

IN HIS CASE,
THE LITTLE ROCK RAILROAD.

HE BECAME THE SYMBOL
OF A WHOLE POLITICAL ERA--

THE TATTOOED MAN.

IN THE DEADLOCKED
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 1876

A BACK-ROOM DEAL

BETWEEN REPUBLICAN AND
DEMOCRATIC BOSSES IN CONGRESS

SENT RUTHERFORD B. HAYES
TO THE PRESIDENCY--

INSTEAD OF SAMUEL TILDEN,
WHO WON THE POPULAR VOTE.

IN EXCHANGE, FEDERAL TROOPS
WERE WITHDRAWN FROM THE SOUTH.

RECONSTRUCTION COLLAPSED.

THE FEW BLACKS IN CONGRESS
DISAPPEARED ALMOST OVERNIGHT.

IT WOULD BE 75 YEARS

BEFORE CONGRESS SERIOUSLY
CONSIDERED CIVIL RIGHTS AGAIN.

Man:
"THIS, MR. CHAIRMAN, IS PERHAPS
THE NEGRO'S TEMPORARY FAREWELL

"TO THE AMERICAN CONGRESS.

"LET ME SAY, PHOENIX-LIKE,
HE WILL RISE UP SOMEDAY

AND COME AGAIN."

REPRESENTATIVE GEORGE WHITE.

McCullough:
BUT EVEN IN THE AGE
OF THE BOSSES

CONGRESS PASSED
THE LAND-GRANT COLLEGE ACT;

GRANTED MILLIONS OF ACRES
TO HOMESTEADERS;

FINALLY ENACTED
CIVIL SERVICE REFORM

AND SET UP THE INTERSTATE
COMMERCE COMMISSION

TO REGULATE THE RAILROADS.

GOVERNMENT AND
THE CONGRESS GREW.

AND ONE MAN IN WASHINGTON WAS
BIG ENOUGH TO KEEP IT ALL GOING.

Man:
"HE WAS A SLOW-MOVING,
GIANT HULK

"OUT OF WHOSE COLLAR ROSE

"AN ENORMOUS, ROUND,
CLEAN-SHAVEN BABY FACE

LIKE A CASABA MELON
FROM A FAT, BLACK STALK."

McCullough:
HE WAS ALSO DISTINGUISHED
BY HIS BELIEF

THAT THE PURPOSE OF CONGRESS
WAS TO ACCOMPLISH SOMETHING

AND IN THE END, HE GAVE UP HIS
POWER ON A MATTER OF PRINCIPLE.

THOMAS BRACKETT REED OF MAINE,
THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE

STOOD SIX FOOT THREE
AND WEIGHED NEARLY 300 POUNDS.

HIS WIT COULD BE WITHERING.

HE REMARKED OF TWO COLLEAGUES
THAT THEY NEVER SPOKE

WITHOUT SUBTRACTING FROM
THE SUM OF HUMAN KNOWLEDGE.

AND HE DEFINED A STATESMAN

AS "A SUCCESSFUL POLITICIAN
WHO IS DEAD."

ON SEEING HIS PORTRAIT
BY JOHN SINGER SARGENT

REED SAID, "ALL MY ENEMIES
ARE REVENGED."

WHEN ASKED WHETHER
HE WOULD ATTEND

THE FUNERAL OF A POLITICAL ENEMY

REED SAID, "NO,
BUT I APPROVE OF IT."

HE WAS CALLED "CZAR REED."

IN ONE STORMY SESSION,
HE BEGAN TO COUNT AS PRESENT

ANY MEMBER CURRENTLY
IN THE CHAMBER

WHETHER HE ANSWERED
THE ROLL CALL OR NOT.

MEMBERS SCREAMED IN OUTRAGE

AND WHEN REED KEPT ON COUNTING,
HID UNDER THEIR DESKS.

THE SPEAKER KEPT ON

AND WHEN OTHERS TRIED TO LEAVE,
HE HAD THE DOORS LOCKED.

FROM THEN ON, REED RULES
WERE IN EFFECT.

A MINORITY COULD NO LONGER BLOCK
LEGISLATION WITH ITS SILENCE.

REED'S 51st CONGRESS IN 1889

WAS THE FIRST TO SPEND
$1 BILLION IN PEACETIME.

TO HANDLE IT ALL, MEMBERS OF
CONGRESS WERE FINALLY AUTHORIZED

TO MAINTAIN A PERSONAL
STAFF-- OF ONE.

AND STILL THE COUNTRY
WAS GROWING.

HAWAII WAS ANNEXED IN 1897.

THE NEXT YEAR, THE SPANISH-
AMERICAN WAR BROUGHT PUERTO RICO

AND THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS
INTO THE AMERICAN EMPIRE.

REED LIKED NONE OF IT.

IMPERIALISM, HE BELIEVED, WAS
CONTRARY TO AMERICAN IDEALS.

Man:
"AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS YEAR

"THE QUARRELS WHICH OTHER
NATIONS HAVE, WE DID NOT HAVE.

"OUR DRUM BEAT DID NOT
ENCIRCLE THE WORLD

"WITH OUR MARTIAL AIRS.

"OUR GUNS WERE NOT CALLED UPON
TO THROW PROJECTILES

WHICH COST, EACH OF THEM,
THE PRICE OF A HAPPY HOME."

THOMAS BRACKETT REED.

McCullough:
RATHER THAN PRESIDE OVER A HOUSE

THAT SUPPORTED A POLICY
HE DESPISED, HE RESIGNED.

ASKED ONCE IF HIS PARTY WAS
LIKELY EVER TO NOMINATE HIM

FOR THE PRESIDENCY

REED SAID, "THEY MIGHT DO WORSE,
AND I THINK THEY WILL."

HE WENT OUT ON THE EVE
OF THE NEW CENTURY.

GREAT BOSSES ARE NOT
THE STORY OF THE CONGRESS

OR OF AMERICAN POLITICS.

THE CONGRESS IS THE STORY

AND HOW, IN THE END,
IT ALWAYS ASSERTS ITSELF

AGAINST THE BOSSES.

AND THE PUBLIC VIEW
DOES PREVAIL.

IT WAS THE NEW 20th CENTURY.

ALL KINDS OF MIRACULOUS
EVENTS WERE TAKING PLACE.

AND PEOPLE FELT GOVERNMENT WAS
OUT OF TOUCH WITH THE PEOPLE;

THAT THERE WERE
MANY PEOPLE IN SOCIETY

WHO WERE NOT GETTING
A FAIR SHAKE

AND THEY WANTED THAT CORRECTED.

Man:
"AS A MEMBER OF THIS HOUSE
THREE SUCCESSIVE SESSIONS

"I HAVE CAUGHT THE MEASLES

"THE WHOOPING COUGH
AND THE INFLUENZA

BUT I HAVE NEVER BEEN ABLE
TO CATCH THE SPEAKER'S EYE."

McCullough:
FOR REFORM-MINDED
CONGRESSMEN IN 1910

THE SINS OF THE OLD ORDER
COULD BE SUMMED UP IN A NAME:

JOSEPH GURNEY CANNON,
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE

KNOWN AS "FOUL MOUTH JOE."

