Online Exhibition: Isaac Bassett

The Senate elected Bassett to the position of assistant doorkeeper in 1861. In this role, he oversaw the Senate pages, announced couriers bringing messages to the Senate, and helped facilitate key congressional ceremonies such as certifying the Electoral College ballots. He became an increasingly recognizable public servant, often included in illustrations published in the popular press. Bassett was known for his black suit, long white beard, and hair—described by one 1879 commentator as "trimmed in a style which suggests a forgotten age."

This cover illustration for the March 3, 1877, issue of Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper shows members of the Senate entering National Statuary Hall on the way to a joint session in the House Chamber. Bassett is pictured at the center carrying ballots in a wooden box, marching between Senate Sergeant at Arms John R. French and President pro tempore Thomas W. Ferry (R-MI) as they lead senators through the Capitol to count electoral votes for president of the United States.

Bassett later recalled that the year 1877 marked the first time wooden boxes were used to transport electoral ballots, a tradition that continues today. It was also the first time that Capitol Police guarded the procession, in response to security concerns stemming from the disputed vote count. In this popular illustration, Bassett, who was esteemed by senators and fellow employees for his faithful and dedicated service, appears resolute in carrying out his duties.

Bassett was a fixture in the Senate Chamber for more than six decades, attending nearly every convening of the Senate from the time of his appointment as a page until his death in 1895. This photograph shows Bassett in the Senate Chamber performing one of his most unusual duties: turning back the hands of the clock to "delay" the end of the session at noon on March 4, enabling the Senate to pass last-minute legislation.

Bassett was frequently asked to perform this ritual at the close of a session, initially on the "Ohio clock" in the present-day Old Senate Chamber and later, after 1859, in the current Senate Chamber. As this photograph from the early 1890s shows, the assistant doorkeeper used a long pole to reach the minute hand of the clock above the Chamber’s main entrance.

This practice was widely reported in newspapers and the popular press and witnessed by members of the public who came to observe the end of a session of Congress. Some objected to the tradition. Bassett later wrote, "I have nothing to say whether it was Constitutional or not, but never in my whole life in the Senate service have I ever disobeyed an order from the Vice President when the Senate was in session."

Bassett’s manipulation of the clock hands was seemingly at odds with his personal reputation for timeliness. One 1879 newspaper profile of Bassett declared, "He is always to be found at his post while the senate is in session. . . . In fact, so great is his punctuality that senators would rather go by him than by the clock. They would say the clock struck 12 when Capt. Bassett was in his chair, not Capt. Bassett was in his chair when the clock struck 12."

Bassett's most abiding legacy to the Senate is the manuscript he left behind at his death. It includes notes, anecdotes, and newspaper clippings that Bassett saved in preparation for writing his memoir.

The manuscript collection contains Bassett's recollections about notable historical events that took place in the Capitol beginning as early as 1832, including Samuel F. B. Morse's 1844 public demonstration of the electromagnetic telegraph, the 1856 caning of Senator Charles Sumner (R-MA) by Congressman Preston Brooks (D-SC), and the building's occupation by Union troops in April 1861. But it also records Bassett's observations of day-to-day life in the Senate, providing a unique view of the institution during the 19th century.

In one example, detailed in this manuscript page, Bassett recalls the "Hole in the Wall," a small circular room that served as the Senate’s first dining space:

. . . . The idea of a lunchroom in the Capitol originated with Sergeant at Arms Beale. It was located in what was known in those days as the Hole in the Wall, a circular room situated near the old Senate Post Office, through which access was had to it. It was perfectly circular in form and but ten feet across. But into this small space I have seen crowded many times the greatest statesmen of the country. If those old walls could speak what wonderful stories they could tell of scenes that have transpired there. It was no uncommon thing to see congregated there Clay, Webster, Calhoun, Benton, Cass, Preston, Phelps, Douglas, Wright, Slidell, Mason, and others. What momentous questions have been discussed, & what results have come to this country from plans laid in that small room. I have heard their discussions & words spoken there which I dare not reveal even at this late day. . . .

The page reflects the fact that the manuscript is an early draft of a book, including revisions, insertions, and misspellings. It also provides a glimpse of Bassett's unparalleled insights and experiences as one of the Senate's longest-serving employees.

Bassett's plans to publish a memoir were well known and widely reported during his lifetime. In turning down one newspaper interview request, he reportedly claimed, "I'm going to write a book some of these days and tell what I've seen; so I don't want it spoiled by the newspapers. I've seen a good deal here and mean to tell it all in my book."

Bassett never completed his memoir, but his papers were preserved and eventually donated by his descendants to the U.S. Senate Collection. Because of the archival nature of the manuscript, the Office of Senate Curator houses it at the Center for Legislative Archives, a part of the National Archives and Records Administration, which maintains and preserves the Senate’s historical records. The surviving manuscript consists of disparate anecdotes and observations, grouped generally according to subject, but without explanatory text. Other individuals were involved in editing his sketches and accounts, as evidenced by the different styles of handwriting on revisions throughout the papers. Digital copies of the collection, accompanied by subject and name indexes prepared by the Office of Senate Curator, are available on the Center for Legislative Archives’ website.