The Library of Congress

THE Act of Congress approved by the President of the United States on April 24, 1800, providing for the removal of the seat of government from Philadelphia to the newly created city of Washington, contained a provision for the purchase of books, and “for fitting up a suitable apartment for containing them” for the use of both houses of Congress. This was the origin of the Library of Congress. It is not likely that either Mr. Otis of Massachusetts who introduced the original resolution, nor Mr. Harper of South Carolina who reported out the bill from the Committee on Ways and Means, had an idea that they were laying the foundation of one of the greatest libraries of the world.