User:Sixtyninefourtyninefourtyfoureleven/RoadsAndCanalsPrototype

The House Committee on Roads and Canals was a committee of the House of Representatives of the United States Congress from 1815 until 1869. First appointed on 6 December 1815 as a select committee of the 14th Congress, it was re-established at the beginning of each successive congress until the 22nd Congress, which on 15 December 1831 voted to make it a standing committee of the House of Representatives. In the first session of the 41st Congress, the name of the committee was changed to the House Committee on Railways and Canals.

Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin (1808)

 * 12 April 1808, Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin, "|Report On The Subject Of Public Roads And Canals", influential.

National Road (1811-1832)

 * See wiki entry National Road


 * approx 20 November 1811 work began on the National Road
 * National Road is significant to the Committee on Roads and Canals because the power of congress to construct such a road was in dispute well into the middle of the 19th century.
 * The support for the existence of the committee may have come from the same factions.
 * North versus South already at odds regarding states' rights, Federal road & canal building mainly to the advantage of Northern expansion west & industry (it seems to me).

Committee appointed at 14th Congress (1815)

 * 14th congress met in two sessions
 * 1st: December 4, 1815 – April 30, 1816
 * 2nd: December 2, 1816 – March 3, 1817
 * 5 December 1815 House receives message from President Madison that mentions roads and canals.
 * 6 December 1815 on motion of Mr. Taylor (NY) standing committee on Post Office & Post Roads established, Roads and Canals stuff referred to select committee (the Committee on Roads and Canals). link.
 * members: William Creighton, Jr. (OH-3, DR);  William Lowndes (DR SC-2);  Thomas Cooper (DE,F);  Samuel D. Ingham (PE-6,DR);   Lewis Condict (NJ,DR);  John Lovett (F NY-9);  John Alexander (OH-2,DR).
 * 7 December 1815 Mr. Richard Henry Wilde (GA) proposes resolution modifying house rules to establish standing committees including Roads and Canals. (link).  Was tabled.
 * 12 December 1815 The matter taken up again on motion of Mr. Wilde; on motion of Richard Stanford (NC-8) a select committee for consideration of rule changes was created, consisting of  Richard Stanford, Burwell Bassett (VA-13), John Sergeant (PA-1), Thomas R. Gold (NY-16), Joseph Desha (KY-4) William Crawford (PA-5), and Thomas Telfair (GA).  (Link here).  On Stanford's motion, Wilde's resolution was directed to this committee.
 * Aforementioned committee also was directed (on Mr. Sergeant's motion) to consider petition re: committees from 'sundry citizens of Philadelphia concerned in manufacturing' which Sergeant had presented along with Mr. Hopkinson (PA-1) on the 11th. (Link here.)
 * 20 December 1815 on resolution of Darlington (PA-2) issue of constitutionality (re: Monroe message) referred to committee.
 * issue was constitutionality on Fed. involvement in expansion of transportation infrastructure.
 * Recent war of 1812 was on everyone's minds, presumably due to logistics problems.
 * 4 Jan 1816 on motion Stanford "committee of the whole House be discharged from a further consideration of the report of the committee appointed to revise the rules and orders, and that it be recommitted [to that committee]" (Link |here.)
 * 9 January 1816 Mr. Stanford, from the committee to whom was re-committed the report upon the subject of a re vision of the rules and orders of the House, reported the same with amendment. Ordered, That the said report be committed to a committee of the whole House to-morrow. (Link here.)
 * 19 January 1816 Stanford delivers report on Standing Rules and Orders, speech recorded in History of Congress: doesn't mention Roads & Canals

Indiana Statehood (1816)

 * 19 April 1816 House passes an enabling act for Indiana to form constitutional convention, be admitted to Union on equal footing.
 * Mentioned in the third clause of the 6th section of this act, 5% of proceeds from sale of lands by Federal govt. were to be set aside for construction of roads & canals (here).

Report of Committee (HR 427) (1817): Plan for Improvement Proposed

 * 8 February 1817 Committee set forth rationale for Federal involvement, improvement of 'internal navigation'. (here.)

Mississipi Statehood

 * 1 March 1817 Similar to the Indiana document above, an act regarding the Mississipi territory also mentions setting money aside. (here).

