1978: NOAA announces gender-neutral hurricane naming system
Federal News Network presents a daily update of important moments in the history of the U.S. government.
Beginning Feb. 18, 1841, and lasting until March 11 that year, the first continuous Senate filibuster began over the issue of dismissal of the printers of the Senate. In 1789, the first Senate adopted rules allowing senators to move the previous question (by simple majority vote), which meant ending debate and proceeding to a vote. But in 1806, the Senate’s presiding officer, Vice President Aaron Burr argued that the previous-question motion was redundant, had only been exercised once in the preceding four years, and should be eliminated. The Senate agreed and modified its rules. This left no alternative mechanism for terminating debate, thereby making filibusters theoretically possible. Until the late 1830s, however, the filibuster remained a solely theoretical option. The first Senate filibuster occurred in 1837. In 1841, a defining moment came during debate on a bill to charter the Second Bank of the United States. Sen. Henry Clay tried to end the debate via majority vote, and Sen. William R. King threatened a filibuster, saying that Clay “may make his arrangements at his boarding house for the winter.” Other senators sided with King, and Clay backed down.
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