The Hall of the House | Growth of a Young Nation | Design of the Hall | Speaker of the House | Notable Ceremonies | John Quincy Adams | Historical Artifacts
Thomas Hart Benton Desk   U.S. Capitol Art Collection, Architect of the Capitol. Gift of the American Antiquarian Society. The desk is curved to fit the semicircular seating arrangement of the Old House Chamber. It measures 29 3/4 inches at the back and 24 inches at the front where the drawer is located. It is 17 3/4 inches wide at the back and 24 inches at the front, and 20 3/4 inches at the right edge. At the back center edge above the pen box is a wooden nameplate inscribed "T.H. Benton". Under the desk is a two board shelf, the front board removable.   The Mace   Office of the Architect of the Capitol The Mace is 46 inches high and consists of 13 thin ebony rods representing the original 13 States of the Union. The rods are bound together by four crossing ribbons of silver, pinned together and held at the bottom and at the top by silver bands. The bands are decorated with Floral borders and a respousse design. The name "Wm. Adams/ Manufacturer/ New York/ 1841." is engraved in the cartouche, located in the front center of the bottom band. This shaft is topped by a silver globe 4 1/2 inches in diameter and engraved with the seven continents, the names of the oceans, lines of longitude, and the major lines of latitude. The Western Hemisphere faces the front. The glob is encircled with a silver rim marked with the degrees of latitude, on which is perched an engraved solid silver eagle with a wingspan of 15 inches. The total weight of the Mace is ten pounds.		The Benton Desk After the burning of the Capitol, (1814), Thomas Constantine a cabinetmaker from New York made new mahogany furniture (1819) for the reconstructed Old House Chamber, also known as Statuary Hall. Additional desks of the same design were made later to accommodate more Members. The desks used in the original chamber were sold at auction when the House moved to its present chamber in 1857. Since most Members did not have offices until 1908, desks like the one shown at left were important for storing papers. Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri, best known for his 30 years of service in the Senate, used this front row desk when he served in the House during the 33rd Congress (1853-1855). The desk was sold at auction in 1858 and acquired by the American Antiquarian Society in 1886. U.S. House of Representatives Chair, 1819 The mahogany chair shown at the left is one of the original chairs made for the Old House Chamber, as attested by its T. Constantine, & Co. New York City cabinet shop label. The seat of this highback chair was covered with horsehair and there are two hand rests. The stretcher frame at the bottom was added later to hold the Member's hat. The Mace The Mace of the U.S. House of Representatives is one of the oldest and most important symbols of our nation's government. In one of its first resolutions, the U.S. House of Representatives of the 1st Federal Congress (April 14, 1789) established the Office of the Sergeant at Arms. The first Speaker of the House, Frederick Muhlenburg of Pennsylvania, approved the Mace as the proper symbol of the Sergeant at Arms in carrying out the duties of this office. The design of the Mace is derived from an ancient battle weapon and the Roman fasces. The ceremonial Mace is 46 inches high and consists of 13 ebony rods – representing the original 13 states of the Union – bound together by silver bands. Atop this shaft is a silver globe on which sits an intricately cast solid silver eagle. The Speaker's Letter Ordering The Mace Three Maces have been used by the House of Representatives since its inception. Between 1814 and 1841, the Mace was wooden. The present Mace, "presented and qualified" on December 29, 1841 is made of ebony and silver. In a letter (left) to silversmith William Adams, Speaker John White specified that the Mace should be "similar to one destroyed in the year 1814," when the Capitol was burned by the British. Letter of Speaker John White ordering the Mace Source: Records of the Accounting Officers of the Department of the Treasury, National Archives and Records Administration. The Mace in the House Chamber Each day when the House of Representatives is called to order, the Sergeant at Arms or his assistant carries the Mace into the House Chamber and places it on a green marble pedestal at the Speaker's right. The Mace remains in this position while the House is in session but is moved to the lower pedestal when the House resolves itself into Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union. This procedure allows Members coming onto the Floor and visitors in the galleries to determine whether the House is in session or in committee. Note the fasces (above) mounted on the wall behind the Mace. The original Roman fasces, consisting of an axe bound within a bundle of rods by a red strap, were carried before the consul and used to restore order and to carry out punishment of the courts.The photograph shows the Mace place in its green pedestal on the Rostrum. The Mace in the green marble pedestal, located on the Rostrum, The Architect of the Capitol. The Mace Used To Restore Order In accordance with the Rules of the House, on the rare occasions when a Member becomes unruly, the Sergeant at Arms, on order of the Speaker, lifts the Mace from its pedestal and presents it before the offenders, thereby restoring order. The drawing at right depicts the occasion of a dispute that arose prior to the counting of the electoral votes in the contested Presidential election of 1876. The illustration appeared in Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper on February 24, 1877. It depicts the Sergeant At Arms presenting the Mace in an effort to restore order in the House Chamber. There are members and pages are seated and standing on the House floor while the Sergeant At Arms presents the Mace. The Mace at Presidential Inaugurations Presidential inaugurations are held in the meeting place of the Congress, with the Congress officially in attendance. The House of Representatives and the Senate arrive at the ceremony as separate bodies and take seats of honor behind the podium. The Sergeant at Arms or his assistant, carrying the Mace, heads the procession of the Members of the House of Representatives and stands behind them, holding the Mace, throughout the inauguration ceremony. The photograph shows the Mace leading the procession of members of the House of Representatives during the inauguration of President Richard M. Nixon on January 20, 1969. The delegation is descending a wooden platform in front of the central portico of the Capitol's East front. The Sergeant at Arms is carrying the Mace with the Members following behind. There are people seated on benches on either side of the aisle. The Procession of the Mace Presidential Inauguration, 1969. Office of the Architect of the Capitol