Includes bibliographical references (pages 221-252) and index.
Contents
Books, classical republicanism, and proposals for a congressional library -- Madison's vision realized, 1800-1812 -- Thomas Jefferson, George Watterston, and the library, 1814-1829 -- Jacksonian democracy and the library, 1829-1843 -- James Alfred Pearce, the Smithsonian Institution, and the question of a national library, 1844-1859 -- Congressmen use their library, 1840-1859.