Man:
"UNCLE JOE'S RESTLESS TEETH
BIT OFF LARGE, UNTIDY SECTIONS

"FROM THE NEAR END
OF A MALTREATED CIGAR

"UNTIL HIS WET LIPS WERE STREWN
WITH SODDEN, SHREDDED LEAVES

"AND A NEGLECTED, FITFUL SMOLDER
AT THE CIGAR'S FAR END

SEEMED TO BE IN A GREATER DANGER
FROM FLOOD THAN FROM FIRE."

McCullough:
HE SWORE UNREPENTANTLY

SPAT INTO AN UMBRELLA STAND
WHEN NO SPITTOON WAS HANDY

AND BOASTED, "I HAVE OATS IN MY
POCKET AND HAYSEED IN MY HAIR."

NOBODY DISLIKED UNCLE JOE
PERSONALLY, BUT AS SPEAKER

HE WAS THE ABSOLUTE DICTATOR
HIS OPPONENTS CALLED HIM.

THE VOTERS OF DANVILLE, ILLINOIS
SENT HIM TO CONGRESS IN 1872

AND HIS BELIEFS HAD NOT
CHANGED SINCE THEN.

HE RAN THE RULES COMMITTEE,
AND THE RULES COMMITTEE DECIDED

WHICH BILLS WERE CONSIDERED.

NO BILL CAME TO THE FLOOR
OF WHICH HE DID NOT APPROVE.

HE STRANGLED
PROGRESSIVE MEASURES

TO REGULATE THE RAILROADS,
BREAK UP THE TRUSTS

GUARD PUBLIC HEALTH
AND PUBLIC LANDS.

Man:
"I AM GODDAMN TIRED OF LISTENING
TO ALL THIS BABBLE FOR REFORM.

"AMERICA'S A HELL OF A SUCCESS.

THE COUNTRY DON'T NEED
ANY LEGISLATION."

McCullough:
NO ONE WHO VALUED HIS CAREER
IN CONGRESS DARED CROSS HIM--

UNTIL 1910.

THE REVOLT WAS LED BY
AN IDEALISTIC FORMER JUDGE

FROM RED WILLOW COUNTY, NEBRASKA

A PROGRESSIVE REPUBLICAN
NAMED GEORGE W. NORRIS.

ON ST. PATRICK'S DAY

WITH CANNON'S IRISH ALLIES
OUT OF THE HOUSE

NORRIS INTRODUCED A RESOLUTION
HE'D BEEN CARRYING FOR MONTHS.

IT GAVE THE HOUSE,
NOT THE SPEAKER

THE POWER TO ELECT
THE RULES COMMITTEE.

CANNON RULED IT OUT OF ORDER,
BUT WAS HIMSELF OVERRULED

BY A COMBINATION OF DEMOCRATS
AND INSURGENT REPUBLICANS.

AFTER 29 HOURS OF DEBATE,
THE RESOLUTION CARRIED.

THE IRON RULE OF SPEAKER
CANNON WAS ENDED.

Woman:
"FOR THREE DAYS, UNCLE JOE HAS
BEEN LIKE AN OLD WOLF AT BAY.

"I DON'T ESPECIALLY ADMIRE HIM.

"HE IS A FLIPPANT,
COARSE-NATURED, BRAZEN OLD MAN

BUT TODAY I AM SORRY FOR HIM."

McCullough:
IT WAS AN EXTREMELY IMPORTANT
CHANGE IN OUR COUNTRY

BECAUSE JOE CANNON
STOOD FOR "NO CHANGE."

WHAT IS WAS WHAT SHOULD
REMAIN, IN HIS VIEW

WHEN, IN FACT, WE DID
NEED LEGISLATION

AND THESE INSURGENTS,
PROGRESSIVES, SPOKE OUT.

Man:
"THE SUPREME ISSUE IS THE
ENCROACHMENT OF THE POWERFUL FEW

"UPON THE RIGHTS OF THE MANY.

"IT IS AGAINST THE SYSTEM
BUILT UP BY PRIVILEGE

THAT WE MUST MAKE
UNCEASING WARFARE."

ROBERT LA FOLLETTE.

McCullough:
SENATOR ROBERT M. LA FOLLETTE
OF WISCONSIN

CHARGING THAT FEWER THAN 100 MEN

CONTROLLED THE GREAT BUSINESS
INTERESTS OF THE WHOLE NATION

BECAME THE CONSCIENCE OF
THE NEW PROGRESSIVE MOVEMENT.

Woman:
COLLIER'S WEEKLY:

"50 YEARS FROM NOW,
THE FUTURE HISTORIANS WILL SAY

"THAT THIS WAS THE PERIOD OF
THE GREATEST ETHICAL ADVANCE

MADE BY THIS NATION
IN ANY DECADE."

McCullough:
THERE WAS UNPRECEDENTED
COOPERATION NOW

BETWEEN THE NEW
PROGRESSIVE CONGRESS

AND THE NEW PROGRESSIVE
PRESIDENT, WOODROW WILSON.

A FORMER PROFESSOR OF HISTORY

WILSON HAD ONCE WRITTEN A BOOK
ON CONGRESSIONAL GOVERNMENT

WITHOUT EVER ACTUALLY
VISITING CAPITOL HILL.

HIS THESIS WAS THAT CONGRESS
DIDN'T WORK VERY WELL.

CALLING CONGRESS INTO SPECIAL
SESSION IN THE SPRING OF 1913

HE WENT IN PERSON
TO PRESENT HIS PROGRAM--

SOMETHING NO PRESIDENT HAD DONE
SINCE JOHN ADAMS.

BY CUSTOM, CONGRESS
TOOK LONG RECESSES.

BUT WILSON WOULD KEEP
THE 63rd CONGRESS IN WASHINGTON

FIGHTING AND ARGUING
AND MAKING LAWS

FOR A YEAR AND A HALF STRAIGHT.

THE 63rd CONGRESS
WAS THE LAST CONGRESS

BEFORE THE 17th AMENDMENT

TRANSFERRED THE ELECTION
OF SENATORS

FROM THE STATE LEGISLATURES
TO THE PEOPLE.

IT WAS THE GREATEST
SINGLE CHANGE IN CONGRESS

IN ITS HISTORY.

A GRADUATED INCOME TAX
WAS ADOPTED.

A FEDERAL RESERVE ACT STABILIZED
THE NATION'S BANKING SYSTEM.

CONGRESS WENT ON TO PASS
TOUGHER ANTI-TRUST LAWS

AND CREATE THE FEDERAL
TRADE COMMISSION;

IMPROVE CONDITIONS
FOR MERCHANT SAILORS;

EASE CREDIT FOR FARMERS;

PROVIDE WORKMEN'S COMPENSATION
FOR FEDERAL EMPLOYEES

AND LIMIT CHILD LABOR
IN MINES AND FACTORIES.

BUT EVERYTHING CHANGED ON THE
RAINY NIGHT OF APRIL 2, 1917

WHEN PRESIDENT WILSON WENT

BEFORE ANOTHER EXTRAORDINARY
SESSION OF CONGRESS

THIS TIME TO ASK FOR
A DECLARATION OF WAR

AGAINST GERMANY.

ON THE MORNING
OF WILSON'S SPEECH

THE FIRST WOMAN EVER
TO SERVE IN CONGRESS

TOOK HER SEAT
ON THE REPUBLICAN SIDE--

JEANETTE RANKIN OF MONTANA.

Woman:
"I LOVE MY COUNTRY,
BUT I CANNOT VOTE FOR WAR."

"I VOTE NO."

McCullough:
SHE WAS NOT ALONE, BUT OTHER
PROGRESSIVES VOTED FOR WAR

AND SPLIT THE MOVEMENT.

