Creating a Knowledge-Based Democracy

From Exhibition: A More Perfect Union: December 2008 - March 2009 December 2008 - March 2009
Category:
Knowledge

“Enlighten the people generally, and tyranny and oppressions of body and mind will vanish like evil spirits at the dawn of day,” wrote Thomas Jefferson. Recognizing that a democracy cannot succeed without informed and educated citizens, Congress has passed legislation to establish a number of agencies and institutions that preserve and advance knowledge.

James Madison’s Notes of Debate in Congress, January 23, 1783

James Madison’s Notes of Debate in Congress, January 23, 1783

Madison supported establishing a library for Congress so that its members could be well informed. He also felt it was crucial to gather and preserve knowledge that had been written about the nation and the rest of the world.

Manuscript Division, Library of Congress
Act Concerning the Library of Congress, January 26, 1802

Act Concerning the Library of Congress, January 26, 1802

Establishing a Congressional library became a priority when the government moved to the new federal city of Washington, D.C., in November 1800. During the time Congress had been meeting in New York City and Philadelphia, it had relied upon private libraries in these well-established cities. President Jefferson appointed John Beckley, the Clerk of the House of Representatives, the first Librarian of Congress.

General Records of the U.S. Government, National Archives and Records Administration
H.R. 5, 28th Congress, Bill to Establish the Smithsonian Institution, 1846

H.R. 5, 28th Congress, Bill to Establish the Smithsonian Institution, 1846

In 1835, the United States received a bequest from an Englishman, James Smithson, “to found at Washington...an establishment for the increase & diffusion of knowledge.” For the next 11 years, Congressman John Quincy Adams led the search for the best way to honor Smithson’s bequest. In 1846, this bill to establish the Smithsonian Institution was enacted.

Records of the U.S. House of Representatives, National Archives and Records Administration