So what was life like for a Senator or Congressman in Lincolns day, before all the modern perks that we associate with the job? Washington D.C. has always had a vibrant social life given the many people anxious to cater to the powerful. (This runs the gamut from Society parties to the usual entertainments in saloons and boardinghouses). Except for these wealthy few, life was fairly rough. The city itself was laid out on a marsh on the banks of the Potomac, meaning that the air was unhealthy much of the time. Summers were blistering hot and, during the warmer months, mosquitos and the resultant diseases they bore, were a nuisance. If you want to know why everybody in D.C. gets out of town in August, its a holdover from the days of no air conditioning and terrible sanitation. The streets werent paved and, contrary to whats depicted in movies, the Capitol Dome was still under repair. Although wealthy Senators and Congressmen could afford to keep homes in town and bring their families, few were this lucky. During Lincolns one and only term as a Congressman (1847-49), he lived in a boardinghouse. Many Senators and Congressmen did the same, frequenting the boardinghouses and hotels throughout the city. Mary Lincoln did come briefly to Washington, but lasted only a few weeks. Trying to maintain a family life with a small child in a house full of strangers without proper bathing and cooking facilities was too much for her. She also disliked the muddy streets and the rude, uncouth behavior of many of her husbands colleagues, most of them freshmen Congressmen, many of whom lasted only one term. Neither Senators nor Congressmen had staff. They drafted their own speeches and correspondence, met with office seekers and constituents, and dealt directly with politicos from home. Clerical staff wasnt made available to Congress until the 1880s. The only assistance Senators had was the use of a Page to run errands or messages. These were usually poor children of Washington who had been hired by a member of Congress or the Sergeant at Arms. The first Senate office building wouldnt be built until 1909, so their only office space were the desks in the Senate Chamber, or their seats (sans desks) in the House Chamber. Members of both houses often hid themselves away in quiet corners of the Capitol building to get work done, which began the tradition of the private offices in Capitol Building. Capitol Hill eateries today are the subject of several blogs, but back in the day, Senators and Congressmen who didnt have a home to go to fended for themselves. They had access to the saloons and eateries in Washington, the most famous being Willards Hotel. However, they also could have food brought to them during long sessions at the Capitol, which was the earliest makings of the later Senate Restaurant. What flows through early reminiscences of this time are frequent references to booze, booze, booze. Water was considered unhealthy back then, particularly in a swamp town. So was juice. Tea was for ladies and snobby English people, and milk was for babies. The only proper drink for a man was liquor or coffee and lots of it. So how inebriated and caffeinated were those policy makers back in the day? Thats also been a subject of speculation amongst historians but my guess is that they were (to quote a certain fictional Massachusetts Senator) wicked hammah-ed! tinyurl/k2qozsk For people accustomed to seeing the blah, blah, blah on C-SPAN, debates were much more spirited in both Chambers in the nineteenth century. Although they used the archaic forms of address (distinguished gentleman, etc.), they werent afraid to cut loose with long speeches that could go on for hours. Daniel Webster, John Quincy Adams and Charles Sumner (all MA) as well as Henry Clay, John C. Calhoun, Stephen Douglas and others could give speeches three or more hours long. The beginnings of the cloture rules, to try to get a handle on filibusters, didnt happen until the early part of the twentieth century. Just as politicians blast each other on the news, so the pols of those days took after each other in letters, newspaper articles and speeches. Despite these hardships (theres only so much of certain accents anyone can take on the ears), there were plenty of diversions in D.C. In addition to parties at the homes of people who could afford such luxury, and the women of the bordellos, there were the dueling areas around town. Although only one Senator and a couple of Congressmen were actually killed in duels, many of these men were well versed in affairs of honor, which was the euphemism for the dueling process. As Stephen Douglas said to another Senator while listening to Charles Sumner shred a Southern colleague in a speech, some darned fool is gonna get himself shot at by some other darned fool. (For the record: I doubt he said darn).
Posted on: Mon, 11 Aug 2014 12:17:43 +0000
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