Celebrating Congress Week at the Byrd Center

April 1-7 is Congress Week, an annual observation of the history and importance of the Legislative Branch of our government. The Byrd Center joins with dozens of other repositories and research organizations across the United States in celebrating Congress Week. We hope that you will join us at the center for our special Congress Week programs! 

Congress Week marks the anniversary of the first U.S. Congress. On April 1, 1789, following the ratification of the new constitution, a sufficient number of the elected members of the new House of Representatives convened in New York City. The Senate subsequently achieved its first quorum on April 6, 1789, marking the beginning of the first federal congress. 

This year, Congress Week is focusing on the powers of Congress, highlighting the constitutional role of the Legislative Branch and its relationship to the other two branches of our federal government. In an essay exploring this theme, Byrd Center Director Ray Smock explains:

"the actual powers of Congress are considerable and well established ... [including] the power to collect taxes, to borrow money on the credit of the United States, to regulate commerce with foreign nations and within the United States, to coin money, to declare war, to raise and support armies and a navy, and 'to make all Laws necessary and proper' to carry out its powers."

Congressman Hechler (left) and Senator Byrd (second from left) join Vice Presidential Candidate Lyndon Johnson (holding the umbrella) and WV Governor Hullett Smith (right) at the Huntington Airport during the 1960 presidential campaign.

On Wednesday, April 5, 2017, we invite you to a screening of the West Virginia Public Broadcasting documentary "Ken Hechler: In Pursuit of Justice." The film traces the evolution of Congressman Hechler’s political philosophy to the progressive movement of the early twentieth century and documents his commitment to public service and political office.  With added insight from U.S. Senators Tom Harkin, George McGovern, and Robert Dole, as well as Congressmen John Brademas and James Symington, the film highlights Hechler’s lifelong devotion to helping the citizens of the West Virginia and nation.

The film's producers, Russ Barbour and Chip Hitchcock will discuss the film in conversation with Cecelia Mason (former Eastern Panhandle Bureau Chief for West Virginia Public Broadcasting) and take questions after the screening. There will also be a gallery of documents and photographs on display from the Byrd Center's Archives examining some of the projects on which Senator Robert C. Byrd and Congressman Harley O. Staggers collaborated with Congressman Hechler. ​

On Thursday, April 6, 2017, the Byrd Center will conduct a civic education panel discussion on "Understanding the Electoral College" with Dr. Ray Smock (Director of the Byrd Center) and Thomas Neale (Specialist in American National Government). The panel will discuss the Electoral College’s origins, how the Electoral College functions within U.S. presidential elections, and key events in the Electoral College’s history.  Cecelia Mason, (former Eastern Panhandle Bureau Chief for West Virginia Public Broadcasting) an instructor in Shepherd University’s Communications Department, will moderate the session. 

Photo from the Collection of the U.S. House of Representatives.

The program has been developed in cooperation with Shepherd University’s Lifelong Learning program, the League of Women Voters of Jefferson County, the Jefferson County Branch of the NAACP, the Republican Party of Jefferson County, Democrats of Jefferson County, the Libertarian Party of West Virginia, and the Mountain Party (the WV affiliate of the U.S. Green Party).

Both of these programs are free and open to the public. For more information and to reserve your seat(s) for these events, please visit our Congress Week page >>