Will the REAL senatorial designator

of Brown’s Federal Depository

Library please stand up?

HENRY BOWEN ANTHONY• Born in Coventry, R.I., April 1, 1815• Graduated from Brown University in 1833• Editor of the Providence Journal in 1838, and

afterwards became one of its owners• Elected Governor of Rhode Island in 1849 and

reelected in 1850; declined renomination• Elected as a Republican to the United States Senate

in 1858, reelected in 1864, 1870, 1876 and 1882, and served from March 4, 1859, until his death in Providence, R.I., on September 2, 1884 (interment in Swan Point Cemetery in Providence)

• Donated to Brown the Harris Collection of American Poetry, encompassing some 6,000 volumes

• Longest serving Senator at the time of his death; known as the "Father of the Senate"

• Cast the first vote of impeachment in 1868 against Andrew Johnson

• Described by the ProJo (in 2004) as “A one-man powerhouse in R.I. politics”

In the Senate:• President pro tempore of

the Senate (17 times)• Chair, Republican

Conference • Chair, Committee on

Printing (instrumental in starting the GPO in 1861)

• Chair, Committee on Revolutionary Claims

From: U.S. Government Printing Office, Superintendent of Documents. Official List of Depository Libraries, consisting of designated, geological, and official gazette depositories; January 1, 1909. Washington, DC : U.S.G.P.O. 1909, page 411.

Joint Resolution of January 28, 1857…• Empowered the Secretary of the Interior to

distribute public documents “to such colleges, public libraries, athenaeums, literary and scientific institutions, boards of trade, or public associations as may be designated by him.”

Joint Resolution of March 20, 1858…• Changed the designation authority from the Interior

Secretary to “the representative in Congress from each congressional district”

Act approved February 5, 1859…• Extended the designation authority to include “each

of the senators from the several States”

Senator Henry B. AnthonyMarch 4, 1859, to September 2, 1884

James F. SimmonsSenator from Rhode Island

March 4, 1841, to March 3, 1847and

March 4, 1857, to August 15, 1862

JAMES FOWLER SIMMONS• Born on a farm near Little Compton, Rhode Island,

September 10, 1795 • Moved to Providence in 1812; employed in various

manufacturing concerns in Rhode Island and Massachusetts

• Engaged in the manufacture of yarn at Simmonsville, N.H., in 1822; moved to Johnston, R.I., in 1827 and resumed the manufacture of yarns and engaged in agricultural pursuits

• Member, State house of representatives 1828-1841• Elected as a Whig to the United States Senate and

served from March 4, 1841, to March 3, 1847; unsuccessful candidate in 1846 and 1850

• Again elected to the United States Senate as a Republican and served from March 4, 1857, to August 15, 1862, when he resigned

• Died in Johnston, R.I., July 10, 1864 (interment in North End Cemetery, Providence, R.I)

In the Senate:• Chair, Committee on

Manufactures • Chair, Committee on

Printing• Chair, Committee on

Patents and the Patent Office

Resigned his seat on August 15, 1862…

C.D. Schubarth

… after the Senate Judiciary Committee issued its report on a resolution on whether there was sufficient evidence of corruption to expel him from the Senate.

SENATE REPORT No. 69, 37th Congress, 2d SessionResolution for the expulsion of James F. Simmons

It may not be amiss to state that Mr. Simmons, who has appeared before the committee and with great frankness and fairness detailed all the circumstances of the transaction, and answered all questions put to him promptly and without hesitation, also stated that he is now, and was at the time,

unconscious of having done anything wrong in acting as he did, and that he was not aware that it was unlawful, there being no law prohibiting it; that he considered he was not only benefiting his constituents, but was also doing the government a service by procuring for it responsible contractors for the prompt supply of arms…

It further appears that Senator Simmons still holds the notes given him for

these commissions [$50,000 total] as agreed upon and expects to receive payment on them when they fall due. …

The committee, on these facts, are of opinion that, although Senator Simmons may have thought, as he declares, that his act was neither unlawful or wrong, still, that such a practice is entirely indefensible, and that it was highly improper for a senator of the United States to have acted thus …

That Congress disapproves of such conduct is manifest from the fact that they have promptly passed a law making it a penal offence hereafter; this will prevent all such acts in future…

James Simmons resigned his Senate seat on August 15, 1862.

Lieutenant Governor Samuel G. Arnold was elected by the RI state legislature to fill the vacancy until March 1863.

On March 4, 1863, William Sprague (who had defeated Simmons in the general election in March 1862) was sworn in as RI's new senator (he served until March 3, 1875).

July 29, 1861