U.S. Capitol Historical Society

in , 1812, Pres. asked to declare war on —retaliation for its “continued practice of violating the American flag.” The War of 1812 that followed is often referred to as the ’s “Second War of Independence,” for as Madison insisted: “To have shrunk under such circumstances…would have acknowledged that…the people were not an independent people, but colonists and vassals.”

From the ’ perspective, the War of 1812 was fought over a number of grievances. The British had been at war with Napoleon and forbid the neutral Americans to trade with France. But because the British also needed manpower, they forced American sailors to serve in the Royal Navy. Finally, the U.S. believed the British were instigating conflict between and Native Americans. Madison therefore asked to exercise its power to declare war—the first time it did so in .

“War Hawks” from the West and the South—regions that supported Westward expansion—had fervently pushed for retaliation, hoping to assert U.S. sovereignty and power into British-controlled lands. Meanwhile, Federalists from industrial argued that war with Britain would hurt trade. Thus, a declaration of war passed, but along sectional lines. Secretary of State John Q. Adams conceded that the President’s primary “duty” was “preserving with the other nations of the earth.” But he admitted “to seek peace is not always to ensure it.”

Two years later, with the war still raging, the British stormed and set fire to the and —threatening the whole of the American experiment. It was a devastating gut punch. But only weeks later, in nearby , a man named Francis Scott Key witnessed another brutal attack.

Only this time, prevailed. And when he saw Her flag still waving, he wrote a poem that “lifted the national spirit,” a Congressman reflected. “From the vale of gloom and despair…to the sunlit heights of confidence and victory.

“It heralded the dawn of a new day to our Federal Government.”

Pictures: Montage of paintings depicting scenes from the War of 1812

Next in our Rural Stories series is Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg of Trappe, Pennsylvania, a man from a small town who became the United States’ first Speaker of the House.

Born in Trappe, PA in 1750, Muhlenberg studied in Germany before returning to America to become a Lutheran minister in New York City. As tensions with Britain escalated in 1776, Muhlenberg left the ministry and entered politics, quickly becoming involved in Pennsylvania’s government and the Continental Congress.

Muhlenberg played an important role in the early years of the United States. He helped advocate for ratification of the Constitution among German-speaking Americans in his home state. In 1789, he became the very first Speaker of the House of Representatives, helping establish many of the precedents for the office that still exist today. He went on to serve in the first four U.S. Congresses.

Muhlenberg was also one of the signers of the Bill of Rights and is remembered for casting the deciding vote to place the nation’s capital along the Potomac River, paving the way for the creation of our capital city, Washington, D.C.

Although he served at the highest levels of the federal government, Muhlenberg remained closely tied to his hometown of Trappe, where he operated a general store and served as a justice of the peace. Today, many historic sites connected to the Muhlenberg family still stand in Trappe, preserving the story of one of the nation’s earliest congressional leaders.

During AAPI Heritage Month, we recognize the life and legacy of Senator Daniel Inouye, a decorated World War II veteran and Asian American. Inouye became the first Japanese American to serve in both the House and Senate, and the first representative for the state of Hawaiʻi. Inouye served in Congress for over 53 years.

Daniel Inouye was born in Hawaiʻi in 1924 to Japanese immigrant parents. As a teenager, he volunteered with the Red Cross to care for victims wounded during the attack on Pearl Harbor. After the U.S. entered World War II, Inouye initially attempted to enlist in the U.S. Army but was rejected because of his Japanese ancestry. Following petitions from Japanese Americans across the country including Inouye, the U.S. government eventually formed segregated Japanese American combat units. Inouye joined the segregated 442nd Regimental Combat Team, in 1943.

Inouye's leadership and combat skills quickly propelled him through the ranks while serving in both Italy and France. In 1945, while leading an assault on German positions in Italy, he suffered catastrophic injuries after being struck by a rifle gr***de. Despite his injuries, Inouye continued directing his men until they completed the mission. Inouye received several surgeries, including the amputation of his right arm, and recuperated in military hospitals for two years.

After the war, Inouye attended the University of Hawaiʻi earning a law degree from George Washington University. When Hawaiʻi became a state in 1959, Inouye was elected as its first U.S. Representative. Just a few years later, he won election to the Senate, where he became known for his advocacy for Hawaiʻi, veterans, and minority communities. From 2010 to 2012, he served as President pro tempore of the Senate. He was awarded the Medal of Honor, our nation's highest military decoration, in 2000 alongside several of his 442nd Regimental Combat Team veterans.

Senator Inouye passed away in 2012 and was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom the following year. His life remains a powerful example of perseverance, public service, and patriotism in the face of discrimination and adversity.

