In January 2021, the US Capitol Building, located in Washington DC, made headlines after the wanton destruction of public property by the supporters of the outgoing President Donald Trump. It was not the first instance of the Capitol Building coming under attack. It has borne the ire of different political groups since its inception. It has been built, burnt, restored, rebuilt, and extended many times.
The capitol is the place where the Senate and the House of Representatives have been meeting for more than two hundred years. It is the centre of legislative activities of the government. Culturally, this building is of utmost importance to the people of the US, as it embodies all the values of the founders of the republic.
In 1790, the Residence Act designated the site on which a permanent national capital was to be built within 10 years. Accordingly, the site (which is now the District of Columbia ) was chosen by President George Washington in 1791. Initially a French engineer, Pierre Charles L ‘Enfant was hired for the task but he was removed a year later. A competition was announced for the best plan, and a proposal by Dr William Thornton was approved. His plan for the building involved a central dome attached to two rectangular wings on the north and south.
President George Washington laid the cornerstone of the building in 1793, but the construction could not be completed till 1800. Multiple factors contributed to the time-consuming process of its construction which include availability and transportation of raw materials, inadequate funding, and frequent attacks on the building. Among these, the first attack on the Capitol was during the War of 1812. In 1814, the building was set ablaze by the British troops. Though the destruction was mitigated as a heavy rainstorm saved the building from being completely turned into ashes, a marble statue of liberty was destroyed.
In 1861, for a brief period of time, the Capitol was converted to accommodate military barracks, a hospital, and bakery when the construction was suspended due to the Civil War.
Erich Muenter, a former professor at Harvard University, exploded three sticks of dynamite inside the Senate Reception Room on July 2, 1915. This was done to protest against American wartime assistance to British during the First World War.
Again, four Puerto Rican nationalists who wanted independence of Puerto Rico fired shots in the House of Representatives on March 1, 1954.
In 1971, an anti-war group named Weather Underground detonated a bomb inside a bathroom of the US Capitol Building (on the Senate side of the building) which while causing damage to the building, did not injure anyone. There were subsequent attacks on the building in the years that followed and continued till the latest attack in 2021.
Architecture of the Building
Architecturally, the Capitol is one of the most magnificent buildings. The architecture of the building shows ancient Greek and Roman influences. It is a milestone of neoclassical architecture and displays simplicity and grandeur. The heart or the centre of the building is Rotunda, a circular hall which contains the famous canopy fresco, the Apotheosis of George Washington, by Constantino Brumidi. It shows the first US president surrounded by the figures of liberty and victory along with thirteen maidens representing the thirteen colonies.
Various events of American history are displayed through the paintings on the walls of the Rotunda. Originally the Hall of the House of the Representatives, the National Statuary, now portrays the statues of hundreds of individuals of historical importance from different states of the US. There are other displays of historical importance pertaining to the subsequent period of the country’s history. It makes the Capitol a rich depository of American art and history.
The Capital campus has six major office buildings for the Senate and the House of Representatives along with three buildings for the Library of Congress.
So, the US Capitol is much more than just a museum of art. It is a symbolic representation of the ideals upon which the country is built. It also stands as a reminder that the ultimate power rests in the hand of the people.
Difference Between the capitol and the White House:
- The US Capitol building should not be confused with the White House. The official residencia and the office of the President of the United States of America is the White House. The Capitol, on the other hand, is the home to both the Senate and the House of Representatives, i.e., the legislative branch of the government.