Kansas senator Joseph L. Bristow is best known for introducing the resolution that led to the Seventeenth Amendment to the Constitution. Ratified in 1913, the Seventeenth Amendment removed the power given to the state legislatures to elect senators and provided for direct popular election. As a Kansas newspaper editor in the 1890s, Bristow became active in Republican Party politics, serving as secretary of the state’s Republican committee. Prior to his election to the Senate in 1908, he was among the state’s progressive Republicans who supported the adoption of a statewide senatorial primary, a popular vote that would determine the state legislature’s choice for United States senators. Kansas adopted the primary system in 1908, and Bristow became the first Kansas senator elected in this manner. Upon entering the Senate, Bristow allied himself with a group of “insurgents” who favored expanding popular government, including amending the Constitution to provide for the direct election of senators. “We must place more responsibility on the average citizen,” Bristow argued.

On April 7, 1789, the Senate created the position of doorkeeper and appointed James T. Mathers to the position. Over the years, the duties of the doorkeeper grew, and in 1798 the title of the office was changed to sergeant at arms and doorkeeper. Elected by the members of the Senate, the sergeant at arms serves as the protocol and chief law enforcement officer of the Senate and is the principal administrative manager for most support services. This role includes providing services to senators in their Washington, D.C., and state offices, to visitors, and to the Capitol complex. Senators have offices in their home states to maintain contact with their constituents. These offices rely on the sergeant at arms for lease negotiations, equipment, and technology.

The sergeant at arms also supervises the Senate pages, teenage messengers appointed and sponsored by senators from their state.

When the Senate moved to its current chamber in 1859, the Supreme Court took up residence in the Senate’s old chamber and remained there until 1935. When the House of Representatives moved to its current chamber in 1857, however, the fate of its old home remained undecided. As years went by, the empty Hall of the House fell into disrepair and disuse. On January 6, 1864, Justin Morrill of Vermont proposed a solution, to restore the old chamber “as a hall for statuary.” Six months later, Congress established National Statuary Hall and encouraged every state to provide two statues “of men who have been...illustrious for their historical renown or for distinguished civic or military services.” Rhode Island became the first state to contribute in 1870, honoring Revolutionary War hero Nathaniel Greene and colonial founder Roger Williams. As years went by, other states contributed marble or bronze statues. Finally, in 2005, New Mexico’s Po’pay completed the collection—100 statues representing the 50 states’ most famous sons and daughters.