Surviving the Legislative Process

Senate Bill Hopper Enlargement

This U.S. Senate bill hopper offers clear evidence of how few bills actually became law. The upper shelves—which represent the final phases of legislative consideration—were built to accommodate the fewest bills.

Smithsonian Bill Becomes an Act

United States Senate Chamber Enlargement

Bill proposals concerning the Smithsonian came from legislators, educators, and citizens from various walks of life. The final legislation included many of the ideas suggested during the decade of debate.

The compromise dropped the original idea of a national university. It specified that the Institution be faithful to Smithson's mandate for the "increase and diffusion of knowledge." The responsibility of interpreting and carrying out the legislation and Smithson's mandate fell to the Smithsonian's Secretary (or chief executive) and Board of Regents.

The bill establishing the Smithsonian Institution that President James K. Polk signed into law on August 10, 1846, represented ten years of negotiation and compromise. "An Act to Establish the Smithsonian Institution," 1846

"An Act to Establish the Smithsonian Institution" Enlargement

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