Essay on The Library Of Congress
HISTORYThe Library of congress was established by an act of congress on April 24, 1800. It was
originally housed in the United States capitol. The collection, which stared out small at 740 volumes,
slowly increased to over 3,000 volumes by 1814. That year, though, the British along with the capitol
burned those books during the assault on Washington.To rapidly replace the collection, Thomas
Jefferson offered his personal library to congress at no cost, describing the nature of his books like
so: "I do not know that it contains any branch of science which Congress would wish to
exclude from the collections; there is, in fact, no subject to which a Member of Congress may not
have occasion to refer." This changed the library from a...show more content...
The only wing of the capitol finished in 1800 was the north wing, so the books that were received
for the library were put in the office of the Clerk of the Senate.
A temporary structure was built in 1801 for the use of the House of Representatives. The act of
January 26, 1802 provided the move of the library into the room in the north wing, which had been
occupied by the House. The library remained here until December of 1805.The Library of Congress
occupied various spaces in the Capitol building between 1806 and August 24, 1814, when the
British burned the Capitol and the Library. On January 30, 1815 Thomas Jefferson's library was
purchased by Congress to "recommence" its library, and a law approved on March 3,
1815, authorized the preparation of "a proper apartment" for the books. Blodget's
Hotel at 7th and E Streets was serving as the temporary Capitol, and a room on its third floor
became the new location of the Library of Congress. Here Jefferson's books were received and
organized by Librarian of Congress George Watterston.
On February 18, 1817, Library Committee chairman Eligius Fromentin, a senator from Louisiana,
introduced a resolution advocating a separate building for the Library, but it failed. In late 1818,
however, funds were appropriated to move the Library back into the Capitol. The new quarters in the
attic
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