The Library of Congress
“The highest story of the American Revolution is this: It connected in one indissoluble bond the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity.”
JOHN ADAMS
Second President of the United States
The Library of Congress was originally established in 1800 as a legislative library. However, it grew into much more.
Today on its website, www.loc.gov, the Library of Congress immodestly describes its mission "to make its resources available and useful to the Congress and the American people and to sustain and preserve a universal collection of knowledge and creativity for future generations."
To accomplish this monumental mission, the Library of Congress employs over 5,000 people and houses approximately 130 million items catalogued on approximately 530 miles of bookshelves. This includes over 29 million books and other printed materials, 2.7 million recordings, 12 million photographs, 4.8 million maps, and 58 million manuscripts, with 10,000 new items added to the collection daily (out of over 22,000 submissions daily).
All this makes the Library of Congress by far the largest library in the world.
THE GREAT HALL
Out of the over one hundred thirty million items in the Library of Congress' collection, only two are on permanent display in the Great Hall. The first is the Giant Bible of Mainz, a handwritten and illustrated version of the Bible considered to be one of the most beautiful ever created.
The second is the Gutenberg Bible, the first mass printed book, which soon made hand-printed books like the Giant Bible of Mainz obsolete. The copy at the Library of Congress is printed on vellum, or animal skin, and is one of only three perfect copies still in existence.
In addition to the two Bibles, the Great Hall displays other evidence of the nation's strong religious underpinnings. The following passages are inscribed on the ceiling and the walls of the Great Hall: "The light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not" (John 1:5); "Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore, get wisdom and with all thy getting, get understanding" (Proverbs 4:7); and Dante's "Nature is the Art of God."
THE MAIN READING ROOM
Anyone who wishes access to the Library of Congress's books and bound periodicals must first start in the Main Reading Room. Here researchers begin their initial search for knowledge using the electronic resources in the Computer Catalog Center and the Main Card Catalog. Approximately 70,000 volumes are stored in the Main Reading Room reference collection and hundreds of books and bound periodicals are delivered to the Main Reading Room every day for research.
There are several instances of religious imagery and scripture verse found in the Main Reading Room. They include a bronze statue of Moses holding the Ten Commandments and a painting on the ceiling called Judea, showing a young Jewish woman praying.
In addition, two scripture passages are inscribed on the walls: What doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God" (Micah 6:8) and "The heavens declare the Glory of God, and the firmament showeth His handiwork" (Psalm 19:1).
"RELIGION AND THE FOUNDING OF THE AMERICAN REPUBLIC"
In 1998, the Library of Congress held an exhibit called "Religion and the Founding of the American Republic." The exhibit explored the role of religion in the colonies from Jamestown through the post-Revolutionary War era in which many of our governmental and societal institutions were formed. While no longer on display, this exhibit continues to influence thinking about the role of religion in the founding of our great nation.
The exhibit displayed over two hundred artifacts from the founding of the American Republic. This included manuscripts, books, correspondence, and paintings both from the Library's collection and on loan from other institutions. The exhibit was divided into seven sections focusing on the following issues:
• America as a refuge for those seeking freedom from religious persecution in Europe and how their beliefs formed the foundation for our society;
• The Great Awakening from 1740 to 1745 and how it led to the drive to independence;
• The role of religion in the lives of our nation's greatest Revolutionary leaders;
• The way religion affected those who formed the structure of our government;
• The policies of our early federal government leaders toward religion;
• The policies of our early state government leaders toward religion; and
• The "Golden Age" of Evangelicalism in America through the 1830s.
The exhibits demonstrated with conviction that religion and morality were, in Alexis de Tocqueville's words, "indispensable to the maintenance of republican institutions."
I hope that those who left the exhibit asked themselves the following question: "Are the religious and moral supports described by George Washington no longer as important to our nation's well-being? Or do we ban the expression of such supports in our public square at the peril of our Republic?"
Newt Gingrich
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