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Contemporary Masonic practice included the laying of an inscribed metal plate along with a cornerstone. Caleb Bentley, a Quaker clockmaker and silversmith who lived in Georgetown not far from Suter's Fountain Inn, where the commissioners held their meetings, made the silver plate for the Capitol
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For about six weeks in the fall of 1862 the Rotunda (as well as other chambers and hallways) was used as an emergency hospital. Among the nurses who served here were Dorothea Dix and Clara Barton, later the founder of the American Red Cross. About the Cox Corridors Murals The first floor of the U.S
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Thomas U. Walter , who was hired as architect of the Capitol extensions in 1851, also designed the building's new cast-iron dome. In this mural Walter (center, in brown coat and top hat) shows his dome design to President Abraham Lincoln. About the Cox Corridors Murals The first floor of the U.S
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Andrew Jackson, the first president to be inaugurated outdoors at the Capitol, is shown taking the oath from Chief Justice John Marshall. This ceremony on the east front portico began a tradition observed by most presidents until 1981, when inaugurations were moved to the west front. About the Cox
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Text of the Plaque U.S. Capitol Grounds Memorial Tree Ulmus Americana 'Jefferson' (Jefferson American Elm) Sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell To Honor The Life and Service of Senate Librarian Leona Faust Planted on May 15, 2023
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Corinthian columns are the most ornate, slender and sleek of the three Greek orders.
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The Ionic column is typically identified by its capital, which includes large paired spiral scrolls, or volutes.
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Doric columns typically have a simple, rounded capital at the top; a heavy, fluted or smooth column shaft; and no base. Flutes are vertical, parallel channels that run the length of a column.
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During the mid-19th-century expansion of the U.S. Capitol, which added the House and Senate extensions, four private staircases were installed to allow representatives and senators to move quickly between their second-floor chambers and the building's first floor. Two are located near the House
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The 1866 civil rights bill, which prohibited discrimination on the bases of race or previous condition of slavery, prefigured the 14th amendment to the Constitution. In the foreground of the mural, former slave Henry Garnet is shown speaking with newspaper editor Horace Greeley, who supported
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George Washington was sworn in as the nation's first president on April 30, 1789, on the balcony of Federal Hall in New York. The mural depicts (from left to right) Robert R. Livingston, chancellor of the state of New York, administering the oath; Secretary of the Senate Samuel Otis holding the
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The Lincoln catafalque is a platform constructed in 1865 to support the casket of Abraham Lincoln while the president's body lay in state in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda. It is a simple base of rough pine boards nailed together and covered with black cloth.
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Some of the oldest and most famous interior features of the Capitol are located near the entrance to the Old Supreme Court Chamber. These six corncob columns, designed ca. 1808 by Benjamin Henry Latrobe, are among the most unusual and significant architectural works of the early Republic.
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Amelia Mary Earhart (1897-c.1937) was a record-setting aviator, an author, and a businesswoman. This statue was given to the National Statuary Hall Collection by Kansas in 2022. Sculptors Mark and George Lundeen are brothers; they also sculpted the statue of John L. "Jack" Swigert.
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Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune (1875-1955) was an educator, civil rights activist, and presidential advisor. This statue was given to the National Statuary Hall Collection by Florida in 2022. Nilda Comas is the first artist of Puerto Rican descent commissioned to sculpt a statue for the National Statuary
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Text of the Plaque U.S. Capitol Grounds Commemorative Tree Nyssa sylvatica (Black Gum) Sponsored by The New Hampshire Congressional Delegation To Honor The People of New Hampshire Planted on November 15, 2019
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The first House chamber in the Capitol was designed by Benjamin Henry Latrobe . After the House moved to its present chamber in 1857, this room was designated National Statuary Hall. John Quincy Adams (center, with raised hand) is shown speaking in the chamber; Speaker James K. Polk is seated under
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On August 24, 1814, during the War of 1812, British troops burned the Capitol and almost all other public buildings in Washington. The Capitol, shown ablaze in the background, was gutted, and only a sudden rainstorm prevented its complete destruction. About the Cox Corridors Murals The first floor
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The Capitol's first cornerstone was laid on September 18, 1793, by President Washington in a Masonic ceremony. The ceremony was preceded by a parade and followed by celebration and feasting. About the Cox Corridors Murals The first floor of the U.S. Capitol's House wing is elaborately decorated with
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After Congress selected an area along the Potomac River for the site of the new federal city, President Washington chose French engineer Pierre Charles L'Enfant to lay out the city and design the public buildings. Here L'Enfant (center) shows the president his city plan. About the Cox Corridors
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Spanish-American War hero Theodore Roosevelt became president in 1901, and during his two terms in office he worked vigorously to regulate big business, encourage conservation programs and expand America's role in foreign affairs. The mural shows Roosevelt giving one of his characteristically
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The expansion and industrialization of America required iron and steel for railroads, bridges, skyscrapers, and tools. The mural shows work at the foundry of the Nashua, New Hampshire, Iron Company. Left: Women leave their homes to work in a factory, symbolizing a change in American society brought
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In 1802 American inventor Oliver Evans developed a high-pressure steam engine that produced more power and weighed less than earlier models. His design made it practical to use steam power for land vehicles, such as trains, or boats. The mural is set in 1804 and depicts the nation's first steam
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In 1783 Representative James Madison introduced a resolution to create a library that would give the Congress access to works about the laws of nations and about American history and affairs. The Library of Congress was founded in 1800 and located in one room in the Capitol; as the collection grew
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The Smithsonian Institution, which today includes approximately two dozen museums and research centers, was founded in 1846. It was named for English scientist James Smithson, who bequeathed his estate to the United States to create an establishment "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among
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For decades after America won its independence from Great Britain, many of its people still lacked basic rights. The drive for woman suffrage was formalized at the 1848 women's rights convention in Seneca Falls, New York, but not until 1920 (with the ratification of the nineteenth amendment to the
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At his March 4 inaugural on the steps of the newly completed Capitol, Lincoln expressed his hopes for reconstruction of the Union after the Civil War. He urged moderation, humility, and humanity in dealings with the South. Shown in the center of the scene (from left to right) are Vice President
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Responding to Russian territorial claims along the northern Pacific coast, and concerned that European nations would attempt to seize recently independent Latin American states, President James Monroe announced a new national policy. No new colonies would be allowed in the Americas, and European
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In his farewell address at the end of his second term as president, George Washington urged America, "Observe good faith and justice toward all nations. Cultivate peace and harmony with all." He is depicted here at his desk with Alexander Hamilton, who helped him write the address. Left: The sawyer
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Meeting in New York at Federal Hall, the first federal Congress initiated the committee system, levied taxes and imposts, and enacted a judicial system. The Senate exercised its powers of advice and consent. Most important, the Congress passed the first ten amendments to the Constitution, which