THE ALLIANCE BETWEEN CONGRESS
AND THE PRESIDENT ENDED

IN A QUARREL OVER AMERICA'S
ROLE IN THE WORLD.

BY THE 1920s, CRUSADES AND
CRUSADERS WERE OUT OF FASHION.

THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE
WAS NICHOLAS LONGWORTH

AN OHIO REPUBLICAN

WHO HAD NO INTEREST
WHATSOEVER IN REFORM.

THERE WERE STILL MEN
ON CAPITOL HILL

WHO WORE WHITE LINEN SUITS
AND BLACK BOW TIES;

WHO LOOKED LIKE
THE CARTOONIST'S IMAGE

OF THE OLD-TIME POLITICIAN;

WHO DIPPED SNUFF

FROM THE LACQUER BOX
IN THE SENATE ROSTRUM.

BUT THERE WERE
YOUNGER VOICES, TOO.

CONGRESSMAN FIORELLO
LA GUARDIA WAS ONE.

A PROGRESSIVE REPUBLICAN AND
SOMETIME SOCIALIST FROM NEW YORK

HE COULD DENOUNCE EXPLOITERS
IN SIX LANGUAGES.

AND THERE WAS ONE
UNYIELDING OLD VOICE.

FOR YEARS, GEORGE NORRIS
FOUGHT ALMOST ALONE

TRYING TO DEVELOP THE RESOURCES
OF THE TENNESSEE VALLEY

A PART OF THE COUNTRY
WHERE HE HAD NO CONSTITUENTS

BUT "A PROPERTY," HE SAID,
"WHICH BELONGS TO ALL OF US--

A SOURCE OF HUMAN HAPPINESS."

IN 1932, THE PEOPLE SENT

DEMOCRATIC MAJORITIES
TO CONGRESS

AND FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT
TO THE WHITE HOUSE.

THEIR PARTNERSHIP TRANSFORMED
AMERICAN GOVERNMENT

AND MADE A REALITY
OF GEORGE NORRIS'S DREAM.

THE TENNESSEE VALLEY
AUTHORITY, T.V.A.

INCLUDING THE GIANT NORRIS DAM

BECAME A SHOWPIECE FOR THE NEW
GENERATION OF PROGRESSIVES

THAT CALLED THEMSELVES
"NEW DEALERS."

I HOPE THIS AUTO-GYRO WON'T
BE AS MUCH UP IN THE AIR

AS THE SENATE WAS
IN BALANCING THE BUDGET.

McCullough:
IN THE MIDST OF
THE GREAT DEPRESSION

THE PROGRESSIVE
MOVEMENT CONTINUED.

NEW DEAL LEGISLATION REPRESENTED

THE MOST SWEEPING
REFORMS IN HISTORY.

FOREMOST AMONG THE NEW DEALERS
WAS SENATOR ROBERT WAGNER

BORN IN GERMANY

WHO HAD LEARNED HIS POLITICS
IN THE NEW YORK CITY STREETS.

LEGISLATION HE SPONSORED

GUARANTEED LABOR'S
RIGHT TO ORGANIZE

PROVIDED SOCIAL SECURITY
TO THE ELDERLY

AND PUBLIC HOUSING FOR THE POOR.

AND THERE WERE OTHERS:

CONGRESSMAN SAM RAYBURN OF TEXAS

AND HIS EAGER YOUNG PROTEGE,
LYNDON JOHNSON;

IN THE SENATE,
HUGO BLACK OF ALABAMA

ALBEN BARKLEY OF KENTUCKY

HARRY TRUMAN OF MISSOURI.

THE OLD PROGRESSIVE CALL
WAS BEING SOUNDED NOW

BY ROBERT M. LA FOLLETTE, JR.

Announcer:
HARRY TRUMAN SAID

"IF YOU CAN'T STAND THE HEAT,
GET OUT OF THE KITCHEN."

BUT IN JULY OF 1935

IF CONGRESSMEN COULDN'T
STAND THE HEAT

THEY'D HAVE TO GET
OUT OF WASHINGTON

WHERE THE TEMPERATURE
HIT 105 DEGREES.

AND THERE WAS ONE CONGRESSMAN

WHO ALWAYS LET HIS
CONSTITUENTS KNOW

HOW HOT THINGS WERE-- COWBOY
CONGRESSMAN PERCY GASSAWAY.

I NEVER SAW SUCH HOT
WEATHER IN MY LIFE.

I CAN ACTUALLY COOK AN EGG
RIGHT HERE IN A FRYING PAN

ON THE STEPS OF THIS HOUSE
BUILDING, RIGHT NOW.

Announcer:
LIKE THE EGG, CONGRESSMAN
GASSAWAY KEPT HIS SUNNY SIDE UP.

THIS IS THE HOTTEST PLACE
THIS SIDE OF HELL.

YOU'RE TELLING ME.

McCullough:
ON A CHILL NIGHT
IN DECEMBER 1941

THE CAPITOL DOME WAS
A BLAZE OF LIGHTS.

THE FOLLOWING DAY, THE PRESIDENT
WENT BEFORE CONGRESS.

F.D. Roosevelt:
DECEMBER 7, 1941--

A DATE WHICH WILL
LIVE IN INFAMY.

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

WAS SUDDENLY AND
DELIBERATELY ATTACKED

BY NAVAL AND AIR FORCES
OF THE EMPIRE OF JAPAN.

IT WAS JUST ELECTRIC,
THE FEELING IN THERE.

IN FACT, IT WAS A COMBINATION
OF FEAR AND EXCITEMENT

AND DETERMINATION.

NOT ONLY COULD YOU FEEL IT,
BUT YOU COULD SMELL IT.

IT WAS ALMOST LIKE THE SMELL
OF A HIGH SCHOOL GYM

BEFORE THE BIG GAME.

( clerk calling roll )

ON THIS ROLL CALL,
388 MEMBERS VOTED "AYE."

ONE VOTED "NO."

THE RULES WERE SUSPENDED, AND
THE RESOLUTION IS AGREED TO.

( applause )

McCullough:
THIS TIME ONLY ONE MEMBER
OF CONGRESS OPPOSED

A DECLARATION OF WAR.

AS SHE HAD IN 1917,
JEANETTE RANKIN VOTED NO.

McDowell:
I HAVE RESOLVED THAT IT'S A HAT.

IT'S A HAT, IT'S A VERY
MAJESTIC, NICE HAT

BUT A LITTLE BIT LUDICROUS

ON SOMETHING THAT WE ALL
CARE VERY MUCH ABOUT

WHICH IS THE DEMOCRATIC SYSTEM

AND THE NOTION THAT THE PEOPLE
ARE UNDER THAT HAT--

SOMEWHERE THE BODY POLITIC
IS AT WORK

AND THAT THE PEOPLE ARE BEING
REPRESENTED UNDER THAT THING

AND I CAN LIVE WITH
THAT CORNY THOUGHT.

IT'S ALMOST A REVERENCE
THAT... THE...

LIKE BEING IN A RUSSIAN
CATHEDRAL, OR A GREEK CATHEDRAL

WHERE, WHEN YOU LOOK
UP TO THE DOME

THERE'S THE ICONS
AND THE VARIOUS SAINTS

AND GOD HIMSELF IS LOOKING
DOWN AT YOU--

WELL, I HAVE THAT FEELING THAT
I'M IN A POLITICAL CATHEDRAL

THE WORLD'S GREATEST
POLITICAL CATHEDRAL.

