Library of Congress Founded: America's Knowledge Secured
President John Adams signed legislation on April 24, 1800, appropriating $5,000 to purchase books for the use of Congress and establishing the Library of Congress. The original collection of 740 books and 3 maps was housed in the new Capitol building in Washington, D.C. When British troops burned the Capitol in 1814, the library was destroyed. Thomas Jefferson offered his personal library of 6,487 volumes as a replacement, and Congress purchased it for $23,950. Jefferson's collection was eclectic, covering science, philosophy, literature, and architecture, and it established the Library's policy of collecting broadly rather than limiting itself to legal and legislative materials. Today the Library holds over 170 million items and serves as the de facto national library of the United States.
April 24, 1800
226 years ago
Key Figures & Places
United States
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President of the United States
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Congress of the United States
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United States dollar
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John Adams
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Library of Congress
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Library of Congress
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John Adams
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United States Congress
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Washington, D.C.
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United States dollar
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