THE POETRY OF CONGRESS.

As we move forward into an increasingly globalized future, we can't help but look back upon the pages of history, finding both shocking reality and poetic semblance in the events of the past. In the United States, we learn to appreciate the bold pioneers—men and women who risked everything in the quest for fortune, the silent witnesses of man's inhumanity to fellow men, and the lawmakers who relentlessly strove to give structure to a burgeoning nation. Let's revisit an era of great promise, grand endeavors, and grim realities, and explore how the impact of these past events is still palpable today.

In the late 19th century, our nation witnessed a seemingly prosaic yet potent period termed by an Eastern Paper as "The Poetry of Congress." Uncovered are verses of lawmakers—like Banks and Pennington—busy at play in the bustling halls of American legislature, trading numbers, and debating measures that would forever shape the nation's course.

"Banks a hundred and five, Banks a hunded and seven, Banks a hundred and one, Wants a hundred and ’leven. Pennington four and three, Richardson seventy-two, Fuller thirty. Dear me! When'll the trouble be through?"

At the same time, a disturbing event engendered a graphic visual of mortality—six thousand human skeletons adorning the newly-built railroad spanning from Aspinwall to Panama. This paints a chilling testament of human sacrifice on the altar of progress. As we travel across the modern American landscape stitched together by countless railroad tracks, we pause to acknowledge that "The road is a fact; the gulf that swallowed up the human life another."

The era teemed with opportunities for groundbreaking ventures. Despite the macabre construction of the railroad, the transcontinental connection paved the way for rapid westward expansion, fueling dreams of fortune, especially in the form of golden nuggets. When gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill in California, it catalyzed the renowned Gold Rush era, which reshaped America's economic, social, and political terrain. This golden opportunity, according to a historical Mining Journal, enabled California to nearly triple the amount of gold in the Atlantic States in less than seven years, subsequently bolstering the American economy.

At the same time, curious law cases unveiled the intricacies of society. A Cincinnati Inquirer presented the remarkable story of a woman who sought reparations after childbirth complications triggered by a ferry-boat collision— an event that offers us an intriguing glance into the societal standards of the time.

Finally, the consideration of Chinese culture and its growing population gave readers a window into the world beyond their familiar western surroundings. The census statistics and their life divisions system provided a glimpse into the strange, exciting new world across the Pacific— forecasting a time when such information would become increasingly relevant as trade, immigration, and cultural exchange grew between the continents.

Examining these slice-of-life narratives from over a century past helps us realize that the happenings of yesterday were not mere one-off occurrences; they were significant dominoes in the grand scheme of history, individually momentous instances that collectively knit the fabric of our present-day society. From the dusty congressional halls to the skeleton-lined Pan-American railroad, the fervor of the Gold Rush, intriguing legal action, and the burgeoning curiosity of Chinese culture— these events have contributed their threads to the American tapestry upon which we continue to weave. The past, indeed, paints a compelling picture that influences how we interpret the present and chart the course to the future.

Every account, every verse, every fact, and every skeleton quietly whisper to us today, reminding us of the dynamic nature of our society. They reaffirm the essential truth that to comprehend the road we wander today, we must trace the steps in the pages of history and appreciate the determination, dreams, and sacrifices that have brought us to where we stand now, shaping not just our national identity but also our individual understandings of ourselves and our roles in today's world. With such nuanced insights, we validate the age-old adage: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

**Citation**:
- Trinity Journal, [THE POETRY OF CONGRESS.—Some inspired, 1856-03-08]
https://cdnc.ucr.edu/


Original Article:

poet, getting tired of the prosaic telegraphic despatches of Congressional proceedings, has put the matter in a new form, which may answer for the doings of that body a month hence as well as now : Banks a hundred and five, Banks a hunded and seven, Banks a hundred and one, Wants a hundred and ’leven. Pennington four and three, Richardson seventy-two, Fuller thirty. Dear me! When'll the trouble be through ? —Eastern Paper. SEPULCHRE FORTY-EIGHT MILES LONG.–– The bones of six thousand men line the railroad from Aspinwall to Panama. Set this down to ‘man’s inhumanity to man,’ to ‘the Almighty Dollar,’ to ‘Yankee Enterprise,’ or to what you will—call it a mercantile, a diabolical, or an osteological fact—it is undoubtedly true. But the road is built—the continent is spanned; and our onward march our ‘manifest destiny,’ has made another demonstration. We may as well look at the entire pile of grim, ghastly faces all at once, as to pick out the glorification alone, and sink the gory reality. The road is a fact; the gulf that swallowed up the human life another. The sinews that toiled to build the structnre seems to have been destined to as ignoble an end as Falstalf’s ragged regiment, or the British army before Sebastrpol —'food for powder.’ As a great undertaking, there is no internal or external improvement of modern times to be compared with it. THE GOLD HARVEST.—At the time of the first discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill, in California, the amount of gold in the United States was estimated at $86,000,000. Since that time $350,000,000 have been shipped from California to the Atlantic States, and $83,000,000, from other places. Of that amount $220,000,000 have been sent abroad, so that California has nearly trebled the amount of gold in the Atlantic States in less than Seven years? There cannot at this time be much, if any, short of $250,000,000 of gold in the States east of the Rocky Mountains. In addition to this supply forwarded to the Eastern States, we have built up for ourselves a gold currency of not less than $50,000,000, including the uncoined dust and bullion in the State. In this estimate no calculation is made for the gold sent direct from California to foreign ports, or taken in the pockets and under the special charge of passengers in the steamers. Were these amounts to he counted, it would add at least $50,000,000 to the grand total of the yield of California mines—in all $450,000,000.—Mining Journal. NOVEL SUIT.— The Cincinnati Inquirer records a suit of an interesting nature, and involving a delicate question. The particulars are as follows:—The plaintiff is a matronly lady, who alleges that some months since she was induced to give birth to a child some weeks previous to the proper period, in consequence of fright, superinduced by a sudden collision of the ferry-boat Bell, which plies between this city and Newport, and the wharf-boat at the foot of Lawrence street. The lady, Mrs.––––, claims damages of Captain Air to the amount of $10,000, in consequence of this disappointment of her hopes of an heir, the child coming into this terraqueous world still-born. The suit, so novel in its nature, very naturally excites considerable gossip. THE CHINESE.—Forty-three years ago the last official census of the empire was taken, at which time the population was reported at 302,000,000 and the present estimate is 400,000,000. Human life is divided bv the Chinese into ten periods, as follows: The age of 10 is called the ‘opening degree;’ 20, ‘youth expired;’ 30, ‘strength and marriage;’ 40, ‘officially apt;’ 50, ‘error knowing;’ 60, 'cycle closing;’ 70, ‘rare bird of age;’ 80, ‘rusty visage;’ ‘90, ‘delayed;’ 100, ‘age’s ex-, tremity.’