Kids in the House

April 29, 1975

On this date, Shirley Pettis won the special election to fill the vacancy caused by the untimely death of her husband Jerry Pettis in an airplane crash. A businesswoman and journalist, Pettis had a successful career before her election to Congress. At the urging of her children, she ran for her husband's seat and defeated 12 other candidates. Excelling in environmental issues, Congresswoman Pettis's legislative achievements included the successful protection of the Joshua Tree National Monument, the clean up of the Salton Sea Lake in her district, and the construction of the first solar power plant in the nation.

April 29, 1789

On this date, the House Committee on Elections, a panel created to render judgment on disputed elections in the House based on evidence and witness testimony, reported its first contested election case, Ramsay v. Smith from South Carolina. David Ramsay contested the election of William Smith to the 1st Congress, arguing that Smith was not a citizen of the United States for seven years, a requirement set under the Constitution for election to the House. Though he was born in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1758, Smith had been educated and lived abroad from 1770 to 1783. Then Representative James Madison rose to his colleague's defense during debate. The Committee and the whole House upheld Smith's election, tacitly recognizing his citizenship, despite the fact that he lived abroad when the United States was founded.

May 01, 1926

On this date, Democrats and Republicans met on the greensward at American League Park for the ritual Congressional Baseball Game—a tradition dating to 1909. Ticket sales supported the Congressional Wives' Club. The game was a high-scoring affair as Republicans opened an early lead by ripping into Democratic pitching for seven runs on six hits. Behind the bats of Thomas J. Busby, Thomas W. Wilson, and James M. Mead—each went 3-for-4 at the plate—Democrats forged ahead to a 12–9 advantage and won the game.

May 02, 1922

On this date, a Hearst newspaper truck delivered a petition to the Capitol bearing more than one million signatures in support of a bonus for World War I veterans. Momentum had been building for several years for the federal government to compensate servicemen for the difference they lost between pay in the military versus their civilian jobs. The document simply read: "We respectfully petition Congress to pass the soldiers' bonus act without further delay, and also to levy a sales tax to obtain the money to pay the bonus." A delegation of House and Senate Members, led by Lester D. Volk and Hiram Johnson, accepted the petition on the central steps of the East Front.