The Senate censured Senator Benjamin Tappan (D-OH) for leaking to the New York Evening Post documents associated with a treaty to annex the Republic of Texas. The materials were protected by the confidentiality of a Senate executive session. The Senate considered expelling Tappan, but the 70-year-old first-term member admitted to mailing his copy of the treaty materials to the newspaper. His timely confession produced the lesser penalty of censure. The Senate then adopted a rule subjecting to expulsion any member "convicted of disclosing for publication...matter directed by the Senate to be held in confidence."
May 11, 1911
Factional divisions within the Senate Republican majority produced an extraordinary stalemate, beginning on this date, over the usually routine task of electing a Senate president pro tempore to preside in the absence of the vice president. A three-month deadlock resulted from Senate procedures requiring that such an election be decided by majority rather than plurality vote and prohibiting the body from conducting other business until the election was completed. Eventually, the exhausted members of both parties compromised with a plan to allow one Democrat and four Republicans to take turns presiding for the remainder of the congressional session.
May 13, 1789
The Constitution required that senators be divided into classes "so that one-third may be chosen every second Year." On May 13, 1789, the Senate implemented this requirement. The 20 serving senators arranged themselves into three balanced classes, with no class containing two members from the same state. A senator representing each class drew from a box one of three papers numbered 1, 2, and 3. The class of the senator who drew #1 would serve until 1791, #2 until 1793, and #3 until 1795. Senators arriving from newly admitted states would draw lots for assignment in a manner that would keep the classes balanced.
May 14, 1971
First Female Pages: Paulette Desell and Ellen McConnell
Although the Senate had employed pages as messengers since 1829, until his history-making day all had been male. Taking their places at the head of what would become a long succession of female pages were Paulette Desell, sponsored by Senator Jacob Javtis (R-NY), and Ellen McConnell, sponsored by Senator Charles Percy (R-IL). Three more female pages, Julie Price, Mari Iwashita, and Barbara Wheeler, served the Senate later that year. "It is simply a question of fundamental human fairness," Javits explained. "A question of whether half the population shall be deprived of an opportunity without a substantial reason."
Origins & Development
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. This section provides historical essays describing the Senate's institutional developments including establishing direct election of senators, its constitutional powers such as the sole power to try impeachments, and many other unique elements that define the modern Senate.
The Framers Debate State Representation
During the summer of 1787 delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia debated one issue for months, the question of how congressional representation would be determined. After much deliberation, the delegates established equal state representation in the Senate and proportional representation in the House of Representatives. Called the “Great Compromise” or the “Connecticut Compromise,” this unique plan for congressional representation resolved the most controversial aspect of the drafting of the Constitution.
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