Congress

Mr. Cannon’s Trunk

clairekluskens archival humor , , , , ,

Titles given to archival record series (specific bodies of records that serve a particular function) usually have dull but clear names like

  • Letters Sent ….
  • Letters Received ….
  • Correspondence of ….
  • Claims Filed by ….
  • Reports ….
  • Accounts of ….

Record series titles normally don’t refer to the location in which the records had been stored. For example, one would not expect records to be titled “Records from the 15th Filing Cabinet” since that would not meaningfully describe their informational content. Recently, however, I discovered that there is at least one record series named after their former storage place. It is “Materials from the Speaker of the House Joseph Cannon’s Trunk, 1903-1909” (National Archives Identifier 5987062) which is part of Record Group 233, Records of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Speaker Cannon was a powerful Speaker of the House and anyone doing research on Congress in the early 20th century should know who he was. And yes, you can see what his trunk looks like at “Trunk Used by Speaker Joseph Cannon” (National Archives Identifier 25465646).

Federal Laws Online

clairekluskens NARA--RG 287 , , , ,

I needed to hunt down federal laws a few times in recent weeks, so make it easier on myself and others to find online links, I’m posting them here.

High school civics lesson reminder: Federal laws are passed by Congress, then approved by the President. If the President vetoes (disapproves) the legislation, it can still become law if the Congress overrides the veto by a two-thirds vote in each chamber. Once they are the law of the land, they are published in the Statutes at Large.

Digital copies of the Statutes at Large can be conveniently found online at four websites listed below. (The links take you directly to the right place on each website.) There is some overlap between the sites, and you may find you like the interface on one better than the other.