Roberts:
IT'S NOT JUST BEAUTIFUL
TO WALK INTO FROM THE OUTSIDE--

THERE ARE TILES ON THE FLOORS
AND MOSAICS ON THE CEILINGS

AND YOU'LL JUST COME UPON
SOME TOTALLY ACCIDENTAL SPOT

WHERE THERE'LL BE STAINED GLASS

OR THERE ARE JUST WINDOWS
LEADING TO NOWHERE

OR STAIRS THAT
DEAD-END SOMEPLACE

AND IT'S GREAT FUN
TO TIPTOE AROUND IT.

IT WOULD BE A TRUE DISASTER

IF THE MODERN DEMANDS OF
SECURITY KEEP AMERICAN CHILDREN

FROM THE ABILITY TO JUST SORT
OF ROAM THE CAPITOL BUILDING.

McCullough:
IT'S LIKE A LITTLE TOWN,
OR A SMALL MEDIEVAL STATE.

THERE'S A BANK,
THERE'S A POST OFFICE

THERE'S A SUBWAY.

IT HAS ITS OWN POLICE FORCE.

SOMETHING LIKE 44 DOORKEEPERS,
NO END OF CLERKS.

THERE'S A CARPENTRY SHOP...

AN UPHOLSTERER...

A RESIDENT ARCHITECT,
A RESIDENT PHYSICIAN...

THERE'S A DAILY NEWSPAPER,
THE CONGRESSIONAL RECORD.

THERE ARE RESTAURANTS.

IT'S A WORLD WITHIN A WORLD.

AND SOME PEOPLE, I THINK,
PROBABLY NEVER COME OUT.

THERE'S AT LEAST ONE GHOST.

McDowell:
THE CAPITOL BUILDING
CONTAINS ITS OWN HISTORY.

YOU CAN GO DEEP ENOUGH

YOU FIND SOME OLD TUBS
IN THE BASEMENT

WHERE MEMBERS COULD GO
TWO CENTURIES AGO

AND GET A HOT BATH.

IT'S ALL THERE,
AND THE WAY IT'S GROWN

IS ALL MARKED ON THE WALLS.

SO, IF YOU LIKE MUSEUMS

IT'S THE BEST MUSEUM
IN THE UNITED STATES.

BUT IT'S A MUSEUM IN WHICH
THE LIFE THROBS, EVERY DAY.

Tour guide:
AND FROM THIS POINT, A WHISPER
CAN BE HEARD 50 FEET AWAY

DUE TO AN ARCHITECTURAL DEFECT.

JOHN QUINCY ADAMS
WOULD SIT HERE AT HIS DESK

PRETENDING HE WAS CATNAPPING.

HE WAS REALLY LISTENING TO THE
OPPOSITION ON THE OTHER SIDE.

Broder:
IT'S A WONDERFUL PLACE

IF YOU GIVE YOURSELF THE FREEDOM
TO STAND STILL FOR A MOMENT

AND LOOK AT THE PEOPLE
WHO ARE COMING THERE

TO SEE THEIR CONGRESS AT WORK.

IT'S MARVELOUS TO SEE
THEIR EXPRESSIONS

AS THE DIGNITY AND THE BEAUTY
OF THAT BUILDING REACH THEM

FOR THE FIRST TIME.

Broder:
ONE OF THE THINGS I'M GOING
TO DO WHEN I RETIRE--

AND IT SOUNDS RIDICULOUS--

IS JUST GIVE MYSELF A FEW WEEKS
TO EXPLORE THE CAPITOL BUILDING.

I HAVE BEEN COVERING UP THERE
FOR 30 YEARS NOW

AND I STILL GET LOST
IN THAT BUILDING.

McCullough:
IN THE OLD HOUSE
OF REPRESENTATIVES

WHICH IS NOW STATUARY HALL

THE MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE
LOOKED UP

AT TWO STATUES,
WHICH ARE STILL THERE.

ONE IS A FIGURE
REPRESENTING LIBERTY

AND THE OTHER, BEHIND THEM,
WAS CLIO, THE MUSE OF HISTORY

KEEPING NOTE OF THEIR ACTIONS
AND HOLDING THE CLOCK.

VERY IMPORTANT IDEA,
THAT WHAT THEY DID THERE

DIDN'T JUST MATTER AT
THE MOMENT, BUT FOR TIME TO COME

THAT THEY WOULD BE MEASURED
BY HISTORY;

THAT THEY HAD TO LIVE UP
TO STANDARDS

THAT WOULD BE SET
BY HISTORICAL PRECEDENT.

WELL, YOU KNOW
WHAT THEY LOOK UP TO

IN THE PRESENT-DAY
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES--

THE TELEVISION CAMERAS.

I, FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT

DO SOLEMNLY SWEAR...

THAT I WILL FAITHFULLY
EXECUTE THE OFFICE

OF PRESIDENT OF
THE UNITED STATES...

AND WILL, TO THE BEST
OF MY ABILITY...

PRESERVE, PROTECT
AND DEFEND...

THE CONSTITUTION OF
THE UNITED STATES...

SO HELP ME GOD.

( applause )

McCullough:
AFTER THE WAR,
BUSINESS WENT ON AS USUAL

IN THE CLOAK ROOMS, BACK
CORRIDORS AND DINING ROOMS.

THERE WAS THE OLD BACK SLAPPING,
ARM TWISTING, LAPEL GRABBING

HAND SHAKING, FINGER JABBING

HEAD SCRATCHING
AND LINT PICKING.

CRUSADES WERE MOUNTED AGAINST
JELLYFISH AND COMIC BOOKS;

TO MAKE CHILI WITHOUT BEANS

THE OFFICIAL FOOD
OF THE UNITED STATES

AND TO ESTABLISH A NATIONAL
MULE APPRECIATION DAY.

BUT NOW AMERICA
WAS A WORLD POWER

AND THE FORCES THAT HAD PROVOKED
AND STIRRED THE COUNTRY

FROM THE START, GROWTH AND CIVIL
RIGHTS, HAD BECOME INSEPARABLE

AND THEY CONFRONTED
CONGRESS EVERYWHERE--

THE RECOVERY OF EUROPE
AND MILITARY INTERVENTION

VOTING RIGHTS
AND CIVIL LIBERTIES

THE EXPLORATION OF SPACE AND
THE RESPONSIBILITY OF SCIENCE

AND THE OLD CONFLICT
OF POWER AND ETHICS.

THE HEROES ON THE HILL
WERE NO LONGER GREAT ORATORS.

THEY WERE COMMITTEE CHAIRMEN...

INVESTIGATORS...

AND MANAGERS.

THE TOTAL NUMBER
OF VOTES CAST IS 426

OF WHICH THE HONORABLE
SAM RAYBURN HAS RECEIVED 217.

THEREFORE, HONORABLE SAM RAYBURN
IS DULY ELECTED

SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE
OF REPRESENTATIVES

FOR THE 78th TERM.

McCullough:
THE ULTIMATE MANAGER
WAS SAM RAYBURN OF TEXAS

WHO SERVED IN CONGRESS
FOR 48 YEARS

17 OF THEM AS
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE.

HE PREFERRED PERSUASION TO POWER
AND DISTRUSTED SPEECH MAKING

TELLING GENERATION
AFTER GENERATION OF NEWCOMERS

"YOU DON'T HAVE TO EXPLAIN
WHAT YOU DON'T SAY."

