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Second and Third Sessions of the Seventy-fifth Congress, 1937–38*
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 September 2013
Extract
The election returns of November, 1936, seemed to portray a democracy strongly united behind a leader and a program of action. It appeared that Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal platform had been endorsed by nearly every interest and section in the United States, and an overwhelmingly Democratic Congress selected to enact into law those principles for which he “had just begun to fight.” Within six months, however, that unity started to disintegrate. Congress began to dissect carefully the program which the President proclaimed to be both beneficial for the entire country and politically prudent for the political party which he headed.
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- American Government and Politics
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- Copyright © American Political Science Association 1938
References
1 Congressional Record, 1st session, p. 11927, and 3rd session, pp. 11417–35, for relevant debate. All references to the Record in this article are to the unrevised and unbound copies.
2 The circuit court of appeals for the District of Columbia. See Record, 3rd session, p. 8922. The appointment had been confirmed by the Senate five months earlier.
3 A table may be found in the Record, 3rd session, p. 83.
4 Record, 2nd session, p. 551.
5 Ibid., p. 779.
6 This information has been gleaned from the Congressional Directory.
7 New York Herald-Tribune, September 21, 1938.
8 Data taken from House Calendars.
9 Record, 3rd session, p. 8817.
10 For a discussion of the Court issue, see the 1937 article in this Review series, p. 1085.
11 Mr. Lodge contended that without differentials the Labor bill was “national,” but with them it was a “sectional” measure. He added that he would never cast a “sectional” vote. Personal interview, October, 1937.
12 House Manual, 1934, Par. 903.
13 Ibid., Par. 902.
14 Ibid., Par. 897.
15 Ibid., Par. 908.
16 Record, 2nd session, p. 2051. “They went out to Denver and had a convention. Mr. Green was overruled, and the men who have been fighting this bill in the A. F. of L. all along are still here fighting it. They have forced President Green to change his position.” Ibid., and p. 1957.
17 Record, 2nd session, p. 551.
18 The chief change was to substitute a single administrator for the five-man board. Record, 2nd session, pp. 551 and 1843.
19 Record, 2nd session, pp. 1837–41.
20 Ibid., p. 1842.
21 Ibid., pp. 2026–60.
22 Ibid., p. 2036.
23 Griswold, Mr. stated: “Mr. Dockweiler cannot, under the rules, obtain recognition, so I have refrained from offering the substitute I intended to offer, and at Mr. Dockweiler's request am now offering this substitute”. Record, 2nd session, p. 2050Google Scholar. Mr. Green also offered an entire bill to the third session on February 25. Ibid., 3rd session, p. 3301.
24 Record, 2nd session, p. 2053.
25 Ibid., p. 1699.
26 Ibid., p. 913.
27 Ibid., p. 1961. During the following February, Mr. O'Connor stated: “…we had certain assurances of reciprocity. For instance, at the time in the closing days of the first session of this Congress when some of us stood at this door to the Speaker's lobby and got the votes necessary to pass the cotton bill, we had pretty definite assurances that we would get considerable help from a certain section of this country on the wages and hour bill. History records the result of that hard and fast agreement.” Ibid., 3rd session, p. 2126. See also Ibid., 2nd session, p. 945, for text of resolution by Representative Fish to investigate stories of swapping farm and labor votes.
28 Ibid., 2nd session, p. 2134.
29 Ibid., p. 2060.
30 Ibid., p. 2147.
3l Ibid., 3rd session, p. 9579.
32 Ibid., p. 9596.
33 Representative Joseph W. Martin, from a textile area in Massachusetts.
34 New York Times, May 3, 1938.
35 Ibid., May 7, 1938, and Record, 3rd session, p. 8465.
36 Record, 3rd session, pp. 9741 and 9747.
37 Ibid., 2nd session, pp. 1977 and 2052.
38 Ibid., 3rd session, p. 9623.
39 Ibid., p. 9788.
40 Ibid., p. 2414.
41 New York Times, May 25–27, 1938.
42 Ibid., and Record, 3rd session, pp. 9951–2.
43 New York Times, June 13, 1938.
44 Record, 3rd session, pp. 12049 and 12124.
45 Record, 2nd session, p. 43.
46 Ibid., p. 44.
47 Ibid., p. 54. Mr. Byrnes queried: “Is there among the precedents of the Senate any instance where a Senator speaking at 2 o'clock was taken off his feet and another Senator recognized?” (p. 57). To this there was no official reply. Prearranged recognition, however, is common in the Senate as well as the House. “The Senator from California called the Chair this morning over the telephone and asked to be recognized. … The Senator from Minnesota visited the office of the Chair this morning and said he also would like to make some remarks. The Senator from Kentucky told the Chair this morning that he would like to have about 10 minutes. Now the Senator from Oregon has expressed his wish to have some time, as has the [other] Senator from California. That is the status of requests to the Chair up to this time.” Ibid., 3rd session, p. 2458.
