Congress Hall

This guide to Congress Hall in Philadelphia sets you inside the chamber on March 4, 1797, as applause breaks out for George Washington, swells again for a newly sworn-in Thomas Jefferson, and turns oddly thin for John Adams walking in behind them. It follows what Adams later confided to his wife Abigail about how the moment felt to him, and lingers on Washington's own composed expression as the room reacted around him. Look at the one hundred six plain wooden desks built for representatives of sixteen states, the same room that had ratified the Bill of Rights back in 1791.