Tames:
ONE DAY, LEAVING THE CAPITOL,
I RAN INTO SAM RAYBURN.

HE LOOKED AT ME AS I CAME OUT
AND SAID, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

I SAID, "NOTHING."

SO HE SAID, "COME WITH ME"

AND WE WALKED AROUND THE CAPITOL

FROM THE HOUSE SIDE TO THE WEST

ALL THE WAY AROUND
AND BACK AGAIN

AND DURING THE WHOLE TIME

HE WAS TELLING ME ABOUT
WHAT HE THOUGHT OF THE CAPITOL.

HE SAYS, "THIS HAS BEEN MY HOME;
IT'S BEEN MY WHOLE LIFE;

"IT'S BEEN MY WIFE;
IT'S BEEN MY CHILDREN.

I LOVE THIS OLD BUILDING."

McCullough:
CONGRESS DOESN'T JUST LEGISLATE,
OF COURSE; IT INVESTIGATES

AND PARTICULARLY,
IN THE ERA OF TELEVISION

WE HAVE COME TO UNDERSTAND
THAT THIS INVESTIGATIVE POWER

IS NOT ONLY AN ASPECT
OF CONGRESSIONAL CHARACTER

AND CONGRESSIONAL PERFORMANCE

BUT IT'S A WAY IN WHICH
CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS IN CONGRESS

BECOME INSTANTLY,
OVERNIGHT, FAMOUS.

ANSWER THAT "YES" OR "NO."

DO YOU KNOW THIS MAN?

I WILL NOT ANSWER
"YES" OR "NO"...

YOU ARE ORDERED TO ANSWER.

I'M ANSWERING IT
THE WAY I CAN.

YOUR STATEMENTS
ABOUT HIM

HAVE MADE IT UNSAFE
FOR ME TO ANSWER
THAT QUESTION.

I THEREFORE REFUSE
TO ANSWER

ON THE GROUND THAT IT
MAY INCRIMINATE ME.

YOU HAVE THAT RIGHT.

I WOULD BE VERY HAPPY

TO HAVE OUR LEGAL COUNSEL,
OUR LEGISLATIVE REPRESENTATIVE

ASSISTING ME TO ACQUAINT THE
AMERICAN PEOPLE WITH THE FACT

THAT THIS IS A STRIKE-BREAKING,
UNION-BUSTING BILL.

MR. HOFFA, THIS IS NOT
A STRIKE-BREAKING,
UNION-BUSTING BILL.

YOUR COMPLETE
INDIFFERENCE TO THE FACT

THAT NUMEROUS PEOPLE
WHO HOLD RESPONSIBLE
POSITIONS IN YOUR UNION

COME BEFORE THIS
COMMITTEE AND TAKE
THE FIFTH AMENDMENT

BECAUSE AN HONEST
ANSWER MIGHT TEND
TO INCRIMINATE THEM.

YOUR COMPLETE INDIFFERENCE
TO IT, I THINK

MAKES THIS BILL ESSENTIAL.

McCullough:
IN THE 1950s, CONGRESS AND
THE COUNTRY WERE CONSERVATIVE.

AND LEGISLATORS WERE DIVIDED

BETWEEN SHOW HORSES
AND WORKHORSES.

ONE, WHO CAME TO COMBINE
THE QUALITIES OF BOTH

WAS SILVER-TONGUED
SENATOR EVERETT DIRKSEN

CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICAN
OF ILLINOIS

KNOWN TO HIS COLLEAGUES
AS "THE WIZARD OF OOZE."

Tames:
SENATOR DIRKSEN, I THINK,
WAS A SHREWD POLITICAL CLOWN

BUT IN THE SENSE THAT HE USED
HUMOR TO MAKE HIS POINTS

AND TO PUT DOWN PEOPLE.

NOT ONCE DID HE EVER
CALL ME GEORGE.

HE'D ALWAYS SAY, "DEAR BOY, WHAT
CAN I DO FOR YOU, DEAR BOY?"

MAGGIE SMITH USED TO ALWAYS
INTRODUCE LEGISLATION

TO MAKE THE ROSE
A NATIONAL FLOWER

AND DIRKSEN WOULD ALWAYS
GET UP AND OPPOSE HER

AND HE'D SAY, "A ROSE, A ROSE,
A ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME

"WOULD BE AS SWEET
AS A SENIOR SENATOR FROM MAINE

"BUT AS FOR ME,
GIVE ME THE MARIGOLD

"WHO ASKS NOTHING, EXCEPT
A LITTLE SPOT IN THE GARDEN

AND A LITTLE CARE."

AND THEN, MARGARET
WOULD GO DOWN IN DEFEAT.

Announcer:
AND THE CAPITOL GETS ITS FACE
WASHED BY THE FIRE DEPARTMENT.

THEY DO A THOROUGH JOB

AND THE STATUES EMERGE
DRIPPING, BUT SPOTLESS

AND WITH NO DIRT LEFT
ON THEIR DOORSTEP

CONGRESS CAN GET AWAY
TO A FRESH START.

ALL THIS PROVES

THAT WHILE YOU CAN'T TAKE
THE GOVERNMENT TO THE CLEANERS

YOU CAN TAKE THE CLEANERS
TO THE GOVERNMENT.

McDowell:
WE ENJOY BASHING CONGRESS,
AND HAVE SINCE BEFORE MARK TWAIN

BECAUSE THERE'S
SOMETHING LUDICROUS

ABOUT ORDINARY MORTALS
BEING THAT POMPOUS.

THERE'S SOMETHING JUST FUNNY

ABOUT ORDINARY PEOPLE--

WHICH IS WHAT THE FOUNDERS
HAD IN MIND--

THE REPRESENTATIVES
OF ORDINARY PEOPLE

BEING SO FORMAL,
SO BUREAUCRATIC, SO STRUCTURED

SO FILLED WITH--
NOT QUITE AMERICAN GRACIOUSNESS.

Roberts:
IT'S THE ONLY GROUP OF PEOPLE
IN THIS COUNTRY

THAT HAS TO GO OUT YEAR AFTER
YEAR AND BEG FOR THEIR JOB

AND SAY, "PLEASE, SEND ME BACK
TO THAT BUILDING WITH THE DOME"

SO THAT IT MAKES YOU FEEL
SUPERIOR TO THE CONGRESS

BECAUSE YOU'RE THE PEOPLE
WHO GET TO DECIDE THAT.

WE ENJOY BASHING CONGRESS
BECAUSE THEY ARE US.

WE HAVE NO ILLUSIONS.

WE KNOW THAT THEY REPRESENT

THE GOOD AND THE BAD IN US

AND WHAT'S AN EASIER SCAPEGOAT

THAN TO PICK ON SOMEBODY WHO HAS
THE JOB, HAS THE RESPONSIBILITY

AND IS SUPPOSED TO RISE ABOVE US

AND SO OFTEN FAILS
TO RISE ABOVE US?

SOMEBODY BETTER
WAKE UP McCAFFERY.

WE NEED
HIS VOTE.

Clerk:
MR. EVANS?

McCAFFERY'S
ASLEEP AGAIN.

HE'S ASLEEP AGAIN.

Clerk:
MR. EVERETT.

WAKE UP McCAFFERY.

WE NEED HIS VOTE.

Clerk:
MR. FARMER.

Farmer:
NO.

Clerk:
MR. FOLEY.