Madison vetos Bank Bonus Bill

 * 3 March 1817 Madison vetos bill and sends reasons for objection (constitutional) to the House, as recorded in Elliot's Debates here.

Report of Committee (HR 435): Constitutionality of Federal Road & Canal Involvement (1817)

 * 15 December 1817, 15th Congress 1st session, Mr. Tucker (VA-3) reported for committee to house their determination of the constitutionality of federal construction of roads and canals, in response to message from President Monroe asserting his belief that the congress did not have the right to do this under constitution, early example of expansion of congressional powers... full controversy details still needed.

Involvement in ILLINOIS and MICHIGAN CANAL (1822 ?)

 * "December 15,1819 16th US CONGRESS  Motion by Rep Cook of Illinois calling for the Secretary of War to report on ALL  topographical reports previously made on the Illinois and Michigan Canal.   Reports were submitted to House Committee on Roads and Canals on December 28.1819 by the Secretary of War..."  et cetera.  (| quoted from Wolf Point Strategies, temporary link.)
 * more details needed

Involvement in Chesapeake & Ohio Canal

 * according to Historic Resource Study: Chesapeake & Ohio Canal (Unrau, Harlan D.) | here.

Madison & Congress compromise (1824)

 * pivotal to expansion of Federal power
 * see also related happenings here, for recent additions of content

Surveys for Roads and Canals (1824)

 * Extensive debate in the Committee of the Whole regarding 'Surveys for Roads and Canals' occurred in January and February of 1824. Debate occurred on the 13th and 14th of January, ending in the passing of a bill,;  again on the 15th of January; and then from the 27th of January until the 11th of February, excepting the 1st, 7th, and (apparently) 8th of that month, the first two dates being Sundays.

Elliot's Debates Material (1825)

 * 18 January 1825 Towards end of 18th United States Congress Mr. Cambreleng (NY-3) after long consideration spoke supporting constitutionality of canal construction if Fed govt had post-road etc power;
 * 13 February 1826 Senator Berrien (GA) spoke against const. with respect to Indian Territories.
 * both mentioned in Elliot's Debates Volume 4 Internal Improvement

Bailey's Resolutions (1825)

 * resolutions from Bailey(MA-10 put to committee of the whole(?)...

Standing Committee at 22nd Congress (1831)

 * On Friday, 12 December 1831 During the first session of the 22nd United States Congress, committee chair(?) Charles Mercer (VI-14) makes motion to establish standing committee, which is tabled.
 * Resolved, That there shall be appointed, for the present session, and hereafter, at the commencement of each session of Congress, a committee of seven members of this House, to be styled "the Committee on Roads and Canals," whose duty it shall be to take into consideration all such petitions and matters or things relating to roads and canals, and the improvement of the navigation of rivers, as shall be presented, or may come in question, and be referred to them by the House, and to report thereupon; together with such propositions relative thereto, as to them shall seem expedient.
 * On the following Monday, 15 December 1831, consideration of the resolution resumed. Rep. Wild (GA) made a motion to commit the resolution to Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, a parliamentary manoeuvre for purposes currently unclear to this researcher.  However, this motion was defeated, and the question was put to the house of whether they would support Mercer's resolution:  which was answered 96 Ayes to 90 Nays (party lines?).
 * There was general debate of the notion, as recorded here, On Tuesday the 13th. Okay, so day of week needs to be verified between contradictory records.  Main opposition came from Mr Mitchell (SC-3).

sample of dealings (1846)

 * 13 April 1846 Thomas J. Henley (IN-2) introduced bill to construct dam & locks to navigate Falls of the Ohio River, bill was reported to committee, returned without amendment, passed May 11th 1846.

Replaced at 41st Congress (1869)

 * 9 April 1869 On the motion of Mr. Ingersoll (R IL-5), by unanimous consent, the Committee on Rules was instructed to inquire into the propriety of changing the name of the Committee of Roads and Canals to the Committee on Railways and Canals. (link here.)
 * 9 April 1869 (same day) Mr Ferry (R MI-4) of the Committee on Rules reported a resolution to alter the name, which was agreed to. (link here.)