CONGRESSIONAL CHARTER 



Two years later, on April 20, 1818, the Institute received a 

 twenty-year congressional charter. The purposes of the In- 

 stitute were reiterated in section four of that document: 



That the said corporation may procure, by purchase or 

 otherwise, a suitable building for the sittings of the said 

 institution, and for the preservation and safe-keeping 

 of a library and museum; and also, a tract or parcel of 

 land, for a botanic garden, not exceeding five acres: 

 Provided, that the amount of real and personal property 

 to be held by the said corporation shall not exceed one 

 thousand dollars. 9 



FIRST NATIONAL BOTANIC GARDEN 



After considerable lobbying, Congress on May 8, 1820, ap- 

 proved and President James Monroe signed into law a bill 

 granting the Institute the use of five acres of land for a bo- 

 tanic garden. 10 Subsequently, three members of the Institute 

 met with President Monroe to reach a decision regarding 

 the selection of a parcel of land on the eastern end of the 

 Mall, between Pennsylvania and Maryland Avenues, and 

 extending from the base of the Capitol to the Tiber Canal 

 at Second Street, Southwest. 11 Four years later, the allotment 

 of land was extended to include an additional city block. 12 



Unfortunately, in the 1820s the Mall was desolate and 

 unimproved. The northern and eastern sides of the Mall 

 were low and swampy because the Tiber Creek, which 

 flowed through the property, frequently flooded the area. 

 This less-than-ideal site was one of the many difficulties the 

 Columbian Institute had to overcome in establishing its bo- 

 tanic garden. In fact, the Mall was to remain unoccupied 



9 Rathbun, The Columbian Institute, p. 11. 



10 Ibid., pp. 12, 25-26; and 6 Stat. 247-248. The Institute's original 

 handwritten minutes are found in Record of Proceedings of the Colum- 

 bian Institute for the Promotion of Arts and Sciences (MC-358) 

 Manuscript Division, Library of Congress (hereafter cited as Minutes of 

 the Columbian Institute). 



11 Minutes of the Columbian Institute, May 29, 1820, pp. 65-66. 



12 6 Stat. 316. 



5 