Foley:
YES.

Clerk:
MR. FRANK.

OPPOSED, SIR.

I'M OPPOSED.

NO, NO, SENATOR,
NOT YET

AND I BELIEVE THAT
YOU'RE NOT OPPOSED.

CONGRESS IS A TAKE-OFF ON ITSELF
AT THE SURFACE.

THE PUBLIC PICKS THAT UP FAST.

BUT ASK THE PUBLIC
ABOUT ITS CONGRESSMAN.

"HOW'S YOUR CONGRESSMAN?"

"WELL, HE'S BETTER
THAN THOSE OTHER ONES.

"HE'S PRETTY GOOD.

"I'VE KNOWN THE GUY;
I KNEW HIS GRANDMOTHER.

HE'S PRETTY GOOD."

THE AVERAGE AMERICAN
MEMBER OF CONGRESS GETS

A 60-65% APPROVAL RATING FROM
HIS OR HER OWN CONSTITUENTS.

THE REST OF CONGRESS
RANKS BELOW NEWSPAPERMEN

FOR HAVING ANY QUALITY.

Fields:
THE CRITICISM OF CONGRESS
THAT SAYS, IN ESSENCE

CONGRESS HAS A WAY OF
MAKING SITUATIONS COMPLICATED;

OF MAKING IT HARDER
TO DO THINGS;

OF MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLE TO MOVE
IN A STREAMLINED FASHION--

THIS IS A WAY OF SAYING
DEMOCRACY IS A PAIN IN THE NECK

WHICH, OF COURSE, IT IS.

AND THAT STYLE OF CRITICISM
OF CONGRESS

IS NOT SO MUCH A CRITICISM
OF THE INDIVIDUALS THERE NOW--

MANY OF WHOM DESERVE
EVEN MORE CRITICISM

THAN THEY HAVE RECEIVED--

SO MUCH AS IT IS A CRITICISM
OF THE WHOLE IDEA

OF A GOVERNMENT BY
AS WELL AS FOR THE PEOPLE

AND THAT IS A CRITICISM
OF DEMOCRACY.

I WONDER WHETHER THE IDEAL OF
DEMOCRACY LIVES, IN A REAL SENSE

IN OUR COUNTRY TODAY.

M.L. King, Jr.:
IN A SENSE, WE'VE COME
TO OUR NATION'S CAPITAL

TO CASH A CHECK.

WHEN THE ARCHITECTS
OF OUR REPUBLIC

WROTE THE MAGNIFICENT WORDS

OF THE CONSTITUTION AND
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

THEY WERE SIGNING
A PROMISSORY NOTE

TO WHICH EVERY AMERICAN
WAS TO FALL HEIR.

THIS NOTE WAS A PROMISE
THAT ALL MEN--

YES, BLACK MEN
AS WELL AS WHITE MEN--

WOULD BE GUARANTEED
THE UNALIENABLE RIGHTS

OF LIFE, LIBERTY
AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS.

IT IS OBVIOUS TODAY...

Broder:
I DON'T THINK
I'VE SEEN ANY DEBATES

THAT CAME CLOSER
TO REALLY DEALING

WITH THE HEART AND SOUL
OF AMERICA

THAN THE DEBATES ON CIVIL RIGHTS
IN THE LATE '50s AND 1960s.

THESE WERE PEOPLE WHO KNEW THAT
THEY HAD BEEN CAST BY HISTORY

IN THE POSITION
OF RIGHTING A HISTORIC WRONG

AND THEY ENTERED THAT DEBATE

KNOWING THEY WOULD BE JUDGED
BY THIS CHAPTER OF THEIR LIVES

MORE THAN ANY OTHER PART OF IT.

THAT WAS THE HIGHEST DRAMA
I'VE EVER SEEN UP THERE.

McCullough:
CIVIL RIGHTS COULD
NO LONGER BE IGNORED

BUT CONGRESS STILL
SEEMED UNABLE TO ACT

AS FILIBUSTER AFTER FILIBUSTER
THWARTED THE MAJORITY WILL

TURNING BACK OR WEAKENING
EVERY CIVIL RIGHTS MEASURE

THAT CAME BEFORE IT.

CONGRESS WAS NOT YET READY
TO LEAD.

( playing "Hail to the Chief" )

McDowell:
I STOOD AND SAT AND CROUCHED
IN THE ROTUNDA ALL NIGHT

WHEN JOHN F. KENNEDY
LAY IN STATE

AND I REMEMBER THAT NIGHT,
THERE WERE JUST THE HONOR GUARD

AND A PRETTY STEADY
FLOW OF PEOPLE.

AND HERE CAME,
AT SOME MOMENT BEFORE DAWN

OLD EVERETT DIRKSEN,
THE REPUBLICAN LEADER

AND STOOD IN THE ROTUNDA
WITH ME AND TWO CASUAL TOURISTS

AND TALKED ABOUT THE CONGRESS;

TALKED ABOUT THE CAPITOL;

TALKED ABOUT JOHN KENNEDY.

OTHER MEMBERS OF CONGRESS
WANDERED THROUGH.

POLICEMEN AND GUARDS JOINED,
AND WE TALKED ALL NIGHT

ABOUT THE CAPITOL, THE CONGRESS,
THE TRADITIONS OF THE COUNTRY.

JOKES WERE TOLD.

WE HAD FUNNY TIMES.

DIRKSEN TOLD HILARIOUS STORIES,
ABOUT KENNEDY, ABOUT THE CAPITOL

ABOUT THE HISTORY
OF THE COUNTRY.

THERE WAS NO STUFFY
REVERENCE INVOLVED.

IT WAS THE BEST POSSIBLE WAKE

AND IT WAS THE BEST NIGHT
IN THE CAPITOL

THAT I COULD EVER IMAGINE.

McCullough:
NOW WITH LYNDON JOHNSON

THE SENATE'S MOST MASTERFUL
MANAGER, IN THE WHITE HOUSE

CONGRESS MOVED AT LAST

TO MAKE GOOD ON THE PROMISE
OF THE CONSTITUTION

PASSING THE MOST SWEEPING
CIVIL RIGHTS BILL

SINCE RECONSTRUCTION.

"STRONGER THAN ALL
THE ARMIES ON EARTH"

EVERETT DIRKSEN
REMINDED HIS COLLEAGUES

"IS AN IDEA WHOSE TIME HAS COME.

THE TIME HAS COME
FOR EQUAL OPPORTUNITY."

WORDS COULD STILL CHANGE VOTES.

Burns:
IT ELEVATES ME TO SEE THE DOME

BUT THEN I BEGIN TO THINK
OF WHAT HAPPENS UNDER THAT DOME

AND I GET DE-ELEVATED.

WHAT PART OF US
ARE THEY REPRESENTING?

ARE THEY REPRESENTING
OUR REAL NEEDS

OR OUR ARTIFICIAL NEEDS,
OUR SELFISH NEEDS

OR ARE THEY REPRESENTING
THE BEST IN US?

MOST OF OUR GOVERNMENT IS
AN ELABORATE SET OF COMPROMISES.

IT'S REALLY
THE POLITICAL EQUIVALENT

TO THE STOCK EXCHANGE
ON WALL STREET.

THE QUESTION IS,
WHEN GOVERNMENT HAS TO RISE

ABOVE TRADING AND BROKERAGE,
DOES IT DO SO?

AND SO OFTEN, CONGRESS FAILS

TO RISE ABOVE TRADING.

