A Landmark Lesson: The United States Capitol Building

Introduction

U.S. Capitol dome

The United States Capitol is among the most architecturally impressive and symbolically important buildings in the world. It has housed the meeting chambers of the Senate and the House of Representatives for almost two centuries. Begun in 1793, the Capitol has been built, burnt, rebuilt, extended, and restored; today, it stands as a monument not only to its builders but also to the American people and their government."
— The Architect of the Capitol

What makes the U.S. Capitol "symbolically important"? Presented with a variety of archival documents, your students can answer that question for themselves. Working in small groups, the students will uncover and share the Capitol's story. The primary sources are presented to the students as mysteries, with a challenge to tie together the information in the documents or images through research.

Guiding Questions

What happens in and around the U.S. Capitol? What makes it an important U.S. landmark?

Learning Objectives

List events in American history that have affected the U.S. Capitol.
Identify activities taking place in and around the Capitol.

Preparation Instructions

Review each lesson in this unit and select appropriate archival materials to use in class discussions. Bookmark them, if possible; download and print out the selected documents and duplicate copies as necessary for student viewing.
Prepare the assignments for the student groups in Activity 2. Make sure to include the picture captions and questions with the assignment.
Establish your student groups with care. Groups of three students, if practical, work well. Try to balance the talents of the students within the group, for example, a strong reader, a computer person, and a good public speaker. If possible, assign roles to the students such as secretary, researcher, and presenter — though every student in the group should contribute to all phases of the assignment, each student can be in charge of a specific area. The Group 5 assignment can be assigned to more than one group by selecting different objects from The Capitol Project of American Studies at the University of Virginia, a link from the EDSITEment resource The Center for Liberal Arts.
Obtain background information on the U.S. Capitol at Building the Capitol for a New Nation, available on The Library of Congress, a link from the EDSITEment resource American Memory.
The Digital Classroom, available through EDSITEment, offers a series of worksheets for analyzing primary source documents, including written documents and photographs, that you may wish to use or adapt to help students in reviewing the materials presented in this lesson.
Recommended reading from the Learning Page of American Memory
- Brill, Marlene Targ. Building the Capital City. N.Y.: Children's Press, 1996.
- Fradin, Dennis Brindell. From Sea to Shining Sea: Washington, D.C. Chicago: Children's Press, 1992.
- Reynolds, Patrick M. A Cartoon History of the District of Columbia. Willow Street, Pa.: The Red Rose Studio, 1995.

Lesson Activities

Activity 1. Introducing The U.S. Capitol
Activity 2. What Makes the Capitol So Important?
Activity 3. Presenting the U.S. Capitol

Activity 1. Introducing The U.S. Capitol

Share with the class the vintage advertisement Quaker Wheat Berries Advertisement, c. 1900, available on The Library of Congress, a link from the EDSITEment resource American Memory.

Ask the students to describe the advertisement. What is the ad attempting to communicate about the product? What is the building in the ad? What does it have to do with Quaker Wheat Berries?

What do the students think about the idea of using the U.S. Capitol in an ad for breakfast cereal? The Capitol is, after all, just a building. What is it about this building that makes some people think it should be treated in a special way? Learning more about what makes the Capitol special is the focus of this unit.

For a more in-depth introduction to the U.S. Capitol, take your class on a U.S. Capitol Virtual Tour — A "Capitol" Experience, available on The Senate, a link from the EDSITEment resource Congresslink.

Activity 2. What Makes the Capitol So Important?

Divide students into groups and present each group with the challenges below. With the documents, distribute the captions and questions as shown. If some groups finish earlier than others, you may wish to add or subtract questions from the groups' assignments to create better balance in their workloads.

Through the KidSpace of the EDSITEment-reviewed website Internet Public Library, students can locate many relevant resources, including encyclopedias and other reference materials. Other EDSITEment resources that contain background information or documents that are potentially useful for specific challenges are listed below with each assignment.

Group 1: What Has Happened In and Around the Capitol?
Explain to the class what the following images of the Capitol have to do with important events in U.S. history. Answer any question(s) accompanying an image. Make clear to the class how these photographs show the Capitol is an important building.

Mural in U.S. Capitol Building showing the burning of the Capitol in 1814. By Allyn Cox, 1974, available on The Digital Classroom
Why is the Capitol burning?
The Army of the Potomac Paraded Down Pennsylvania Avenue. By Matthew Brady, 1865, available via a link from American Memory
Why are these Union soldiers parading in 1865?
Impeachment ballot recording votes of senators in the trial of Andrew Johnson, May 1868, available on The Digital Classroom
This is a tally for a vote that took place in the Senate in 1868. What was the vote about?
U.S. Capitol during blackout II. Horydczak, Theodor, ca. 1890-1971, photographer. March 1942, available on American Memory
In this photo, taken after dark, there are no lights on in the Capitol building. Why would all the lights be turned off in an important building in 1942?
President's family leaves Capitol after ceremony., available on the JFK Library, a link from The Digital Classroom. Shown are Caroline Kennedy, Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, John F. Kennedy, Jr. (2nd row) Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, Patricia Kennedy Lawford (hidden) Jean Kennedy Smith (3rd Row) Peter Lawford. U.S. Capitol, East Front, Washington, D.C.
What is the mood of the people shown in this photo? What do you think was happening at the Capitol when this picture was taken?

