The LOC.GOV Wise Guide : How THOMAS Works

THOMAS is the Library's Web site that covers the workings of the U.S. Congress. If you have ever wanted current, unbiased and accurate information about the nation's lawmakers and work they do, then THOMAS is the answer.

Thomas Jefferson, Third President of the United States, 1828

Signing of the Declaration of Independence, painting by John Trumbull in U.S. Capitol, detail II

THOMAS is named after Thomas Jefferson, who sold his personal library to the Library of Congress in 1815, after a fire in the U.S. Capitol (where the Library was housed) burned the collections. The "Introducing... THOMAS!" page explains what the various links on the THOMAS main home page are used for and how to access the site itself. It even tests your knowledge of THOMAS and how Congress works in the THOMAS Scavenger Hunt. For example, you can locate a map of the congressional district in which you live or how many bills have been enacted by the current Congress. This introduction to THOMAS is brought to you by the Learning Page, which offers many activities based on the Library's Web sites.

You can view a portrait of Thomas Jefferson and the other presidents at the "By Popular Demand: Portraits of the Presidents and First Ladies, 1789-Present" Web site.

For a presentation of the Continental Congress (1774-1789) and Constitutional Convention of 1787, see "To Form a More Perfect Union." John Trumbull's painting the "Signing of the Declaration of Independence," which hangs in the U.S. Capitol rotunda is part of this presentation.

The Library of Congress is home to the papers of 23 U.S. presidents. The papers of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln are available from the American Memory Web site of 8 million items from the Library of Congress and other repositories.

A. Gilbert Stuart, Thomas Jefferson, Third President of the United States, 1828 (?). Prints and Photographs Division. Reproduction No.: LC-USZ62-117117 DLC (b&w film copy neg. of cropped image); Call No.: PGA - Pendleton--Thomas Jefferson ... (A size).

B. Theodor Horydczak, photographic image of "Signing of the Declaration of Independence, painting by John Trumbull in U.S. Capitol, detail II" ca. 1920-ca. 1950. Reproduction Nos.: LC-H8-CT-C01-063 DLC (color corrected film copy slide), LC-H8-CN-C01-063 DLC (col. neg. made from color corrected film copy slide); Call No.: LC-H8- C01-063.