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May 11, 1913

On this date, the Members of the House of Representatives wore white carnations to honor American mothers in the first capital observance of Mother’s Day. Representative James Heflin of Alabama introduced House Resolution 103 on May 10th requesting President Woodrow Wilson, members of his Cabinet, the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives, and other federal officials to don white carnations to honor mothers for “being the greatest source of our country’s strength and inspiration.” The tradition of wearing white carnations (and later red carnations) spread across the nation. The Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C., adorned its lobby with vases of white carnations, as did many restaurants in the capital city. With the positive response to the 1913 resolution, Heflin introduced formal legislation in 1914, designating the second Sunday in May, Mother’s Day. Heflin’s 1914 resolution made no mention of carnations, but requested that the U.S. flag be displayed at government offices, homes, and businesses across the country, “as a public expression of love and reverence for the mothers of our country.” After quickly passing the House and being directed through the Senate by former Representative Morris Sheppard of Texas, the bill went to the President’s desk on May 9, and became law that same day.

May 12, 1887

On this date, Congress unveiled a monument to assassinated President James A. Garfield, a former longtime House Member from Ohio, on the Capitol grounds. John Quincy Adams Ward, a leading American sculptor during the late 19th century, made the large bronze sculpture and stone base with pendant figures. Paid for with private funds, the monument was placed at the foot of the Capitol at First Street SW and Maryland Avenue. President Garfield came to office in 1881 after a contentious Republican nomination process. The 1880 Republican National Convention had been deadlocked in naming the party’s presidential nominee: delegates reached a compromise on the 36th ballot to bypass the front runner, former President Ulysses S. Grant. The convention nominated Representative Garfield, who initially had aspired to a U.S. Senate seat. The factionalism and patronage-driven difficulties that led to Garfield’s nomination did not dissolve upon his successful election against Democratic nominee Winfield Hancock. After only four months as President, Garfield was shot by Charles Guiteau as he boarded a train at the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station in Washington, D.C. The assassin was an unsuccessful lawyer, evangelist, and insurance salesman, who thought that the President owed him a position in the diplomatic corps. Garfield died from his wounds 11 weeks later.

May 16, 1789

On this date, the First Congress (1789–1791) met for a rare Saturday session. The House did not achieve its first quorum until April 1, 1789 (nearly a month after the session began). Once official business was initiated, the House proceeded with a flurry of activity. Representative Joshua Seney of Maryland introduced the Permanent Seat of Government Act during that Saturday session, “an act…offering to the acceptance of Congress ten miles square of territory…for the seat of the Federal Government.” The House also debated levying a duty on goods imported into the United States. Members sought to demonstrate the new federal Congress’s power (relative to its ineffective predecessor, the Continental Congress) by tackling an ambitious agenda that required six-day work weeks. A constituent of George Thatcher of Massachusetts wrote the new Congressman to complain about the length of the sessions and the financial cost to the country. Thatcher responded by explaining that when the Constitution was ratified, Congress was expected to remain in permanent session. Modern Congresses rarely meet on Saturdays for legislative business, but the typical congressional session lasts longer than it did in the 18th and 19th centuries.