During its residence in this chamber from 1810 to 1859, the Senate grew from a small advisory council to the primary forum for the great national debates of the 19th century—an era known as the Senate's "Golden Age." Here senators forged a series of compromises that held the Union together during the four decades prior to the Civil War. Used primarily for ceremonial occasions now, in 1976 the chamber was restored to its 1850s appearance.
