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Exhibition Archives

A More Perfect Union Congress and the Separation of Powers Congress and the Separation of Powers Why does the U.S. Constitution separate the government into three branches? At the nation’s founding, the Constitution’s framers understood that executive, legislative, and…
Congress and the World Wars Part 2 Congress and the World Wars Part 2 World War I (1914–1918) and World War II (1939–1945) were cataclysmic events during the twentieth century. Congress debated new international commitments and chose…
A More Perfect Union Congress and the World Wars Congress and the World Wars World War I (1914–1918) and World War II (1939–1945) were cataclysmic events, which spurred Congress to address the nation’s role in the world. As foreign aggression…
A More Perfect Union Congress and the Progressive Era Part 2 Congress and the Progressive Era Part 2 From the 1890s to the 1920s, a period known as the Progressive Era, the United States experienced dramatic social, cultural, and political change. Confronted with domestic…
A More Perfect Union Congress and the Progressive Era Congress and the Progressive Era From the 1890s to the 1920s, a period known as the Progressive Era, the United States experienced dramatic social, cultural, and political change. Confronted with domestic…
A More Perfect Union Congress Investigates Part 2 “Senate Gallery Gossip—Yep, the Others are All Out Investigatin’!” cartoon by Clifford Berryman, March 6, 1924 The power to investigate, implied by the U.S. Constitution, is one of Congress’s most important tools for developing effective public policy, conducting oversight, and…
A More Perfect Union Congress Investigates Address book of Watergate burglar Bernard Barker, June 18, 1972 The power to investigate, implied by the U.S. Constitution,  is one of Congress’s most important tools for developing effective public policy, conducting oversight, and…
A More Perfect Union Congress and the War of 1812 Part 2 The U.S. Capitol after Burning by the British, ink and watercolor on paper by George Munger, ca. 1814 Instrumental to our identity and future national development, the War of 1812 both shaped and was shaped by Congress. International in scope and economic in nature, the war…
A More Perfect Union Congress and the War of 1812 Part 1 Decorative Instrumental to our identity and future national development, the War of 1812 both shaped and was shaped by Congress. International in scope and economic in nature, the war…
A More Perfect Union Conflict and Compromise II Col. Frémont planting the American Standard on the Rocky Mountains, wood engraving by Baker & Godwin, ca. 1856 Congress is the forum where elected representatives address issues facing the nation. These issues sometimes arise from conflicting ideas within the nation, or from the…
A More Perfect Union Conflict and Compromise I Decorative Congress is the forum where elected representatives address issues facing the nation. These issues sometimes arise from conflicting ideas within the nation, or from the…
A More Perfect Union Instruments of Change Decorative In Congress, ideas and issues from across the nation are discussed, debated, and acted upon. Petitions, investigations, and Acts of Congress are all instruments of change…
A More Perfect Union April 2012 - September 2012 Decorative The issue of slavery permeated debate in Congress from the founding of the country through the mid-nineteenth century. The failure to resolve differences between states on…
Congress and the Civil War I October 2011 - March 2012 Wood engraving, interior of the Merrimac during combat with the Monitor, Le Monde Illustré, ca. 1862–1865 The issue of slavery permeated debate in Congress from the founding of the country through the mid-nineteenth century. The failure to resolve differences between states on…
A More Perfect Union April 2010 - September 2011 Knowledge 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…
A More Perfect Union October 2009 - March 2010 The National Parks Preserve Wild Life. Poster, ca. 1939 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…
A More Perfect Union April 2009 - September 2009 April 2009 - September 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…
A More Perfect Union December 2008 - March 2009 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…