McDowell:
I THINK THE DANGER TO CONGRESS

IS THE WEAKENING
OF THE PARTY SYSTEM.

WE HAVE A BUNCH
OF INDEPENDENT OPERATORS.

IT'S HARDER FOR PEOPLE
TO SEE THE POINT

OF RALLYING AS A GROUP.

THAT REALLY TROUBLES ME

BECAUSE IT MAKES
COMPROMISE HARDER.

IT MAKES FACTIONS

THAT DEVELOP AROUND
A SORT OF ZEALOTRY

OF LEFT OR RIGHT.

VERY OFTEN THEY ARE NOT VOTING
FOR OR AGAINST AN ISSUE

FOR THE REASONS
THAT SEEM APPARENT.

THEY'RE VOTING
FOR SOME OTHER REASON--

BECAUSE THEY HAVE
A GRUDGE AGAINST SOMEONE

OR BECAUSE THEY HAVE
TO SATISFY SOME OLD AMBITION

THAT IS, IN NO WAY,
ON THE SURFACE

OR BECAUSE THEY'RE DOING
A FRIEND A FAVOR

OR BECAUSE THEY'RE WILLING
TO RISK THEIR POLITICAL SKIN

AND VOTE THEIR CONSCIENCE.

WOULD THE PRESIDENT,
IF THERE WAS NO RESOLUTION

BE WITH OR WITHOUT
CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY

TO SEND U.S. SOLDIERS
TO SOUTH VIETNAM

IN THE NUMBERS THERE TODAY--
IF THERE WERE NO RESOLUTION?

IT WOULD BE MY VIEW,
MR. CHAIRMAN

THAT HE DOES HAVE
THAT AUTHORITY.

WOULD YOU
SAY THE SAME

AS TO
THE AUTHORITY TO
BOMB NORTH VIETNAM

AS OPPOSED TO
REPELLING AN ATTACK
IN SOUTH VIETNAM?

I DON'T SEE IT AS
OPPOSED, SENATOR.

I BELIEVE THE REASONS
WE'RE IN THERE

HAVE BEEN MADE REPEATEDLY
CLEAR BY THE PRESIDENT.

THE ANSWER
IS YES, THEN?

Fields:
WHEN I HEAR MEMBERS
OF CONGRESS THEMSELVES

SAY, "WE HAVE ABUSED OUR POWER.

WE HAVE INTERFERED
IN FOREIGN POLICY"

I SAY TO MYSELF, WHERE DID THESE
PEOPLE STUDY THEIR OWN HISTORY?

LEGISLATURES HAVE
THE RIGHT OF APPROPRIATION

SO THAT THEY MAY INHIBIT
THE POWERS OF THE EXECUTIVE

AND IF THEY'RE NOT PROUD
OF THAT RIGHT

THEY SHOULD MOVE ASIDE
FOR SOMEBODY TO SIT THERE

WHO WILL TAKE PRIDE IN IT.

Man:
I BELIEVE CONGRESS SET UP
THE F.B.I.

TO DETERMINE WHAT WAS GOING ON
IN THIS COUNTRY, DIDN'T IT?

AMONG OTHER THINGS,
MR. CHAIRMAN.

IT SET UP THE C.I.A. TO MONITOR
FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE, DIDN'T IT?

YES, SIR--

AMONG OTHER
AGENCIES.

IT SET UP THE NATIONAL
SECURITY AGENCY, DIDN'T IT?

AND THE DEFENSE
INTELLIGENCE AGENCY

BUT IT DIDN'T SET UP
THE PLUMBERS, DID IT?

OF COURSE, THE CONGRESS DOESN'T
DO EVERYTHING, MR. CHAIRMAN.

NO, BUT CONGRESS IS THE ONLY ONE
WITH LEGISLATIVE POWER.

I DON'T KNOW ANY LAW THAT GAVE
THE PRESIDENT THE POWER...

Roberts:
THIS IS A REMARKABLY STRONG
DEMOCRACY, AND I REMEMBER

A MEMBER OF CONGRESS
GOING TO GREECE

RIGHT AFTER PRESIDENT NIXON
WAS FORCED TO RESIGN

AND SAYING, "DO NOT
UNDERESTIMATE THE STRENGTH

"OF THE AMERICAN DEMOCRACY.

"THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF
OF THE AMERICAN ARMED FORCES

"WAS FORCED OUT OF OFFICE

AND NOT ONE SOLDIER LEFT
THE BARRACKS TO DEFEND HIM."

TO US, THAT'S A GIVEN.

WE WOULDN'T IMAGINE A SOLDIER
LEAVING THE BARRACKS

BUT IN MOST LANDS THAT IS
VERY, VERY UNUSUAL INDEED.

ALL THOSE IN FAVOR,
PLEASE SIGNIFY BY SAYING "AYE."

ALL THOSE OPPOSED, "NO."

Clerk:
MR. DONAHUE.

AYE.

MR. BROOKS.

AYE.

MR. MANN.

AYE.

MR. SARBANES.

AYE.

MR. HUTCHINSON.

NO.

MR. McCLORY.

NO.

MR. DRINAN.

AYE.

MR. RANGEL.

AYE.

MISS JORDAN.

AYE.

MR. RODINO.

AYE.

27 MEMBERS HAVE VOTED AYE.

11 MEMBERS HAVE VOTED NO.

Cooke:
I THINK THE FINEST MOMENT
WAS THE LAST TWO DAYS' HEARINGS

OF THE HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE
IN 1974, WHICH SPOKE

WITH SUCH EXTRAORDINARY
SERIOUSNESS AND CANDOR

IN THOSE TWO DAYS,
WITHOUT RHETORICAL FLOURISHES

WHICH WAS ASTONISHING

GRANTING THEY ARE AMERICANS.

IT SHOWED THE SUPREME COURT
TAUGHT THE PRESIDENT

THAT HE IS THE SERVANT
OF THE PEOPLE

AND THAT THE PEOPLE ARE SUPREME.

Roberts:
AT THE END OF ANY SESSION,
YOU ALWAYS SEE THE STORIES

ABOUT THE DAMS IN MISSISSIPPI

OR THE ROADS IN TENNESSEE,
OR WHATEVER

BUT THE FACT IS, THAT'S WHAT
THEY'RE ELECTED TO DO.

THEY ARE HERE, IN WASHINGTON

TO REPRESENT
THE ENERGY-PRODUCING STATES

VERSUS THE ENERGY-USING STATES;

THE RURAL AREAS
VERSUS THE URBAN AREAS

AND I THINK, QUITE FRANKLY

BY THE TIME THE WHOLE MESSY
BUSINESS IS OVER WITH--

CONGRESS AFTER CONGRESS-- THAT
THEY'VE DONE A PRETTY GOOD JOB.

Broder:
THE PROMISE OF CONGRESS IS THAT
AT THE HEART OF THE GOVERNMENT

WILL BE PEOPLE
WHO ARE VERY MUCH LIKE OURSELVES

WHO ARE PART OF OUR LOCAL
COMMUNITY, NOT SEPARATED FROM IT

AND BRING TO THE CENTER
OF GOVERNMENT

THE SENSIBILITIES,
THE SENSITIVITIES

AND, WE HOPE, THE COMMON SENSE

THAT YOU FIND IN AMERICAN
COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE LAND.

