Connecticut’s Leaders Celebrate Its History in the Nation’s Capital
WASHINGTON — Connecticut’s history was celebrated twice Tuesday in the nation’s capital. The state’s leaders gathered at the capitol to plant a tree symbolic of Connecticut’s liberty and later to unveil a piece of art portraying the Connecticut Compromise that established representation in the Senate and House.
First, Senator Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) hosted a ceremony on the Capitol’s East Front, where he was assisted by family, friends and colleagues in planting “The Charter Oak,” a tree symbolic of Connecticut’s history.
The seedlings are offshoots of the Great Charter Oak, the tree in which the state charter was hidden in 1687 to save it from British forces, and were brought to Washington in 2001.
“1..2..3…Hey!,” shouted Dodd, his family and his colleagues as they ceremonially tossed the dirt away from the new tree.
Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) called the tree “a symbol of liberty in our state.”
The group then celebrated the unveiling of the mural, by famed realist Bradley Stevens of Connecticut, in the Senate Reception Room.
The new painting depicts two Connecticut delegates to the Constitutional Convention, Roger Sherman and Oliver Ellsworth, who were instrumental in forging
the “Connecticut Compromise” of 1787 that gave two Senate seats to each state while House members would be elected on the basis of population.
Sen. Dodd spoke of Ellsworth and Sherman’s accomplishments and announced that some Ellsworth descendants were in the audience.
Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) spoke of the importance of accepting “responsibility to carry forward the values and principles embodied in the Connecticut Compromise.”
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) called the event, “a celebration of history and culture.”
Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), who has written a four-volume history of the Senate, said he was delighted by the unveiling.
“This mural brings to life – as perhaps nothing else would- the Connecticut Compromise- perhaps the most fundamental event at the Constitutional Convention,” he said.
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