Mace of the United States House of Representatives

The Mace of the US House of Representatives

The Mace of the United States House of Representatives is one of the oldest symbols of the United States government.

History

In one of its first resolutions, the U.S. House of Representatives of the 1st Federal Congress (April 14, 1789) established the Office of the Sergeant at Arms. The first Speaker of the House, Frederick Muhlenberg of Pennsylvania, approved the ceremonial mace as the proper symbol of the Sergeant at Arms in carrying out the duties of this office.

The current mace has been in use since December 1, 1842. It was created by New York silversmith William Adams, at a cost of $400, to replace the first one that was destroyed when the Capitol Building was burned on August 24, 1814, during the War of 1812. A simple wooden mace was used in the interim.

Description

The design of the mace is derived from an ancient battle weapon and the Roman fasces. The ceremonial mace is 46 inches high and consists of 13 ebony rods – representing the original 13 states of the Union – bound together by silver strands criss-crossed over the length of the pole. Atop this shaft is a silver globe on which sits an intricately cast solid silver eagle.

Sitting above the ebony rods of the mace is a cast-silver globe, which holds an eagle with spread wings. The continents are etched into the globe, with North America facing front. The eagle, the national bird, is cast in solid silver.

Procedure

For daily sessions of the House, the Sergeant carries the silver and ebony mace of the House in front of the speaker, in procession to the rostrum. When the House is in session, the mace stands on a cylindrical pedestal of green marble to the Speaker's right. When the House is in committee, it is moved to a pedestal next to the Sergeant at Arms' desk.^[1] Thus, members entering the chamber know immediately whether the House is in session or in committee. When the body resolves itself into Committee of the whole House on the State of the Union, the Sergeant moves the mace to a lowered position, more or less out of sight.

Disciplinary usage

In accordance with the House Rules, on the rare occasion that a member becomes unruly, the Sergeant at Arms, upon order of the Speaker, lifts the mace from its pedestal and presents it before the offenders, thereby restoring order.

Since the members are able to edit the Congressional Record before it goes to print, there is no mention of the actual use of the mace in this capacity. A recent recorded threat to present the mace was on July 29, 1994, when Rep. Maxine Waters interrupted Rep. Peter T. King on the floor of the House.^[2]

References

United States Congress

Members and leaders

Members

Current	By length of service Freshmen Youngest members Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico Delegates Longest-serving members ever

Senate	Current by seniority by age Dean of the Senate Former senators Living Earliest serving Earliest living Expelled or censured Classes Born outside the U.S.

House	Current by seniority Dean of the House Former representatives Living Oldest living Earliest serving Expelled, censured, and reprimanded Deaths by year

Leaders

Senate	President (list) President pro tempore Majority and minority leaders Assistant party leaders Democratic Caucus (Chair Secretary Policy Committee Chair) Republican Conference (Chair Vice-Chair Policy Committee Chair)

House	Speaker Leaders Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group Democratic Caucus Republican Conference

Districts

Caucuses,
women and
minorities

Offices, employees, services, and the Capitol Complex

Legislative
offices

Offices

Senate	Curator Historical Library

House	Congressional Ethics Emergency Planning, Preparedness, and Operations Interparliamentary Affairs Law Revision Counsel Library

Employees

Senate	Secretary Chaplain Curator Historian Librarian Pages Parliamentarian Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper

House	Chaplain Chief Administrative Officer Clerk Doorkeeper Floor Operations Floor Services Chief Historian Pages (Page Board) Parliamentarian Postmaster Reading Clerk Sergeant at Arms

Library of
Congress

Government
Publishing Office

Capitol

Office
buildings

Senate	Dirksen Hart Russell

House	Building Commission Cannon Ford Longworth O'Neill Rayburn

Other
facilities

Powers, privileges, procedure, committees, history, and media

Powers	Article I Copyright Commerce (Dormant) Contempt of Congress Declaration of war Impeachment Naturalization "Necessary and Proper" Power of enforcement Taxing/spending

Privileges and benefits	Salaries Franking Immunity

Procedure	Act of Congress (list) Appropriation bill Budget resolution Closed sessions (House) Closed sessions (Senate) Cloture Concurrent resolution Continuing resolution Dear colleague letter Discharge petition Engrossed bill Enrolled bill Expulsion Joint resolution Joint session (list) Lame-duck session Majority of the majority (Hastert Rule) Multiple referral Procedures (House) Reconciliation Rider Saxbe fix Sponsorship Suspension of the rules Unanimous consent Veto Line-item veto Pocket veto Veto override

Senate-specific	Advice and consent Classes Executive communication Executive session Filibuster Jefferson's Manual Journal Nuclear option Presiding Officer Recess appointment Riddick's Senate Procedure Senate hold Senatorial courtesy Seniority Standing Rules Tie-breaking votes Traditions Treaty Clause

Committees	Chairman and ranking member Of the Whole Conference Discharge petition Hearings Markup Oversight List (Joint) List (House) List (Senate) Select and special Standing Subcommittees

Items	Gavels Mace of the House

History	Divided government House Gerrymandering Party control Senate Senate election disputes

Media	C-SPAN Congressional Quarterly The Hill Politico Roll Call

Websites: House of Representatives; Senate

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