Congress Investigates

The power to investigate, implied by the U.S. Constitution, is one of Congress’s most important tools for developing effective public policy, conducting oversight, and informing the public. Congress has investigated issues throughout its history via formal investigations and fact-finding inquiries with wide-ranging results, often significantly affecting the history of the United States.

Exploration

American exploration has been inspired by individual curiosity and boldness. It has also depended upon government encouragement and financial support. These documents highlight the role Congress has played in promoting scientific investigation and charting the unknown, from the early explorations across the continent to the latest voyages into space.

S. 6412, An Act to regulate radio communication (Radio Act of 1912), May 20, 1912

Apollo 11 editorial cartoon by Wayne Stayskal, Chicago American Today, July 21, 1969

Petition from B. G. Freeland to Representative Samuel Beakes, December 2, 1913

Memorandum to all committee members from James J. Gehrig, April 26, 1967 Summary of the Phillips Report, April 15, 1967

Common Defense

Congress appropriates funds for national defense and has the power to declare war. By approving international agreements and the appointment of ambassadors, Congress also supports efforts to resolve conflict through diplomacy. Congressional contributions to matters of war and peace throughout the nation's history are registered in these documents.

S. 1566, An Act . . . to authorize . . . electronic surveillance to obtain foreign intelligence information (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act), October 12, 1978

Resolution from the House of Representatives’ Journal (extract), April 4, 1792

“Investigator Truman,” cover portrait by Ernest Hamlin Baker, TIME Magazine, March 8, 1943

Letter from Mrs. G. K. Sparber to Senator Harry Truman, October 6, 1943

“The War in Tennessee,” Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, May 7, 1864

S. 758, National Security Act of 1947, July 10, 1947

Unity

E pluribus unum—Out of many, one—expresses the ideal of our Union: many states, one nation. Representing all of the states, Congress has promoted national unity through a process of inquiry, debate, compromise, and consensus. These documents record the continuing legislative efforts to meet the broadest needs of the people.

Richard M. Nixon’s resignation letter, August 9, 1974

Report of the Select Committee on Assassinations of the U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C., vol. 1, 1979

Japanese Americans waiting for a train to take them to Owens Valley, California, photograph by Russell Lee, April 1942

President Richard M. Nixon’s final departure from the White House, photograph by Robert L. Knudsen, August 9, 1974

Civil Liberties Act of 1988, August 11, 1988

Washington Post, front page, September 18, 1976

Freedom

The desire for freedom and the quest for individual liberty are American ideals enshrined in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. In each era, Congress has debated and enacted measures to secure and expand freedom for all Americans, as demonstrated in these historical documents.

Death of Colonel Baker, steel engraving for Hurlbut Williams & Co., ca. 1862

Handwritten Final Report of the Joint Committee on Reconstruction, ca. 1865–1866

An Act to enforce the provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment (Ku Klux Klan Act), April 20, 1871

S. 1566, Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, October 12, 1978

American Red Cross ambulance in crowd, photographic postcard by G. V. Buck, March 3, 1913

Senator Jacob Howard of Michigan, photograph by Mathew B. Brady, ca. 1870

General Welfare

Congress is charged by the Constitution with providing for the general welfare of the country's citizens. Historically, this has meant improving transportation, promoting agriculture and industry, protecting health and the environment, and seeking ways to solve social and economic problems. These documents reflect Congressional actions to ensure "the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity."

S. 3420, A Bill to provide for the regulation of securities exchanges (Federal Securities Exchange Act of 1934), April 17, 1934

Senator Estes Kefauver holding Exhibit #22 during the juvenile delinquency hearing, April 21, 1954

Estes Kefauver, photograph, ca. 1951

“Wall Street Bears,” cartoon by Clifford Berryman, April 30, 1932

Global Import Company advertisement for Deluxe .22 Caliber Revolver, Firearms Magazine, 1965

Women and Young Girls Entering Movie Theater to See Free TV of Kefauver Senate Crime Hearings, photograph by Michael Rougier, 1951

Knowledge

Knowing that democracy flourishes best in an open environment with an educated citizenry, Congress has promoted public education, supported the arts and sciences, and funded extensive research, as illustrated in these documents. In that same spirit, it established the Library of Congress, now the world's largest library, with unparalleled collections in every field of human endeavor.

House Committee on Un-American Activities press release for a hearing on communist influences in the motion picture industry, September 19, 1947

Leases Upon Naval Oil Reserves: Senate Committee Hearings before the Committee on Public Lands and Surveys, Vol. 3, 1924

Legal Issues that Arise when Color is Added to Black-and-White Movies, by the Committee on the Judiciary, May 12, 1987

Charles Van Doren testifying before the House Special Subcommittee on Legislative Oversight, photograph, November 2, 1959

Communications Act Amendments, September 13, 1960

John Thomas Watkins, photograph by the New York Times, June 17, 1957

Construction of the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., cyanotype by Levin C. Handy, April 19, 1893

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