To learn more about Daniel Inouye, you can view our oral history interviews with him here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLl-HL8esvkUfz95w9JhmVCCBi-lL22BuL

We also have several oral histories with other AAPI members of Congress here: https://capitolhistory.org/explore/united-states-capitol-oral-history-interviews/.

in , 2004, the Memorial was dedicated in . It reads, “here we mark the price of freedom,” flanked by 4,048 gold stars. They represent the 405,399 soldiers who perished: a third of the more than 1 million Americans since 1775 to give their last full measure of devotion: to , and Her cause of liberty.

When in 1993, passed legislation authorizing a , donations flooded in from and Americans alike. The memorial that followed is strategically located between the monuments to , the commander whose victory gave birth to the Union, and , the Commander in Chief whose victory saved the Union.

Its dedication on 2004 was attended by 150,000 people, including heroic veterans of the Greatest Generation. Fifty-six granite pillars encircle the memorial, representing each of our states and territories. At the entrance stand 24 bronze panels that narrate ’s story, from the Lend-Lease Act and Pearl Harbor, to D-Day through Victory in Europe & Japan.

After ’s end, Truman delivered a proclamation to the . With careful reflection, he stated: “Our first thoughts, of course—thoughts of gratefulness and deep obligation—go out to those of our loved ones who have been killed or maimed in this terrible war. On land and sea and in the air American men and women have given their lives so that this day of ultimate victory might come and assure the survival of a civilized world. No victory can make good their loss.”

Still, Truman said, echoing the Gettysburg Address, “it is our responsibility—ours, the living—to see to it that this victory shall be a monument worthy of the dead who died to win it.”

Six decades later, a monument now stood worthy of the dead who died to earn it.

in Photo: a night-lit WWII Memorial

in , 1830, Pres. Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act. The controversial law authorized the to grant western territory to tribes in order to displace them from the southeast . Though it narrowly passed , a Senator forewarned: “Let us beware how, by oppressive encroachments upon the sacred privileges of our Indian neighbors, we minister to the agonies of future remorse.”

When was president, he largely sought conciliation with tribes, with his Sec. of War arguing “The Indians being the prior occupants, possess the right of the soil.” At the time, there were fewer than 4 million Americans, mostly along the east coast. However, the Louisiana Purchase doubled the ’s landmass, opening much of the west to migration. And by 1830, the population tripled to 13 million—many wishing to settle new land, some to expand slavery.

Thus, to achieve self-preservation, multiple southern tribes adopted white culture and ceded territory. But their culture was never the sole issue, as they remained different in settlers’ eyes, and remained on the land. Settlers therefore demanded their full removal—what Jackson proposed to in his first annual address: he argued that if Indians remained, they would face the same fate as extinct northern tribes. “Humanity” therefore demanded their “voluntary” relocation.

The bill that followed was said to be “the greatest question that ever came before Congress.” One opponent was Representative Davy Crockett. Another was Senator Theodore Frelinghuysen; he contested Jackson’s supposed concerns for humanity by asking if “our in*******se with the Indians has been so demoralizing that we must drive them from [their land], to save them?” The act nevertheless passed. And Jackson began to negotiate—and coerce—treaties for the removal of numerous tribes.

Their migration was meant to be voluntary. But by 1838, just 2,000 Cherokee had left , inciting Jackson to order their removal—at gunpoint. During their grueling six-month journey, at least 6,000 Cherokee perished. A survivor recounted that “Womens cry and make sad wails. Children cry and many men cry...Many days pass and people die very much."

Or as Frelinghuysen protested: “Do obligations of justice change with the color of the skin?”

in Picture: Depiction of the Trail of Tears for several tribes

Join the U.S. Capitol Historical Society for another installment of its Capitol Dialogue series featuring a conversation between Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Beverly Gage and 11th Archivist of the United States Colleen Shogan.

Dr. Gage's latest book, This Land is Your Land: A Road Trip through U.S. History, recounts her family's recent trip to historic sites across America. In this dialogue with Dr. Shogan, she will reflect on the journey, as well as the ways Americans can "face their past and still love their country" as we mark our 250th anniversary of independence.

This program is free and open to the public. The link to register is: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/capitol-dialogue-beverly-gage-and-colleen-shogan-tickets-1990010014523?aff=oddtdtcreator

This Memorial Day we honor the men and women of our Armed Forces who gave their lives in service to the United States. Their courage and sacrifice will never be forgotten.

On this day in 1844, the first official telegram was sent from the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington D.C., to Baltimore. This marked a momentous occasion in the development of electrical messaging and human communication!

Samuel Morse was originally an aspiring artist, even painting a very famous depiction of Statuary Hall in the Capitol Building. In the 1830s, Morse switched his focus towards developing technological inventions. He theorized a device that could send instantaneous messages through wires. In 1837, Morse applied for a patent for his invention, looking to establish himself as the inventor of an electric telegraph after seeing other prototypes in Europe. He also invented Morse Code, a language utilizing dots and dashes sent over telegraph wires.

