The Washington Memorial and its Reconstruction

568 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: George Washington early influences

The Washington Monument was built between 1848 and 1884 as a tribute to George
Washington's military leadership from 1775-1783 during the American Revolution. Its construction took place in two major phases, 1848-56, and 1876-84--a lack of funds, political turmoil, and uncertainty about the survival of the American Union caused the intermittent hiatus. Plans for a national monument began as early as 1783 when Congress proposed that an equestrian statue of George Washington be erected. Although the Monument was authorized by
Congress, little action was taken, even after Major Peter Charles L'Enfant selected its site in his
1791 Federal City plan. Washington's 1799 death rekindled public aspiration for an appropriate tribute to him, and John Marshall proposed that a special sepulcher be erected for the General within the Capitol itself. Lack of funds postponed construction, but Marshall persevered, and in
1833, he, James Madison, and others formed the Washington National Monument Society. By
1836, the society advertised for competitive architectural designs. The winning arc...

Show More
Related

  • Argumentative Essay On Confederate Monuments

    365 Words  | 1 Pages

    America’s history-both good and bad-has much to teach us. Taking down, destroying these monuments is erasing, rewriting the physical symbols of the nation. This type of cultural whitewashing is inglorious. We can treat these monuments as a cautionary tool to remind ourselves what we are and what we are not. The cost forebears paid for the freedom of the nation should be remembered; therefore, people should retain these statues to remind of themselves what these monuments represent.

    Read More

  • Reconstruction After the Civil War

    1850 Words  | 4 Pages

    loyalty oath. If this happened then that state could setup a new state government. Under

    Read More

  • The Failure of the First and Second Reconstruction

    4645 Words  | 10 Pages

    The Failure of the First and Second Reconstruction The First and Second Reconstructions held out the great promise of rectifying racial injustices in America. The First Reconstruction, emerging out of the chaos of the Civil War, had as its goals equality for Blacks in voting, politics, and use of public facilities. The Second Reconstruction, emerging out of the booming economy of the 1950's, had as its goals, integration, the end of Jim Crow and the more amorphous goal of making America a biracial democracy where "the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave holders will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. "

    Read More

  • Essay On Reconstruction Plans

    611 Words  | 2 Pages

    During the Civil War, the South was destroyed. A lot of the fighting happened in the South and the towns and cities were ruined. People all across the United States agreed that the south needed rebuilding. There were different plans that were made up to help rebuild the south. People had different ideas of which plan to use and nobody could agree on one plan. This time of rebuilding the south is called the Reconstruction. There were three major plans. There was Lincoln’s Plan, the Radical Republican Plan, and Johnson’s plan. Lincoln’s Plan got its name from Abraham Lincoln, the creator of this plan. The Radical Republican Plan was the congress. It got its name because it was considered a more radical, or extreme, plan. Then, Johnson’s Plan was named from the creator, Andrew Johnson. This plan was also sometimes called “Restoration”.

    Read More

  • Essay On Reconstruction

    905 Words  | 2 Pages

    William Howard Russell once said, "Little did I conceive of the greatness of the defeat, the magnitude of the disaster which it had entailed upon the United States. So short-lived has been the American Union, that men who saw it rise may live to see it fall.” At one point in History, the United States was not one nation. The Civil War had created many issues for the United States and the country was desperate for a solution. This solution was thought to be reconstruction. Reconstruction was the attempt from the early 60's until the late 70's to resolve the issues of the war after slavery was dismissed and the Confederacy was defeated. Reconstruction also attempted to address how states would again become part of the Union, the status of Confederate leaders, and the status of African Americans across the United States.

    Read More

  • Lincoln Memorial

    991 Words  | 2 Pages

    Washington, DC is a spectacular place. This being my first time in DC, I was in awe of everything and all the historical places I encountered. The presence of the monuments and history is what made the capitol so magnificent. Having only read about the Lincoln memorial, I never had the chance to experience the sensation of being inside such an honorable place of importance. The imposing white marble walls of the memorial and the many people surrounding it could be seen from afar. Arriving at the location, an unknown feeling came over me. I was experiencing history in a whole different level. When I think about a memorial, the term remembrance comes to mind. Seeing the statue of Abraham Lincoln brought pieces of memories from history class and evoked thoughts of what it might have felt like to be in his shoes. I was astonished by the statue’s enormousness and how grand Abraham Lincoln looked in his chair. The size of the statue compared to pictures from books and elsewhere was surreal. Abraham Lincoln was a very “powerful and prominent individual” in the history of our nation, the statue’s design and size reflected upon that. Looking around me, I wanted to know what the others thoughts were on seeing his statue and how they felt in that building. I finally had the courage to ask one or two people what they thought; they all had the same appreciation as me. Hearing about an important person or learning about them in a history book gives you vast knowledge but it doesn’t evoke the feeling of utter appreciation as the memorial does. When Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, many people wanted to build a memorial in honor of him. They wanted to be able to show how important he was to shaping our nation and to “honor his existence”. Ce...

