Lincoln Memorial Dbq Essay

Monuments are unique as each one is created upon different circumstances; in some cases, monuments honor moments of great achievement, while in other cases, monuments honor sacrifices made. While some people may find monuments costly and unnecessary, others believe monuments are a respectful way to pay tribute to an event or person. When considering memorializing an event or person, the group or agency should consider the relevance and lasting impact of the person, as well as money, location, and design are important factors in creating the memorial.

When considering memorializing an event or person, the event or person must be relevant in both past and present and have a lasting impact for generations to come in order to have importance among citizens. To gain importance, the person has made major improvements or has fought relentlessly for a better future, and has changed history forever. The Lincoln Memorial is a monument built to honor the 16th president, Abraham Lincoln in Washington D.C. Lincoln is a favorite and well respected president among the people; his legacy will live forever in

the America. According to Kirk Savage the monument creates an actual “community of readers” (Source A). Monuments made to honor a person with an everlasting impact, like president Lincoln, allow people to feel a connection with the monument. Even though the Gettysburg Address is not unique to the monument, the monument is unique to the people. This is certainly true as Savage states “everything about the experience marks it as extraordinary and authoritative” (Source A). Much like Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial holds a strong importance and is unique to the people; when viewing the memorial everyone is able to “respond and remember” (Source G).
On the other hand, a monument made of a lesser known person with little national impact is likely to be overlooked and ignored. For example, a sculpture of H. Elroy Johnson titled “The Maine Lobsterman” was passed around, unwanted, for years. It was “vandalized, repaired, and ended up in a warehouse where it was eaten by rats” (Source F). Although lobster trapping is important in Maine, it is possible that the sculpture was unwanted and vandalized because it was not significant nation wide. It is important to consider the legacy and impact of a person when creating a memorial.
In addition to considering the legacy of the person or event, an agency should consider money when creating a memorial. Memorials cost a lot of money to build and keep open. According to Jason Kosareff, “thousands of San Gabriel Valley buried at Savannah Memorial Park could be moved to make way for a future development” (Source D). Although the El Monte Cemetery Association has enough money to keep it open for two years, the cemetery’s future is uncertain. History created today’s world must be remembered and preserved; monuments should have enough money to remain open to remind people of the past. Pushing for funding and donations may allow this memorial to remain open. Many people would be eager to help preserve an important part of history.
It is also important to consider an appropriate location of the monument.

Building a monument in an improper place may cause protest among people. This is certainly true as “immediate and intense controversy erupted when plans were publicized to build a Holocaust museum on The Mall in Washington, D.C.” (Source E). People were upset because the U.S. “did little to stop the Holocaust from occurring” (Source E). Monuments are a place to honor an event and one should respect the entirety of the event and place the monument where the event had the most effect. However, it is possible that by placing the monument in the United States, that leaders and citizens can remember the mistakes made and learn from them. A monument would be a daily reminder of how we let people in need suffer, and could help guide leaders into making decisions to take action for people desperate for

help.
Lastly, an agency should consider the design when creating a monument. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial designed by Maya Lin is located in Washington D.C. Design is a powerful factor; it allows the memorial to represent more than just an event. Lin included every name of those missing and killed to create respect and remembrance. However she went beyond and included a mirrored effect creating a world we are apart of and one we cannot enter (Source G). She positioned the two walls so that one pointed to the Lincoln Memorial and the other pointed to the Washington Monument. She linked the symbols to create unity between past and present. Not only did she create a design to honor the past, but created a living legacy and connection. This allows the viewer to remember the soldiers honored in this monument, but also allows the viewer to honor Washington and Lincoln. This is important as it connects the viewer to history and connects important events and people of history together.
Overall, creating a monument is complex as there are many factors to consider. However, considering the important factors allows agencies to create monuments that help people to connect and respect people and events from the past for many years to come.