Freed at Last

Membership in Congress is not a permanent job. Representatives and Senators are elected to terms of specific duration. Each Congress is called into session—usually twice—in the two-year interval between elections to the House of Representatives. Each session of Congress has its own character, imparted by the political needs of the time, the personalities and ambitions of its Members, and the ebb and flow of institutional power within the House and Senate. The voters have the greatest influence on Congress, however, and their understanding of the institution plays an important role in how it functions. This cartoon appeared as the lengthy second session of the 62nd Congress came to a close. Members of Congress were eager to return home to campaign for reelection and garner support for their party's Presidential candidate. Two filibuster threats held up Congress's adjournment--the House's refusal to accept the Senate's amendments to the general deficiency bill and a resolution on campaign finance. After a weekend all-night session to work out differences, Congress finally adjourned on August 26, 1912. In this drawing the constraining rope of filibuster is severed, and the congressman is finally free to return home and campaign; unfortunately he has missed his train after one of the longest and most laborious sessions on record.

This cartoon was drawn by Clifford Berryman, one of Washington, DC's best-known cartoonists in the early to mid-1900s. Berryman drew for the Washington Post and Evening Star newspapers. His cartoons touched on a variety of subjects including politics, elections, and both World Wars.