April 24 - November 16, 2000

The premier Bicentennial exhibition, Thomas Jefferson, opened on the Bicentennial date, April 24, 2000, and in the building named after him.

Thomas Jefferson's personal library of 6,487 books was the seed from which the Library of Congress grew. Two-thirds of the books were lost in a fire in 1851, but a generous donation by Jerry and Gene Jones as a Bicentennial "Gift to the Nation" led to the Library reassembling copies of the same editions Jefferson had in his collection. For the first time ever, the public will be able to view the reconstituted Jefferson library.

The exhibition focused on the legacy of Jefferson--founding father, farmer, architect, inventor, slaveholder, book collector, scholar, diplomat, and third president of the United States. It explored the complexities and contradictions of Jefferson the man, an unquenchable idealist and hard-headed realist.

The online exhibition is available at www.loc.gov/exhibits/jefferson and the news release at www.loc.gov/today/pr/2000/00-009.html.