As the 87th Congress began its sessions last week, liberal Democrats were ready for a finish fight to open the sluice gates controlled by the House Rules Committee and permit the free flow of liberal legislation to the floor.

Its drafting by the Continental Congress began in mid 1776, and an approved version was sent to the states for ratification in late 1777.

The political push to increase cooperation among the then-loyal colonies began with the Albany Congress in 1754 and Benjamin Franklin's proposed intercolonial collaboration to help solve mutual local problems themselves ; the Articles of Confederation would bear some resemblance to it.

In 1775, with events outpacing communications, the Second Continental Congress began acting as the provisional government to run the American Revolutionary War and gain the colonies their collective independence.

In 1788, with the approval of Congress, the Articles were replaced by the United States Constitution and the new government began operations in 1789.

" As southern Senators began to express their intent to resign their seats, Johnson reminded Sen. Jefferson Davis, the Confederacy's future leader, that if his coalition would only hold to their seats, the Democrats would control the Congress, and thus better defend the South's interests.

, two years after its implementation began, the security situation of inside Colombia has shown some measure of an improvement and the economy, while still fragile, has also shown some positive signs according to observers, but relatively little has yet to have been accomplished in structurally solving most of the country's other grave problems, possibly in part due to legislative and political conflicts between the administration and the Colombian Congress ( including those over the controversial project to eventually re-elect Uribe ), and a relative lack of freely allocated funds and credits.

Following the 13th Congress, another power struggle with a different focus began ; this time socio-economic policies were the prime motivators for the struggle.

Khrushchev had began to initiate nepotistic policies, initiated policies without the consent of either the Presidium or the Central Committee, a cult of personality had developed and, in general, Khrushchev had developed several characteristics which he himself criticised Stalin of having at the 20th Party Congress.

The MFP began lobbying Congress in 1990, and in 1991 Senator Brock Adams ( D-Washington ) and Rep. Barbara Boxer introduced the Military Freedom Act, legislation to end the ban completely.

Controlled by the anti-corruption parties — the populist Guatemalan Republican Front ( FRG ) headed by Ríos Montt, and the center-right National Advancement Party ( PAN ) — the new Congress began to move away from the corruption that characterized its predecessors.

The Library of Congress began a multiyear " Celebration of the Book " in July 2012 with an exhibition on " Books That Shaped America ", and an initial list of 88 books by American authors that have influenced American lives.

The government began a program of rapid industrialization after the APL's Second Party Congress and a campaign of forced collectivization of farmland in 1955.

At the Second International Interlanguage Congress, held in Geneva in 1931, IALA began to break new ground ; 27 recognized linguists signed a testimonial of support for IALA's research program.

The IEC held its inaugural meeting on 26 June 1906, following discussions between the British Institution of Electrical Engineers, the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, and others, which began at the 1900 Paris International Electrical Congress, and continued with Colonel R. E. B. Crompton playing a key role.

With Jackson's victory in the election Polk began to support the administration's position in Congress.

The influence of the moderates on Congress politics began to wane after Gokhale died in 1915.

His first term began with the Kakinada session of the Congress in 1923.

Nehru's second term as general secretary began with the Madras session of the Congress in 1927.

Indian, British, and world opinion increasingly began to recognize the legitimacy of the claims by the Congress party for independence.

But the real importance, to my mind, lay in the effect they had on our own people, and especially the village masses .... Non-cooperation dragged them out of the mire and gave them self-respect and self-reliance .... They acted courageously and did not submit so easily to unjust oppression ; their outlook widened and they began to think a little in terms of India as a whole .... It was a remarkable transformation and the Congress, under Gandhi's leadership, must have the credit for it.

Historian Allan Nevins wrote that " two interconnected battles began to rage, one in Congress and one in the country at large: each fought with a pertinacity, bitterness, and rancor unknown even in Wilmot Proviso days.

Beginning in the early 1970s, he began permitting the most prominent guerilla organizations, such as the Rhodesian ZANU and the African National Congress, to use Zambia as a base for their operations.

In early January 1918, Wilson summoned House to Washington and the two began hammering out, in complete secrecy, the president ’ s first address on the League of Nations, which was delivered to Congress on 8 January 1918.

Without Gandhi's unifying personality, the Indian National Congress began to splinter during his years in prison, splitting into two factions, one led by Chitta Ranjan Das and Motilal Nehru favouring party participation in the legislatures, and the other led by Chakravarti Rajagopalachari and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, opposing this move.

* December 12: Congress adjourns to move to Baltimore, Maryland.

* September 18: Congress adjourns in order to move to Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

* June 21: Congress adjourns to move to Princeton, New Jersey.

* November 4: Congress adjourns to move to Annapolis, Maryland.

* August 19: Congress adjourns to move to Trenton, New Jersey.

* December 24: Congress adjourns to move to New York City

Next, against some vocal opposition, Brandt decided to move the next Socialist International Congress from Sydney, Australia to Portugal.

In response to the South Carolina move, Congress passed the Force Bill, which empowered the President to use military power to force states to obey all federal laws.

Burnham's move toward the right was accomplished with the merger of his PPP faction and the United Democratic Party into a new organization, the People's National Congress ( PNC ).

When the U. S. government moved back to Philadelphia in 1790, the city, in an attempt to convince the federal government not to move to Washington, was determined to provide luxurious accommodations at Congress Hall, the recently constructed building where Congress was to meet.

This move by the Congress provoked controversy, and it was in connection with this that the term " Lynch law ", meaning the assumption of extrajudicial authority, came into common parlance in the United States.

The practical joke came as a result of Van Buren's vetoing a bill from Congress to improve the highway, a move which angered Western settlers.

Aging ( it was completing its 12th season ) and declining in the ratings, CBS planned to cancel the western, but protests from viewers and even members of Congress lead the network to move the series from its longtime late Saturday time slot to early Mondays for the fall — displacing Gilligan's Island, which initially had been renewed for the fall but is canceled instead.

The Kansas-Nebraska Act saw an attempt in Congress to move the " slavery -- anti-slavery line " north of that which had been agreed.

The three generals disagreed on what Burgoyne's most likely movement was, and Congress also rendered the opinion that Burgoyne's army was likely to move to New York by sea.

Sent to Virginia Delegation to the Continental Congress and Richard Henry Lee to move for Independence Lee Resolution June 7, 1776.

In 1897 President Grover Cleveland created thirteen protected forests but lumber interests had Congress cancel the move.

Under the reauthorization of NED several factors were added to the organizations guidelines: the NED Act had to arrange the Board's prohibition on the use of funds for partisan political purposes, including funding for national party operations ; mandate that NED consult with the State Department on any overseas programs it funds prior to the commencement of their activities ; move the required date of reporting to Congress on all grants from December 31 to February 4, and lastly despite its non-governmental status, comply fully with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act.

In January 2004, after being unable to broadcast for 12 consecutive months, the FM license for WGHR was automatically canceled by the FCC as required by Congress, and the application to move to 101. 1 was dismissed as moot.

Because of this, and as a result of growing discontent and popular unrest, Congress and President Eduardo Rodríguez Veltzé decided to move up the 2007 elections to December 2005.

In September 2011, the World Jewish Congress, together with the International Council of Jewish Parliamentarians, assembled in New York to lobby the international community against allowing the Palestinian Authority ’ s unilateral move to become a full member of the United Nations and bypass negotiations with Israel.