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Neoclassical architecture in postrevolutionary America
The U.S. Capitol's designs, derived from ancient
Greece and Rome, evoke the ideals that guided the
nation's founders as they framed their new
republic.
Construction began in 1793. Thomas Jefferson
wanted Congress housed in a replica of an ancient
Roman temple.
Another well-known example of the neoclassical
architecture style on Capitol Hill is the U.S.
Supreme Court Building. Finished and occupied
in 1935, the Supreme Court is meant to
resemble a great marble temple.
Thinking points
Why would the ‘founders’ of the new nation of
America want to replicate Roman temples?
What ideas did they have about the new nation
that the architecture might invoke?
“A state without law was like a body without a
mind.”
- Cicero
• Founders of the US turned to Roman ideas,
particularly to Cicero, when developing their new
nation
• Influence from the Romans can be seen in the
writing of the Declaration of Independence and
the Constitution and Bill of Rights
• Representative democracy is structured like the
government of the Roman Republic
Find out!
What was the structure of the Roman Republic?