For further information:

Andrew Johnson's Impeachment, available on The Senate, a link from Congresslink
Today in History, available on American Memory

Group 2: What Happens in the U.S. Capitol?
Explain to the class what goes on in the U.S. Capitol and what the following images have to do with the work that takes place there. Make clear to the class how these photographs, all from the EDSITEment resource American Memory, demonstrate that the Capitol is an important building.

Senate chamber in U.S. Capitol
House chamber in U.S. Capitol, remodeled
Foreign Relations Committee room in U.S. Capitol II
Speaker's office in U.S. Capitol
A more in-depth introduction to the U.S. Capitol is available through the U.S. Capitol Virtual Tour —A "Capitol" Experience, available on The Senate, a link from the EDSITEment resource Congresslink.

For further information:

Ben's Guide to U.S. Government for Kids, a link from Internet Public Library
Glossary of the U.S. Senate website, available on The Senate, a link from Congresslink
The Chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives, available on The House of Representatives, a link from Congresslink
Questions on House leadership, available on The House of Representatives, a link from Congresslink
How our bills are made (short version), available on Congresslink

Group 3: The U.S. Capitol and Inaugurations
Show the class several of the following images of presidential inaugurations that took place at the Capitol (all available from the EDSITEment resource American Memory unless otherwise noted). What clues can you find in each of the images to indicate that a special event was taking place? What can you tell the class about the use of the Capitol for Presidential inaugurations?

For further information (all resources available on the EDSITEment resource American Memory unless otherwise noted):

Today in History
Inaugurals of Presidents of the U.S.: Some Precedents and Notable Events
Inaugurations: From George W to George W.
President Wilson's second inauguration
President Roosevelt's third inauguration
President Lyndon Johnson's second inauguration
President Clinton's first inauguration
President Lincoln's first inauguration, available on the Library of Congress, a link from American Memory
The EDSITEment-reviewed website American President

Group 4: The U.S. Capitol and Its Neighbors
Review the following images from the EDSITEment resource American Memory. What other important buildings are in the vicinity of the U.S. Capitol? Tell a little bit about what happens in them. Create a diagram showing the location of the Capitol and its neighbors and share it with the class.

For further information:

America's Library, available via a link from American Memory
The Architect of the Capitol, a link from Congresslink
A Virtual Tour of the National Mall, available via a link from Internet Public Library

Group 5: What's Inside the U.S. Capitol?
The U.S. Capitol is said to be one of the greatest museums of American art. Tell the class about some of the art objects found there. Visit The Capitol Project of American Studies at the University of Virginia, a link from the EDSITEment resource The Center for the Liberal Arts. Use the FIND function in the edit menu of your browser to find an art object from your state.

Show the class the following works of art, identify the subject, and explain why you think each object has been placed in the Capitol. (Note: This assignment offers a representative list of objects found in the Capitol. At The Capitol Project Index, there is an exhaustive list of objects in the Capitol with links to images of those objects. If desired, select objects that more closely match your curriculum.)

For further information:

Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress, a link from Congresslink
Biographical Dictionary, a link from Internet Public Library

Activity 3. Presenting the U.S. Capitol

After their investigations, have the student groups present their findings to the class, using the archival materials as audio/visual aids. If practical, allow groups to duplicate sufficient copies of a limited number of images to make them available to class members to peruse. The purpose of the presentations is to establish what makes the Capitol an American landmark. When all the groups have completed their presentations, have the class discuss the U.S. Capitol as a national symbol. What has made it such an important building?

Extending The Lesson

Do your students know that the first Congress met in New York City in 1789? Some students might want to find out why the capital (and therefore, the Capitol) of the U.S. is now located in Washington, DC. To research this, students can visit Washington, DC Became the Capital, or Locating the U.S. Capital, both available via links from the EDSITEment reviewed website American Memory.
Technically savvy students can create a "kid's guided tour" of the Capitol (or any U.S. landmark) using Power Point, HyperCard or another similar program. Many images of the Capitol are available on the EDSITEment resources listed below.
A 1792 contest determined the original design of the U.S. Capitol. The winning entry was submitted by William Thornton, an American doctor and amateur architect. Some of the designs entered in the original competition are still in existence. Students can compare the alternate designs to the capital as it now stands, using the following resources available on The Library of Congress, a link from the EDSITEment resource American Memory.
This unit began with an image of the Capitol in an advertisement. Have the students ever seen the Capitol represented in an advertisement or used in a TV show or movie? Below are some vintage examples from The Library of Congress, a link from the EDSITEment resource American Memory, which students can analyze. If possible, students should find additional examples. Is such use of the Capitol appropriate? Should those who use the image have to get permission? Should they have to pay for the right?
Classes exploring the use of national symbols in graphics may benefit from the activities in the complementary EDSITEment lesson, The Statue of Liberty: The Meaning and Use of a National Symbol

Selected EDSITEment Websites

American Memory: Library of Congress
The American President
Center for the Liberal Arts: The Capital Project of American Studies at the University of Virginia
Congresslink: The Architect of the Capitol; Biographical Directory of the United States Congress; The House of Representatives; The Senate
The Digital Classroom
The Internet Public Library: Ben's Guide to U.S. Government for Kids; Biographical Dictionary; DC Pages

Other Resources

Recommended reading from the Learning Page of American Memory

Brill, Marlene Targ. Building the Capital City. N.Y.: Children's Press, 1996.
Fradin, Dennis Brindell. From Sea to Shining Sea: Washington, DC. Chicago: Children's Press, 1992.
Reynolds, Patrick M. A Cartoon History of the District of Columbia. Willow Street, Pa.: The Red Rose Studio, 1995.

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