Congress Hall
Exterior View of Congress Hall
The Congress Hall is a building near the intersection of Chestnut and 6th Streets in Philadelphia (Pennsylvania ), which served as the seat of the Congress of the United States on 6 December 1790 to 14 May in 1800. During the time in which the Congress Hall served as the Capitol of the United States, three new states were added to the confederation: Vermont, Kentucky, and Tennessee; the Bill of Rights of the Constitution of the United States was ratified; and the inauguration of the two presidents George Washington and John Adams took place there.
The Congress Hall was restored to its original appearance in 1796 during the 20th century. The building, which is located in Independence National Historical Park is now managed by the National Park Service and is open for public tours. The Congress Hall is not to be confused with the Independence Hall, which is located next door.
Background
Philadelphia served during and after the Revolutionary War as the capital of the United States. The Independence Hall, next to the Congress Hall, until the Mutiny of Pennsylvania in 1783 was the meeting place of the Continental Congress. Since it did not make the government of Pennsylvania to protect the Congress before the angry mob of mutineers, this Princeton was forced to move (New Jersey). As the capital after ( Maryland ) served from November 1783 Annapolis, from November 1784 Trenton ( New Jersey ), and finally from January 1785 New York City. The deputies returned to the Philadelphia Convention in 1787 not back to Philadelphia; New York City remained the official capital, even during the Philadelphia Convention. Designed by architect Samuel Lewis Congress Hall was originally supposed to serve as a courthouse of Philadelphia County; The construction was begun in 1787 and completed two years later.
Preliminary Capitol
Article 1, section 8 of the U.S. Constitution grants Congress the power to make a capital district, which serves as the capital of the United States. After the ratification of the Constitution, the Congress, which met at the time in New York the Residence Act decided, on 9 July 1790. This law stipulated that on the banks of the Potomac River between the states of Maryland and Virginia to the new capital Washington DC should arise. Robert Morris, Senator for Pennsylvania, the Congress convinced to return to Philadelphia, while the new capital was built. This had the consequence that Congress Philadelphia appointed for a period of ten years, for the temporary capital.
In an effort to convince Congress of the whereabouts of the capital in Philadelphia, the city began construction of a new presidential palace at 9th Street and an extension of the courthouse, from which the Congress Hall entstand.Nach the return of Congress to Philadelphia on December 6, 1790 the ground floor was converted into a meeting room for the House of Representatives of the United States and the 1st floor of the meeting room for the Senate arose. Despite their efforts to build new buildings for use by the federal government, the citizens of the city could not convince them to change the Residence Act and to make Philadelphia the fixed capital of the Congress. The Congress Hall served until the government's move to Washington DC on May 14, 1800, when the Capitol.
Interior decoration
The establishment of the plenary hall on the ground floor was quite simple, it consisted of mahogany tables and leather chairs. The space hosted 106 delegates from 16 countries: the 13 original states and the three new states of Vermont ( 1791), Kentucky ( 1792) and Tennessee ( 1796). In 1796 the space was built back to its original state. The first floor, which was reserved for the panel was equipped and decorated with heavy red curtains. To 1796 were 32 desks in the room, which were very similar to those used in today's Senate Chamber desks; 28 of the desks in the Congress Hall are original. In the adjacent Kommissonsräumen hung portraits of Louis XVI. and Marie Antoinette, which were given to the United States after the American Revolution, the French monarch. There is a fresco of a bald eagle holding the traditional olive branch, a symbol of peace, On the ceiling. Also located on the ceiling of a stucco medallion in the shape of a sun, the 13 stars represent the 13 original colonies. The design is reflected in similar form at the bottom. There is a carpet of William Sprague, a local weaver, showing the coat of arms of all 13 original states. Today's rug is a reproduction of the original.
Legacy
In the nearly ten years that the Congress Hall served as the Capitol, she witnessed many historical events including the introduction of three new States. The Bill of Rights was ratified in 1791 there, as the second inauguration of George Washington in 1793, and those of John Adams in 1797 took place there. The Congress also used the time to introduce the First Bank of the United States, the Federal Mint and the Department of the Navy. The Jay Treaty, which secured the preliminary peace with England, was also ratified in 1796 in the Congress Hall. After Washington, D.C. Capital was the Congress Hall was to the Philadelphia County Court House again and housed during the early 19th century, both the State and the Federal Court.. The also designed by Samuel Lewis Burlington County Courthouse in Mount Holly (New Jersey) was built in 1796 along the lines of the Congress Hall.
Restoration and current state
After its use as a courthouse in the early 19th century, the Congress Hall, as other buildings in the area fell into disrepair. In 1870, the government of Pennsylvania decided the demolition of all the buildings around Independence Hall. The law was never implemented and in 1895 officially aufgehoben.Die Colonial Dames of America, a non-governmental organization, began in 1896 with the restoration, where her work was largely expressed to the Senate chamber. In 1900, the local chapter of the American Institute of Architects Philadelphia (AIA ) began a study of the Congress Hall and initiated a fundraising campaign for a full restoration of the building. Once the funding was secured, the city of Philadelphia approved the restoration under the supervision of the AIA. After the completion of the work in the next year, the Congress Hall of President Woodrow Wilson was rededicated. Additional restoration work in 1934 fertiggestellt.Im year 1942, more than 50 civil and patriotic groups met at the American Philosophical Society and united to form the foundation of the Independence Hall Association. The association pushed for the creation of Independence National Historical Park, which was first approved by Congress in 1948 and formally established on July 4, 1956. The Congress Hall is now operated by the National Park Service, which organizes tours throughout the year. Reservations are not possible here, first come first served first. On 2 December 2008, the President-elect Barack Obama met in the Congress Hall with the National Governors Association to discuss the impact of the 2008 economic crisis on the country.