3 12. The Office consulted with 29 Member's offices and former Members regarding the transfer of Members records to archival repositories in their home states. The Office provides advice on proper archival procedures, the kinds of records that have historical value, records management practices, access restrictions, and the preparation of deeds of gift. 13. In responding to requests from Members, the public, and the press, the Office has accumulated a variety of historical lists which have grown to a substantial body of information. During 1991 the Office began to systematically organize this material with the goal of eventually publishing a reference volume on frequently asked questions about the House. 14. The Office helped develop and participated in a week-long summer institute on the history and procedures of Congress held at the Lyndon B. Johnson Library in Austin, Texas. The institute brought together historians, political scientists, and journalists who worked with thirty secondary school teachers on methods and information necessary to improve teaching about Congress. This pilot program has already sparked the development of similar programs in other states. 15. The Historian served on the Advisory Committee on the Records of Congress, under Public Law 101-509 (1990). The advisory committee, which in alternate Congresses is under the chairmanship of the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House, meet in October and December 1991 to prepare a report to Congress on the long-range care of legislative records and other matters relating to the records of Congress held at the Legislative Archives Center of the National Archives. 16. The Historian served on the Department of Defense Advisory Committee on the Commemoration of the Fiftieth Anniversary of World War II, which assists the DOD in planning events and ceremonies during the 1991-1995 commemorative period. 17. The Historian continued to serve as staff assistant to the House Member appointed by the Speaker to serve on the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. From 1985 to 1991 the House commissioner was the Hon. Lindy Boggs. In 1991 the Speaker appointed the Hon. Phil Sharp to the commission. A PROPOSAL: DOCUMENTS OF THE EARLY CONGRESS: PETITIONS TO THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 1789-1817 Prepared by the Office of the Historian December 1991 DOCUMENTS OF THE EARLY CONGRESS: PETITIONS TO THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 1789-1817 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY PROJECT DESCRIPTION -- The Office of the Historian proposes to prepare an annotated edition of selected petitions submitted to the House of Representatives between 1789 and 1817. This documentary publication would draw from more than 10,000 petitions considered by the early Congress and reflect research into the legislative process that evolved during the first thirty years of the federal government. Before the advent of modern political parties, petitions were an essential means of communication between constituents and their representatives as well as a principal source of legislative proposals. The petitioning process revealed popular expectations for the new government and helped to shape the internal structure of the House of Representatives. The varied content of the petitions indicated the range of policy issues confronting the only popularly-elected branch of the new government. The petitions are among the most significant of the manuscript records from the first fourteen Congresses. These documents on deposit at the National Archives are distinct from the Congressional Serial Set and other familiar sources available for research on the history of later Congresses. Publication of selected primary sources would convey the rhetoric of public discourse, the rituals of popular appeals to the government, and the unique political culture of the early republic. A documentary edition and a calendar of all extant petitions would make accessible these rich records that chronicle the developmental years of the House of Representatives. PLAN OF WORK -- The search and initial selection of documents would concentrate on the petition records at the National Archives. Further searches would examine committee records and related collections from executive departments that reported on the substance of petitions. An electronic database compiled from the House Journal and the Petitions Books would include information on all petitions submitted to the House of Representatives between 1789 and 1817 and provide a quantitative foundation for analysis of legislative consideration of petitions, patterns of political organization, and shifting policy concerns. A catalog of all extant petitions would allow the electronic search for each document by date, subject, and legislative disposition. The compilation of all names subscribed to the petitions will offer genealogists an invaluable resource and encourage scholars to investigate the mobilization of public opinion. The search process, compilation of databases, and annotation of selected documents would require three years for the staff of the Office of the Historian. OBJECTIVES -- The research and editing project would result in publication of the most significant petitions with annotations describing background and legislative action. A calendar of all extant petitions would facilitate further research. An extended essay introducing the publication would present the findings of the full research project and place the petitioning process within the context of the institutional development of the House of Representatives and the evolution of a representative democracy in an A PROPOSAL DOCUMENTS OF THE EARLY CONGRESS: PETITIONS TO THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 1789-1817 The Historian's Office proposes to initiate a research and editorial project focusing on petitions to the first fourteen Congresses and the critical role these popular appeals played in the institutional development of the House of Representatives. The principal objective of the project would be to publish an annotated edition of the most significant petitions, selected from the more than 10,000 submitted to the House of Representatives between 1789 and 1817. An accompanying volume would present a calendar of extant petitions at the National Archives as well as further guides to researching the records of the first fourteen Congresses. The project also would compile data concerning the legislative process in the early Congresses and make that information available to researchers. This documentary project is conceived to increase understanding of the developmental years of the House of Representatives and draw attention to some of the most informative, though least-explored, manuscript records of congressional history. The petitions provide the opportunity to examine the unique role of the House of Representatives as the only popularly-elected branch of the early government. In the years before the formal organization of national political parties, petitions were the principal means by which individuals and groups of citizens presented their concerns to governmental officials. The petitioners called upon the full range of authorities assumed by the House of Representatives and revealed popular expectations about the democratic process and the new government. The 2 operations of the House of Representatives. The popular appeals to Congress reflected nearly every aspect of public life in the new nation. From throughout the states and territories came petitions and memorials urging Congress to foster commercial development, protect infant industries, regulate western expansion, open up networks of trade and communication, or pursue particular foreign policies. The numerous private claims reveal how quickly the federal government affected the lives of individual citizens. The wide range of subject matter encompassed by the petitions presents a detailed description of the responsibilities and challenges facing the early legislators. These records of the early House of Representatives describe a legislative process unique to the new nation at the same time that they explain the evolution of the modern institutions of the federal government. In the years before members or committees were permitted to initiate legislation, petitions served as one of the most important sources of legislative proposals in the House. The method of referral and consideration of the petitions determined the development of the committee system and many aspects of floor procedure. The serious attention that the House offered these popular appeals reflected their larger importance for the formulation of American notions of a national, representative democracy and the definition of the responsibilities of elected officials. Publication of selected petitions and a guide to research in the early records of Congress would remove longstanding obstacles to research on the history of the early |