January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December
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| Righty, American, and Lefty |
Think of this as a treasure hunt. You never know what delightful fact you might learn that day.
Enjoy
Mrs. Hoffman
February 1, 2012 - The office of president - Article II of the Articles of Confederation created the executive branch of the government. In Article 1.1 - it states the President will hold office for a period of 4 years and will be in power with the Vice President. Both will be elected for those four year terms.
February 2, 2012 - The Articles of Confederation - outlines that each state will be given a number of electors that equals the number of Senators and Representatives. When the votes of the electors is counted, the person with the highest number of votes (elector votes) shall become President. Of course if the number is even, then the House of Representatives shall choose - a quorum of 2/3s is necessary in order to select the President of the United States.
February 3, 2012 - By the rules of the Articles of Confederation - only a natural born citizen of the United States can be eligible to run for office of the President. The articles also state no one under the age of 35 can be president and must have been residing in the United States for at least 14 years.
February 4, 2012 - The next article explains what will happen if the current president should be removed from office - either by dying, resignation, or being unable to continue in his duties as president. The Vice President will become the next president and will finish the previous term. This has happened several times in the our history - for example - Lyndon Johnson and Harry Truman became president when the former presidents died in office.
February 5, 2012 - Article 1.7 allows for the president to be paid, but he cannot receive any other emolument (this is a wage or returns from being in that office - like a bonus) from the United States of America or any other area of the government.
February 6, 2012 - Article 1.8 states the president will take an oath of office - "I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States."
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| The foot of the Capitol building - Lincoln taking the Oath of Office |
February 7, 2012 - In Section 2 - the president is given the power over the Army and Navy - called the Commander-in-Chief (the name given to George Washington when he was in charge of the Continental Army). The president can also grant pardons for offenses against the US (except in cases of impeachment).
February 8, 2012 - According to Article 2.2 - the president has the power to make treaties (as long as 2/3s of the Senators agree). He can nominate ambassadors, public ministers and consuls, Supreme Court justices, and other officers of the US.
February 9, 2012 - In this Article 2.3 the president is given the power to replace any openings that might occur while the Senate is in recess.
February 10, 2012 - In the third section of Article II, the president must give a State of the Union address to Congress. He can make recommendations and can even convene both Houses if an event arises which needs immediate attention - like an attack on the United States.
February 11, 2012 - In the fourth and final section of the Constitution, - the president, the vice president, and ALL civil officers of the US, can be removed from office through impeachment - or if they are found guilty of treason, bribery, or another high crime. This almost happened to President Andrew Johnson, Richard Nixon, and William Clinton. Impeachment proceedings were started against all three but none of them were impeached.
February 12, 2012 - Today is officially Lincoln's Birthday. Abraham Lincoln was born on this day "I was born Feb. 12, 1809, in Hardin County, Kentucky. My parents were both born in Virginia, of undistinguished families - second families, perhaps I should say. My mother, who died in my tenth year, was of a family of the name of Hanks. My father removed from Kentucky to Indiana, in my eighth year. I t was a while region, with many bears and other wild animals still in the woods. There I grew up - of course when I can of age I did not know much. Still somehow, I could read, write, and cypher"
February 13, 2012 - Have you heard of Charles Yeager? He is the first man to break the sound barrier! On October 14, 1947, he traveled in a rocket that moved faster than the speed of sound. During WWII, he served as a fighter pilot.
February 14, 2012 - One of the most famous days in Chicago history - the St. Valentine's Day massacre. At 2122 N Clark - the SMC Cartage Co garage, seven men who worked for Bugs Moran were lined up and shot. Two of the men were dressed as police men but Capone was blamed for the murder. He was on vacation in Florida at the time, but most knew he was behind even if they could not prove it.
February 15, 2012 - In 1809, Cyrus McCormick was born. His invention helped propel the United States as well as the rest of the world into the Industrial Revolution. So, what did he invent? He invented the reaping machine. The horse-drawn reaper could plow more than 10 acres of gran in one day. Before his invention - only 3 acres (on a good day) could be harvested.
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| Ballot for the 1801 Election |
February 16, 2012 - Remember when I was asking when did they start using paper ballots. Well, I found this on the National Archives. It is the ballot for the electoral votes for the Presidential Election of 1801.
February 17, 2012 - Keeping with the election theme, I thought maybe we would give facts about the legislative branch of the Constitution. In Section 1 - all legislative powers will be vested in Congress which consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
February 18, 2012 - our next fact - in Section 2 - the House shall be chosen every 2 years by the people from those states.
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| Mrs. Gibson with three signers of the Constitution |
February 19, 2012 - Section 2.2 - You must be at least 25 years old and have been a citizen for at least 7 years AND reside in the state where you are chosen in order to be a member of the House of Representatives.
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| Mrs. Gibson and Mrs. Cochrane offering the signers advice |
February 20, 2012 - Section 2.3 explains how the number of representatives is figured out - 1 representative for every 30,000 people in a state. Each state gets at least 1 representative. Since the Constitution was written when our country was just growing this section also enumerates the exact number that the new states should get.
February 21, 2012 - Section 2.4 - Ever wonder what happens when a seat is vacated in Congress? If there is a vacancy of a representative from a state, an election can be held to fill that vacancy. In Section 2.5 - it discusses the Speaker of the House is chosen by the House of Representatives and this person has the SOLE responsibility of impeachment. So, who is our Speaker of the House? John Boehner. We tried to see him when we were in DC but he was not present when we went to the House to watch the proceedings.
February 22, 2012 - In Section 3, we learn about the Senate. According to this section, every state will have two senators. These senators will serve for six years in an open election.
February 23, 2012 - I like the next section. In Section 3.2 - it explains how the senators will be elected. Since senators are elected every six years, the senators are placed in 3 different classes. These classes rotate out. This allows for elections to be held every 2 years so 1/3 will be replaced every two years. Clever idea so the Senate is never stagnate.
February 24, 2012 - In Section 3.3 - a senator must be at least 33 years of age, have been a citizen for at least 9 years, and must be a resident of the state which elected him/her.
February 25, 2012 - In Section 3.4 - the Vice President is the President of the Senate - but he has no vote unless the Senate is equally divided so he can break the tie.
February 26, 2012 - If the office of President should be vacated and there is no vice president to take over, the Senate has to choose a replacement.
February 27, 2012 - The Senate can impeach with 2/3 of the members voting for it. They can remove the official from office and that person cannot hold office and can be brought to trial.
February 28, 2012 - When we get to Section 4 of the Constitution - it deals with elections - each state shall decide on the time of its election. Also, it states Congress will meet at least once a year - and it shall be on the first of December - unless a different day is chosen.
February 29, 2012 - With Mitt Romney winning Michigan last night, I thought I would end this month with one more piece of information about the Constitution. I liked Section 5.4 - which states that neither the House nor the Senate can adjourn for more than 3 days. In Section 5.3 it states a journal of proceedings must be kept. Don't you wish you could read it?
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