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Helping the Senate make, track history

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    Power Player of the Week: Donald Ritchie is the Senate historian

  • Duration 3:25
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This transcript is automatically generated

There have been 1946.

-- since congress started in seventy to 89.

Just one of the fun facts we learn from our power player of the week.

I tell people I have a -- proceeds of the best show Washington that it has its Donald -- is the summit historian -- keeping track of everything -- -- and why of the gays are 59 the -- 39% to one -- does a lot of business by precedent recently knows what it's done before -- That we have very few rules in the senate but we have thousands of precedence when a senate held the impeachment trial of Bill Clinton staff wanted to know what happened at the trial of president Andrew Johnson in 1868.

The one of the questions that came up was has anybody other than a member of the house.

Ever presented a case against on the floor of the senate -- answer was -- -- should be removed from office.

As president of the United States and so congressman had to make the case against Clinton have not their lawyers concerning -- Recently senators have been asking lots of questions about the filibuster and ways to stop it.

There you'll recognize that the senate -- -- very different institution.

And quite frankly they'll say the senate would be just like the house representatives.

Which is something consistent -- just one the president got on a compliment but this latest we have files.

Filibusters we have files on bean -- we have files on every single person who's ever served in the senate.

Richie took us into the archives of his office just picking a final at random -- just -- that -- Bartlett who was the first senator from Alaska.

They also have 35000.

Photos drawings and cartoons of the senate over the centuries.

This is a picture.

But the senators in the 1880s.

Standing on the steps all men yes all men and there's this wonderful photo op of a senate softball game in the fifties.

What a young Jack Kennedy as the catcher.

Sometimes Hollywood calls when they were making a movie about Howard Hughes testifying before a senate committee.

They wanted to match the color of the -- They also help out reporters.

The -- of the state of the union recalled that a -- day because who -- -- -- so much with people calling with questions.

To try to put something into historical context.

The historians office opened in 1975.

Just after Watergate.

The legislature was asking the president.

To make his papers -- -- and historian said well what are you doing about your papers Ritchie joined us out a year later and became senate historian in 2009.

I'm in an institution where Henry Clay and Daniel Webster operated -- their desks are still.

There I'm looking at the pass but I'm also watching the presence has its -- 45 senators are now serving their first terms.

In a period of dramatic turnover.

Richie is gratified to be part of the -- -- institutional memory.

My game.

Main objective is to make sure that the people who are in -- have accurate information to base their decisions.

Any any time that I've been able to provide something that I think helps them.

Is something that I did great satisfaction out of I asked Reggie what -- the big changes in the sun -- over the past half century.

He said jet travel making it easier to commute from their states the televising of -- -- -- starting in 1986.

And lots more security.

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