The Lincoln Memorial: The History and Legacy of Washington D.C.’s Famous Monument

Description

*Includes pictures*Includes accounts of the memorial's construction by people who worked on it*Explains how the memorial's site was chosen and how it was built*Includes a table of contents“IN THIS TEMPLEAS IN THE HEARTS OF THE PEOPLEFOR WHOM HE SAVED THE UNIONTHE MEMORY OF ABRAHAM LINCOLNIS ENSHRINED FOREVER” – The epitaph by Royal Cortissoz engraved in the Lincoln Memorial People have always loved symbols and monuments. Even before there was any sort of written language, there were places and things considered sacred, whether it was the Mesopotamians’ ziggurats or the Egyptians’ pyramids. Thus, it had long been a practice to make some sort of memorial to those who had died as a way to remember and honor them. Abraham Lincoln is one of the most famous Americans in history and one of the country’s most revered presidents. Schoolchildren can recite the life story of Lincoln, the “Westerner” who educated himself and became a self made man, rising from lawyer to leader of the new Republican Party before becoming the 16th President of the United States. Lincoln successfully navigated the Union through the Civil War but didn’t live to witness his crowning achievement, becoming the first president assassinated when he was shot at Ford’s Theater by John Wilkes Booth on April 14, 1865.Given the importance of Abraham Lincoln to the country, it’s no surprise that plans to build monuments to him began within months of his death. There are countless ways that the Great Emancipator has been commemorated across America, but the most famous is the Lincoln Memorial, which would not be completed until well over half a century after his death. Lincoln had called upon Americans to bind up their wounds in his Second Inaugural Address, and in many ways the memorial was the result of the country’s sectional reconciliation, making it all the more fitting. In the end, the time it took to complete the memorial was worth the wait, as the finished product included a masterfully sculpted statue of Lincoln sitting in the middle of a giant structure that immediately brings to mind an Ancient Greek or Roman temple. Situated across the National Mall from the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial is perfectly positioned, and thanks to Lincoln’s presidency and freeing of the slaves, the memorial has become a poignant symbol for protests, especially at the height of the Civil Rights Movement when Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream” speech. The Lincoln Memorial: The History of Washington D.C.’s Famous Monument chronicles the construction and history of one of America’s most famous memorials. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about the Lincoln Memorial like never before, in no time at all.