page_title: Removal of the Federal Government
section_title: Destruction of Documents and Buildings
hierarchical_section_title: Removal of the Federal Government / The Debate on Removing the Federal Government from D.C. / Destruction of Documents and Buildings
caption_attribution_description: English: Shows British soldiers burning the White House
context_page_description: Much of Washington, D.C. was destroyed in the Burning of Washington on August 24, 1814 during the War of 1812. Following the destruction of Washington US leadership considered removing the Federal Government from D.C., but eventually choose to reconstruct the seat of government in D.C.
context_section_description: The British invasion on the capital in August 1814, created the opportunity to revisit the pros and con of removing the government from Washington. Crucial buildings and documents were destroyed that were vital to the governing of the nation. A portion of the Capitol Building was destroyed, and the U.S. Treasury was in ashes. The War and State Departments as well as the Navy Yard were scorched and infamously the White House was destroyed. At the Navy Yard, clerks were ordered to torch ships and ammunitions to prevent the British from seizing them. This collective blaze was reportedly seen as far away as Baltimore. The original library of the United States Congress was also destroyed in the fire. All 3,000 of the books housed in the library were destroyed. Less than a month later, Thomas Jefferson  offered his private collection of 6,487 books as a replacement to Congress. The United States purchased his library for $23,950 in 1815, and it became the foundation of the modern collection of the Library of Congress.
  Congress created the national archives in 1934. Prior, it required each executive department to keep its own archives.
  For example, the Department of State was in charge of preserving the nation's early state papers including the records of the Confederation and Continental Congresses, George Washington's papers as commander of the Continental Army, the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution. The papers were stored in boxes and trunks in attics of public buildings scattered throughout the city - at risk to weather, water, neglect, fire, theft. At the Department of State, clerks John Graham, Stephen Pleasanton, and Josias King saved the documents in custody. Bringing bags and trunks to load onto carts, they saved  books and papers of the State Department, unpublished secret journals of Congress, George Washington's commission and correspondence, the Articles of Confederation, the papers of the Continental Congress, and treaties, laws, and correspondence dating back to 1789. Along with these early records, the clerks also saved the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, and Bill of Rights.
  First Lady Dolley Madison saved numerous Cabinet papers as well as Gilbert Stuart's famous Landsdowne portrait of George Washington.
  Yet a, majority of the archives of Congress stored in the Capital were destroyed. Due to lack of resources, people and time, it was simply too late.  Some were spared, however. House clerks Samuel Burch and J. T. Frost moved House papers to a secret location and Senate clerk Lewis Machen took Senate documents to his farm in Maryland. The salvaged documents included military numbers and logistics, the Senate's history over the past quarter century, and various confidential papers.
caption: Shows British soldiers burning the White House
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