The Nation’s Stage

Script that reads Congress is the great commanding theatre of this nation said by then President Thomas Jefferson, 1808.

The Capitol Christmas Tree, 2021, Architect of the Capitol

As the home of Congress, the Capitol is our nation’s stage. Here, the most important scenes of our collective life as citizens take place. It is where the civic traditions and ceremonies that affirm our democracy developed over time. The rituals that lend a sense of occasion, importance, and unity to our country today take place here.

This exhibit explores the traditions surrounding events such as the opening of a new Congress, inauguration, joint sessions, and holidays. Original artifacts include the Electoral College ballot boxes, tally sheets, speeches from John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln, cartoonist Charles Schulz’s Congressional Gold Medal, and china used at the 2009 inaugural luncheon.

Monday – Saturday, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Lying in state of President George H. W. Bush, December 4, 2018, Architect of the Capitol	Inaugural luncheon, January 20, 2009, Official U.S. Senate Photograph
Check out the daily programming schedule, for talks by exhibit curators and insightful programs, or enhance your visit with our audio tour – available in 14 languages. Also, don’t miss menu items inspired by “The Nation’s Stage” featured in the Capitol Cafe. Available 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

The Great Seal

French sculptor Emile Garet, who worked at the U.S. Capitol for decades, created a plaster medallion of the Great Seal of the United States. Used to decorate many inaugural platforms, the seal features 13 stars surrounded by clouds above a bald eagle with its wings spread. The nation’s first motto E Pluribus Unum (“Out of Many, One”) is inscribed on the ribbon held in the eagle’s mouth and in its talons are an olive branch and arrows.

The Great Seal from U.S. Capitol Visitor Center