Close

COVID-19 (coronavirus) Update

The Capitol Visitor Center is closed for tours. All tours are cancelled. We regret any inconvenience this may cause you, and we look forward to welcoming you to the Capitol Visitor Center at a future date.

Breaking Barriers of Waste and Corruption

Breaking Barriers of Waste and Corruption

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union...

Preamble, Constitution of the United States

Congressional investigations have exposed corrupt ties between banks and dozens of railroads, manufacturers and utilities, and corruption within the U.S. government. These findings provided momentum for Congress to pass much-needed reforms to eliminate waste and abuses of governmental power.

The Last Speech on Impeachment, by T. R. Davis, Harper’s Weekly, March 21, 1868 The Last Speech on Impeachment Thaddeus Stevens closes the debate before the House impeaches President Andrew Johnson. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress
Memorandum from Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts to Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, February 21, 1868 Memorandum from Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts to Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, February 21, 1868 To gain greater control over the military, which Congress charged with overseeing Southern states, President Andrew Johnson twice attempted to fire…
S. 1, An Act to protect trade and commerce against unlawful restraints and monopolies (Sherman Antitrust Act), May 13, 1890 S. 1, An Act to protect trade and commerce against unlawful restraints and monopolies (Sherman Antitrust Act), May 13, 1890 In the late nineteenth century, corporate monopolies and trusts consolidated enormous wealth and power into the hands of a few individuals. Senator…
The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair, 1906 The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair, 1906 Commissioned by a socialist newspaper to investigate working conditions in Chicago’s meatpacking industry, journalist Upton Sinclair spent seven…
“Look before you eat . . . ,” chromolithograph by Frederick Burr Opper, Puck, March 12, 1884 “Look before you eat . . . ,” chromolithograph by Frederick Burr Opper, Puck, March 12, 1884 As train transport and industrial processing changed the way food was produced and sold, Americans grew alarmed by the introduction of chemicals and…
Next!, by Udo Keppler, Puck, September 7, 1904 Next!, by Udo Keppler, Puck, September 7, 1904 Here, Standard Oil is depicted as an octopus seizing industries and the Capitol, while stretching out for the White House. Prints and…
Leases Upon Naval Oil Reserves: Senate Committee Hearings before the Committee on Public Lands and Surveys, Vol. 3, 1924 Leases Upon Naval Oil Reserves: Senate Committee Hearings before the Committee on Public Lands and Surveys, Vol. 3, 1924 Senate investigators discovered that Secretary of the Interior Albert B. Fall had accepted large sums of money from Mammoth Oil Company owner Harry…
Sinclair v. United States, Supreme Court of the United States, No. 555, October Term-1928, slip opinion, April 8, 1929 Sinclair v. United States, Supreme Court of the United States, No. 555, October Term-1928, slip opinion, April 8, 1929 In Sinclair v. United States (1929), the Supreme Court ruled that Congress had a right to investigate anything related to its legislative…
Senate Committee on Public Lands and Surveys hearing on the Teapot Dome oil leases, Senate Caucus Room, photograph, 1924 Senate Committee on Public Lands and Surveys hearing on the Teapot Dome oil leases, Senate Caucus Room, photograph, 1924 Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress
Nye Committee Members and Special Investigators, Washington, D.C., photograph by the Associated Press, December 3, 1934 Nye Committee Members and Special Investigators After careful negotiation, the Senate selected Senator Gerald P. Nye of North Dakota to lead its investigation. Respected for his work during the…
“Senate Gallery Gossip—Yep, the Others are All Out Investigatin’!” cartoon by Clifford Berryman, March 6, 1924 “Senate Gallery Gossip—Yep, the Others are All Out Investigatin’!” cartoon by Clifford Berryman, March 6, 1924 Teapot Dome was a sensational political scandal, and its Senate investigation was national news. Cartoonist Clifford Berryman used the situation for…
The Truman Committee is shown meeting in the Senate Caucus Room, 1943. The Truman Committee is shown meeting in the Senate Caucus Room, 1943. The Truman Committee is shown meeting in the Senate Caucus Room, 1943. U.S. Senate Historical Office
“Investigator Truman,” cover portrait by Ernest Hamlin Baker, TIME Magazine, March 8, 1943 Investigator Truman, cover portrait by Ernest Hamlin Baker, TIME Magazine, March 8, 1943 Leadership of the Senate investigation of defense contracts put Senator Harry Truman of Missouri in the national spotlight. He resigned his committee…
Transcript of meeting between President Richard M. Nixon and H.R. Haldeman on April 26, 1973 Transcript of meeting between President Richard M. Nixon and H.R. Haldeman on April 26, 1973 Transcripts of President Nixon’s taped Oval Office conversations with Chief of Staff H.R. Haldeman and others raised questions of the President’s…
Richard M. Nixon’s resignation letter, August 9, 1974 Richard M. Nixon’s resignation letter, August 9, 1974 The Senate Watergate Committee discovered White House audiotapes that could reveal President Richard Nixon’s complicity in the cover-up of the crime…