Ratification. Mending the Family Kettle. The U.S. Senate passed the proposed amendment by the required two-thirds majority on June 8, 1866, and the House of Representatives passed it on June 13, 1866, which sent it to the states for ratification. No Virginians served in Congress when it submitted the amendment to the states.
The Father of American Railroads. John Stevens (1749-1838) was the scion of a prominent family in colonial New Jersey. During the Revolutionary War he served as state treasurer. In the postwar period he became intrigued by experiments in steam navigation by men such as John Fitch.
Joseph H. Boardman (born December 23, 1948), also known as Joe Boardman, is the President and CEO of Amtrak.Boardman was the longest-serving Commissioner of the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) from July 1997 until resigning to head the FRA.efore taking over Amtrak, Boardman had been the Administrator of the United States Federal Railroad Administration. He was nominated by President George W. Bush and confirmed by the United States Senate on April 28, 2005. He was the 11th Federal Railroad Administrator.