A More Perfect Union: December 2008 - March 2009
For more than two hundred years, the Capitol has been the place where representatives of the American people have debated how best to achieve the nation’s ideals. This exhibit displays some of our most important documents, drawn primarily from the collections of the Library of Congress and the National Archives, to illustrate the role of Congress in defining and helping to realize national goals and aspirations.
The aspirations of unity, freedom, common defense, general welfare, knowledge, and exploration all derive from the Constitution. The Preamble declares that the highest goals of the government are “to form a more perfect Union,” and to provide for “common defense,” “general Welfare,” and the “Blessings of Liberty.” Article I gives Congress the power to promote “Science and useful Arts,” which has resulted in congressional support of knowledge and exploration. The meaning of liberty is further defined in the Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments to the Constitution, which guarantee specific freedoms.
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Creating a Knowledge-Based Democracy
“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.
Establishing a Library for Congress - 1
The Library of Congress was established in the act that provided for relocating the federal government to Washington, D.C. That act also authorized purchasing $5,000 worth of books and the “fitting up of a suitable apartment for containing them.” Most of these books were destroyed when British troops burned the Capitol in 1814. To replace them, Thomas Jefferson sold to the government his personal library of over seven thousand volumes. The Library of Congress was housed in the Capitol until 1897, when the Library moved to its own building.
Supporting Public Education
In the Northwest Ordinance, the nation’s first legislators laid down the principles for public education. The ordinance, which predated the Constitution, framed the plan for governing the territories “north and west of the river Ohio” and their admission to the Union. (The ordinance also banned slavery and guaranteed religious and civil freedom.) In 1789, Congress reenacted the ordinance and subsequently extended its provisions to other western territories as the United States became a transcontinental nation.
Ensuring the Public’s Right to Know
Congress is the most open of our three branches of government: its floor proceedings are televised, published, and can be observed by the public. Most committee hearings are transcribed and distributed to designated libraries across the country. Keeping records and making them available are critical to a democratic society. The “right to know,” however, is delicately balanced with the need to protect vital issues of national security.