48 Ibid., 3rd session, p. 3293.
49 Ibid., p. 4524.
50 Ibid., p. 4865.
51 Ibid., p. 4972.
52 Ibid., p. 5216.
53 Ibid., p. 5083.
54 Ibid., p. 5078.
55 Ibid., p. 5211.
56 Ibid., p. 5319.
58 Ibid., pp. 5529–30.
59 Ibid., p. 4877.
60 Ibid., p. 5318.
61 Ibid., p. 5530.
62 Ibid., p. 5531.
63 Ibid., p. 5533.
64 Ibid., p. 5664.
65 Ibid., p. 5772. Mr. Andrews hoped that “the reorganization bill will be held up for a day or two, at least for a time, so that the American people can exercise their inalienable right to send a letter or telegram if they choose.”
66 Ibid., p. 5762.
67 Ibid., p. 5824.
68 House Manual, 1934, Par. 804.
69 Record, 3rd session, p. 5825.
70 Personal observation.
71 Record, 3rd session, p. 5834.
72 Ibid., p. 6071.
73 Ibid.
74 Ibid., p. 6697.
75 Record, 3rd session, p. 7462.
76 House Calendars, December 1, 1937.
77 Representative Warren stated: “I think … that this measure has required a longer time for consideration … than any measure … during my 13 years of service.” Record, 2nd session, p. 1540. Another stated: “I have never known a bill to be given more careful and considerate attention.” Ibid., p. 1672.
78 Ibid., 3rd session, p. 4358.
79 Ibid., p. 3706.
80 Ibid., p. 8773.
81 This was a joint resolution, requiring presidential action, rather than a concurrent resolution customary for legislative investigations. Ibid., p. 5774.
82 Final edition of House Calendars, 1938, p. 5Google Scholar.
83 Record, 3rd session, p. 2121.
84 Ibid., p. 2125.
85 Ibid., 2nd session, pp. 1988–89, and 3rd session, p. 213.
86 Ibid., 3rd session, p. 345.
87 Ibid., p. 350.
89 Ibid., 3rd session, pp. 5657–63 and 5733.
90 See Rogers, Lindsay, The American Senate, pp. 168–169Google Scholar. “Practically every proposal defeated by a filibuster has been unregretted by the country and rarely readvocated by its supporters.”
91 Accordingly, the Reverend ZeBarney T. Phillips, Senate chaplain, enjoyed extensive vacations.
92 Record, 3rd session, pp. 953 and 1019.
93 Ibid., p. 1436.
94 Ibid., p. 709.
95 Ibid., p. 710.
96 This was the basis for considerable criticism from Republicans, who alleged, when defending themselves for opposing closure, that the Democrats had made no real effort to break the filibuster. Ibid., pp. 1555 and 2973–78.
97 Ibid., pp. 1442, 1556, 2491, and 2739. Neither time did the closure motion receive even a simple majority.
98 There was a rush to propose amendments just prior to the closure vote. Ibid., p. 1554.
99 Ibid., p. 2979.
100 Ibid., p. 1405.
101 Ibid., p. 3807.
102 Ibid., p. 4552.
103 Ibid., p. 5727.
104 Ibid., p. 2658.
105 Ibid., p. 468.
107 A bill extending low interest rates by federal land banks was repassed both years. Record, 3rd session, p. 12323.
108 Ibid., p. 78.
109 Ibid.
110 Ibid., p. 447.
111 Ibid., p. 542.
112 Ibid., p. 543.
113 Ibid., p. 544.
114 Ibid., 2nd session, p. 3.
115 Ibid., 3rd session, pp. 4188 and 4351.
116 Ibid., p. 6774.
117 New York Times, April 14, 1938.
118 Record, 3rd session, pp. 8538 and 8822.
119 New York Times, May 28, 1938. The announcement was made to an assembly of West Virginia homesteaders.
120 Mr. Harrison prefaced his remarks by stating: “I concede to none of my Democratic brethren a greater degree of loyalty to the President than I. … In the future, as in the past, I shall resolve every doubt in favor of Administration policies, and vote for them. But when my judgment leads me in a different direction, I shall not permit a statement to be made without at least some defense that I was a part of a group and a body that abandoned important principles of American taxation.” Record, 3rd session, p. 10121.
121 Ibid., p. 10676.
122 Ibid., pp. 8982 and 12589.
123 See, for examples, his endorsement of the bill providing for a bureau of fine arts in the Department of the Interior and his opposition to the Housing Act conference report. Ibid., pp. 12315 and 1746.
124 Record, 3rd session, p. 6794.
125 Ibid., p. 6795.
126 Ibid.
127 Ibid., p. 1198.
128 Ibid., p. 9399.
129 Ibid., p. 8111, and House Calendars.
130 Record, 3rd session, p. 10981.
131 Ibid., p. 11729.
132 Ibid., p. 6820.
133 Ibid., p. 10527.
134 Ibid., p. 7073.
135 New York Times, October 21, 1938.
136 Record, 3rd session, p. 12630.
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