statement of revolutionary ideology ever written!! >> brown: the library of congress was established in 1800, and housed in the new capitol. 14 years later, when the british burned much of washington during the war of 1812, including the capitol, the library and its then 3,000 volumes were destroyed. jefferson, by then retired and living at monticello, offered his own library of 6,500 books as a replacement for "whatever price found appropriate." it was the largest private collection of it's time, amassed over 50 years in europe and america, and covered a huge range of subjects: history, philosophy, gardening, and much more. then, in 1851, fire struck again. this time from a chimney flue in the capitol building. and almost two thirds of jefferson's books were lost. it was then that a decision was made to build a new separate "library of congress," today housed in three buildings, one of them named for jefferson. >> books that are thomas jefferson's that have survived