    Read More

  • Jefferson Memorial and the Pantheon

    1341 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Jefferson Memorial is a testimonial to the past, present, and future of the United States. Its architecture, like most neo-Classical buildings, gives a sense of permanence. This permanence has a history far older than many would suspect. Centuries ago and thousands of miles away a building was erected that would later become the model for which many other buildings, including the Jefferson Memorial, are based upon. This building is the Roman Pantheon. Though the Jefferson Memorial borrows the basic form and elements from the Pantheon, the Memorial has distinctive differences from its predecessor.

    Read More

  • George Washington's Life: The Life Of George Washington

    1142 Words  | 3 Pages

    One of our country’s most significant leaders was George Washington. He is known as the father of our nation and has affected the way our country is today. There’s hardly a person in America who doesn’t know his name. He will be remembered for as long as America stands proud and free.

    Read More

  • Reconstruction

    1060 Words  | 3 Pages

    On March 6, 1875, Blanche Kelso Bruce assumed the office of United States Senator for the state of Mississippi. Like many others who have served in the upper house of the United States Congress, Bruce possessed considerable civic experience, including service on the Mississippi Levee Board and as Bolivar County Sheriff. Nevertheless, Bruce bore a critical distinction that, to this day, sets him apart from any other man or woman to have served as a senator. For Blanche Kelso Bruce entered the world in 1841 as a slave, consigned to a system of racial bondage that sustained the American South from the 1600s until 1865. Fortunately for Bruce, a period extending from 1860 until 1877, entailing the American Civil War and the Reconstruction era, saw the overthrow of slavery in the South and a drastic revolution in American constitutional law. These changes provided black Americans with the same rights granted to traditionally-free whites; however, for all the progress Bruce’s senatorial appointment symbolized, genuine social transformation failed to accompany the constitutional revolution. As a variety of amendments and federal laws enshrined the political rights of black Americans, systemic racism regained its place of honor in Southern society, replacing the blatancy of slavery with equally destructive terrorism and economic oppression.

    Read More

  • Reconstruction In The Era Of Reconstruction

    1281 Words  | 3 Pages

    During and succeeding the Era of Reconstruction, African American lives were reformed in very substantial ways. Most African Americans thought of Reconstruction as an opportunity to improve the lives of their entire race. They thought it would help them bring equality to their people. However, Reconstruction showed many African Americans how difficult it was to survive independently. Once they left their plantations, they had nowhere to live. African Americans living in the south struggled to find food and shelter. To make matters much worse, Southern Whites were beginning to fight to retain southern white supremacy. “Reconstruction did not provide African Americans with either the legal protections or the material resources to ensure anything

    Read More

  • American Reconstruction

    1562 Words  | 4 Pages

    We, the Freedman's Party, believe in freedom and equality of all rights for each and every citizen.

    Read More

  • The US Capitol Building

    1662 Words  | 4 Pages

    "Where to put a nation's capitol?" was the exact question that irritated George Washington and a man by the name of Pierre L'Enfant, city planner and engineer. "The District of Columbia is a perfect site; its in the middle of the 14 states, halfway between Massachusetts and Georgia," exclaimed Washington. Being near to the ocean so that many people can get to it easily. In 1790, Congress passed the "Residence Act," which provides that the federal government will be located in a permanent site on the Potomac River by 1800. Pierre Charles L'Enfant develops plan for capital city; he and President Washington select site for "Congress House" on Jenkins Heights. With a location chosen the only task now is to design the capitol building. (Prolman, 5)

    Read More

  • Reconstruction in the 20th Century

    581 Words  | 2 Pages

    The beginning of the 20th century was a memorable time in history for the United States. This time period drastically changed our country politically and socially by reform. The Presidents that ruled our country during this era were especially powerful and made many differences, women and African Americans were starting to take a stand, and our country was able to make it all the way through the Great Depression. All of these events that took place in the early 1900s helped our country regain strength and find a balance of its power. The act of reformation, helped to strongly shape America into what it has become today.

    Read More

  • monuments

    444 Words  | 1 Pages

    I came across many monuments in my research for this paper. I was very intrigued by monuments in New York City. Many people forget about the less talked about monuments. Such as the Flatiron Building and Gracie Mansion. Of course they are those well-known monuments as well. There is the UN building, which has been around since 1949. Penn Station is also another well-known monument. It has been around since the early 1900’s. There are many others including Grand Central Station, the George Washington Bridge, the Cathedral of St. John and Yankee Stadium just to name a few.

    Read More

  • Animals Should Be Kept in National Parks

    1099 Words  | 3 Pages

    “The first idea of national park was created by George Catlin, which defined the national park as an area protected by government, by policy, and containing some significant natural resources. After he presented his idea, the first national park was created in 1864 when...

    Read More

More about The Washington Memorial and its Reconstruction

Open Document