Morse enlisted two colleagues, Leonard Gale and Alfred Vail, to help build and refine a working telegraph. Morse then submitted his proposal to the House of Representatives, which had requested proposals for telegraph machines across the U.S. After a small demonstration, Congress appropriated $30,000 to Morse in 1843 for a test telegraph line from the Capital to Baltimore.

Morse set up his equipment on the Senate side of the Capitol, with articles from several years later claiming it was in the Old Supreme Court Chamber. On May 24, 1844, the telegraph line was finally ready to be opened. Morse invited the daughter of the patent commissioner, Annie Ellsworth, to pick the first message. She chose “What hath God wrought,” a Biblical phrase. The same message was received back from Baltimore only moments later.

While the demonstration on May 24 was not widely publicized, Morse gave more public demonstrations just days later, drawing large crowds in amazement. Ultimately, Congress chose not to fully fund Morse’s project, only giving enough money to keep the DC-Baltimore line in commission for two more years. However, Morse secured significant private funding and helped establish over 100,000 miles of telegraph wire by 1865, transforming long-distance communication in the United States.

in , 1856, Charles Sumner was caned half-to-death on the Senate floor. The heinous act was retaliation for his inflammatory speech about the evils of slavery. Two years before warned of a “House Divided,” many already wondered how long that house would stand.

In 1854, passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act, enabling settlers to vote on slavery’s expansion into new territories. As Sumner predicted, anti-abolition Missourians poured into to influence those elections—what he called “the r**e of a virgin Territory, compelling it to the hateful embrace of Slavery.”

He therefore targeted in his speech the law’s authors. He sardonically declared that Senator Andrew Butler wished to be a “second Moses” and “conduct the State of out of the Union” if the South could not “sell little children at the auction block.” To Sumner, it was clear that Butler “has chosen a mistress…who, though ugly to others, is always lovely to him; though polluted in the sight of the world, is chaste in his sight I mean the harlot, Slavery.”

Butler was not present to respond, but his relative, Rep. Preston Brooks, was. Feeling a “high and holy obligation,” Brooks entered the Senate chamber days after with a cane. He chose this weapon over a cowhide or whip so the larger Sumner couldn’t disarm him. Then, standing over his desk, Brooks accused Sumner of slander, uttering “I am come to punish you.”

Before Sumner could reply, his head was struck by Brooks' cane. With blood blinding his vision, Sumner only rose after a dozen such strikes. He struggled down the aisle, but the blows from the splintered cane persisted amid shouts of “Give the damned Abolitionist hell!” When a minute later, Brooks was at last satisfied, he left Sumner to lie bellowing on the floor. Now unconscious, a lawmaker described him “as senseless as a corpse…his head bleeding copiously.”

Brooks was celebrated in the South, where it was said Sumner’s “submission” leveled him with the “degraded class.” But this also alienated moderates who had previously criticized abolitionists: for such brutality by enslavers was no longer confined to plantations or distant territories; it had finally reached the hallowed—now blood-stained—halls of Congress.

in Picture: 1856 depiction of the infamous caning

in , 1927, Charles Lindbergh achieved the first solo non-stop flight across the Atlantic. Five years later, in 1932, Amelia Earhart became the second person—and first woman—to achieve the same. For this, both earned the 's Distinguished Flying Cross, which authorized “for heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight.”

Prior to Lindbergh, several explorers attempted the feat, though each failed and six were killed. Lindbergh believed they were inhibited by heavy, multi-engine aircrafts that reduced their fuel-efficiency. Instead, he pitched a group of investors on a lighter, single-engine plane, with extra fuel tanks. To accomplish this, the aircraft would fly without a radio, navigation equipment, or even a parachute. Lindbergh would also fly solo—without a navigator.

To Lindbergh, a Captain (and later Brigadier General) in the Air Corps Reserve: “What kind of man would live where there is no danger? I don't believe in taking foolish chances. But nothing can be accomplished by not taking a chance at all.”

It was this very spirit that spurred Earhart—nicknamed “Lady Lindy”—to cross the Atlantic; then, among other records, become the first woman to complete a solo transcontinental flight. Finally, in 1937, Earhart embarked on her most daunting challenge yet: a flight around the world.

It would end in tragedy, however, as Earhart and her copilot flew 22,000 miles—just 7,000 from their destination—before disappearing over the Pacific, never to be seen again.

Eighty years later, a congresswoman from Earhart’s home state of reflected: while Earhart “was lost at sea, that wasn’t the end...Amelia’s legacy soars as high as ever as she continues to inspire new generations of women to reach for greater heights.”

Or as Earhart herself insisted, echoing Lindbergh: “Everyone has oceans to fly, if they have the heart to do it. Is it reckless? Maybe. But what do dreams know of boundaries?”

Photos: Lindbergh and Earhart with their airplanes