Congress

A view of the west side of the Capitol Building, Washington, DC, USA. Seat of the US government, the original building was erected to a plan by Dr William Thornton (1759–1828) and has survived in its essential design. Benjamin Latrobe rebuilt the structure after it was damaged by the British forces in 1812, this work being completed by Charles Bulfinch. Between 1851 and 1867, the flanking wings and the great dome were built by Thomas Ustick Walter.

A view of the Library of Congress, situated in the Capitol Building, Washington, DC, USA. Founded in 1800, it now contains well over 17 million books and in excess of 95 million maps, manuscripts, and other media items.

National legislature of the USA, consisting of the House of Representatives (435 members, apportioned to the states of the Union on the basis of population, and elected for two-year terms) and the Senate (100 senators, two for each state, elected for six years, one-third elected every two years). Both representatives and senators are elected by direct popular vote. Congress meets in Washington DC, in the Capitol Building. An act of Congress is a bill passed by both houses.

The Congress of the United States met for the first time on 4 March 1789. It was preceded by the Congress of the Confederation representing the several states under the Articles of Confederation from 1781 to 1789.

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In 19th-century history, the term ‘congress’ referred to a formal meeting or assembly, usually for peace, where delegates assembled to discuss or settle a matter of international concern, such as the Congress of Vienna of 1815, which divided up Napoleon's empire after the Napoleonic Wars; and the Congress of Paris of 1856, which settled some of the problems resulting from the Crimean War.