McDowell:
I'M HOPELESSLY OPTIMISTIC

DISQUALIFIED OF ANY INTELLECTUAL
PRETENSES, WHEN I SAY

THAT OF COURSE
THE REPUBLIC HAS A FUTURE

BECAUSE THE CONGRESS IS THERE;
AND BECAUSE THE CONGRESS WORKS.

THE SYSTEM DOES WORK,
AND WHEN WE SAY

"BUT WE'RE MOVING INTO A PERIOD
WE CAN'T POSSIBLY SALVAGE"--

WE MOVED INTO THE CIVIL WAR;
WE SALVAGED; WE WENT ON.

WE'VE BEEN THROUGH NEARLY
EVERY VARIATION OF TROUBLE

THAT YOU CAN GO THROUGH, AND
I THINK THE CONGRESS CAN ADAPT

TO THE WORLD OF THE ATOM BOMB
AND HIGH TECHNOLOGY

WITH A BETTER CHANCE TO PREVAIL
THAN ANY OTHER WAY

SO I'M OPTIMISTIC.

Cooke:
MADISON SAID "SELF-INTEREST
IS THE ENGINE OF GOVERNMENT."

AND SOMEBODY SAID

"MR. MADISON, ARE YOU SAYING
THAT THE FRAILTY OF HUMAN NATURE

IS THE ONLY BASIS
OF GOVERNMENT?"

AND MADISON SAID,
"I KNOW NO OTHER."

THEY'RE LISTENING
TO HIM.

JUST GET UP OFF THE GROUND,
THAT'S ALL I ASK.

GET UP THERE WITH THAT LADY

THAT'S UP ON TOP
OF THIS CAPITOL DOME--

THAT LADY THAT STANDS
FOR LIBERTY.

LOOK AT THIS COUNTRY
THROUGH HER EYES;

BUT YOU WON'T
JUST SEE SCENERY;

YOU'LL SEE THE WHOLE PARADE

OF WHAT MAN'S CARVED OUT
FOR HIMSELF

AFTER CENTURIES OF FIGHTING;
FIGHTING SO AS HE CAN STAND

ON HIS OWN TWO FEET,
FREE AND DECENT

LIKE HE WAS CREATED

NO MATTER WHAT HIS RACE,
COLOR OR CREED.

McCullough:
WHAT IMPRESSES ME MOST IS
THAT THE FOUNDERS WERE WILLING

TO TRUST A HUMAN PERSONALITY
AND HUMAN INTELLIGENCE

THAT MAN, WOMAN, AFTER ALL,
IS NOT ENTIRELY MISGUIDED;

THAT WE HAVE THE WITS
TO SOLVE OUR OWN PROBLEMS;

THAT THE BEST JUDGE

OF HOW WE SHOULD BE LED
AND GOVERNED, IS US.

Man:
LET ME SAY TO THE GENTLEMAN

FURTHER RESERVING THE RIGHT
TO OBJECT, THAT THE PROBLEM IS

THAT DEMOCRACY SOMETIMES
GETS A LITTLE MESSY

AND YOU DO, IN FACT,
WHEN YOU'RE MANAGING BILLS...

Man 2:
NO OTHER
AGRICULTURE-EXPORTING COUNTRY

IS TAKING A WHIPPING
LIKE WE ARE

IN THE INTERNATIONAL MARKET...

Man 3:
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 412--
JOINT RESOLUTION TO CONGRATULATE

KING BHUMIBOL ADULYADEJ
OF THAILAND

ON HIS 60th BIRTHDAY
ON DECEMBER 5...

Woman:
THERE ARE 16 VIRGINIA
SANDSTONE COLUMNS.

ON TOP OF EACH COLUMN
FOR DECORATION

WE HAVE THE TOBACCO LEAF
AND THE TOBACCO BLOSSOM...

Man 4:
WHAT DID THE PRESIDENT KNOW,
AND WHEN DID HE KNOW IT?...

Man 5:
I RESERVE THE RIGHT TO OBJECT.

I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT
WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE...

Man 6:
THIS BILL IS NOT
WHAT THE POOR NEED.

IT'S CERTAINLY NOT WHAT
THIS CONGRESS SHOULD PASS...

Man 7:
MR. SPEAKER,
I WANT TO ASSOCIATE MYSELF

WITH THE REMARKS MADE BY
CONGRESSMAN TOM BEVILL TODAY

ON THE FIVE-INCH
GUIDED PROJECTILE...

Man 8:
MR. SPEAKER,
I ASK UNANIMOUS CONSENT

TO TAKE FROM THE SPEAKER'S DESK

H.J. RES. 412
AND ASK FOR IT...

Man 9:
UNANIMOUS CONSENT

THAT ALL MEMBERS MAY
HAVE FIVE LEGISLATIVE DAYS

IN WHICH TO REVISE
AND EXTEND THEIR REMARKS...

Man 10:
I UNDERSTAND WE ARE NOW GOING
TO TRY BY UNANIMOUS CONSENT

TO OVERTURN THE PROVISIONS
OF THE RULE

BY WHICH THIS BILL
WAS BROUGHT TO THE FLOOR

THAT LIMITED TIME OF DEBATE...

Woman 2:
SO I CONGRATULATE
THE CLEAN CITY COMMITTEES

AND THE CITIES
OF WESTERN NEBRASKA

NORTH PLATTE, OGALLALA
KIMBALL, SCOTTSBLUFF...

Man 11:
I BELIEVE CONGRESS
SET UP THE F.B.I.

TO DETERMINE WHAT WAS GOING ON
IN THIS COUNTRY, DIDN'T IT?

Man 12:
AMONG OTHER THINGS,
MR. CHAIRMAN...

Man 13:
27 MEMBERS HAVE VOTED AYE;
11 MEMBERS HAVE VOTED NO...

Man 14:
MY OPINION, AND I'M NOT
GOING TO OBJECT TO THIS

BUT I WILL TELL
THE GENTLEMAN THAT...

Man 15:
THE COMMITTEE WILL RECESS
UNTIL 10:30 MONDAY NEXT.

Man 16:
10:30 WHEN?

Man 15:
MONDAY MORNING.

"MONDAY NIGHT," HE SAID.

"MONDAY NEXT."

Man:
ABOUT 40 WOMEN SHOWED UP.

THEY WERE ELDERLY, THEY WERE
CONCERNED WITH SOCIAL SECURITY

SO THEY SENT A NOTE IN TO
DIRKSEN WHO WAS ON THE FLOOR.

SO HE COMES TIPPY-TOEING OUT

WITH THAT GREAT MASS
OF WHITE HAIR

JUST LOOKING THE WAY HE DOES

AND HE LOOKS UP AND DOWN,
THEN HE SAYS, "GIRLS...

"I WAS ON THE FLOOR
DEFENDING THE REPUBLIC

"AGAINST THE ONSLAUGHTS
OF THE OPPOSITION

"WHEN I WAS INFORMED
THAT 40 LOVELY LADIES

"WISHED TO SEE ME.

"I IMMEDIATELY REMOVED
THE ARMOR OF THE WARRIOR

"AND PUT ON THE CLOAK
OF THE POET.

NOW, WHAT DO YOU GIRLS
WISH OF ME?"

THERE WAS ABSOLUTE SILENCE

AND THEN ONE LITTLE LADY
IN THE BACK PIPES UP

AND SAYS, "NOTHING, SENATOR.

WE JUST WANT TO HEAR YOU TALK."

CAPTIONS COPYRIGHT
KENNETH LAUREN BURNS