Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Importance of monument
Importance of monument
The importance of monuments to society
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Importance of monument
Monuments give people that have accomplished a significant thing credibility in what they have done. In many cases those people have done something heroic and extraordinary to achieve a monument in their name and honor. If you were to do something heroic and special wouldn’t you want to get a monument granted in your honor? Sometimes monuments aren’t just to honor those who have done something, but maybe someone who had passed away. Maybe they died in a tragic accident and their family wanted to honor their life in a memorable way. Monuments are extremely valuable and important in our nation. The Fort Amanda Park located right here in Lima, Ohio has a significant historic past. During the 1812 war, General William Harrison called most of the
Fort Donelson, Tennessee, guarding the Cumberland River, became the site of the first major Confederate defeat in the Civil War. Victory at Donelson started Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant on his road to Appomattox and the White House. His cool judgment under pressure saved the day after the Confederates threatened to break his troop lines, yet errors by his opponents handed him a victory that he did not fully earn on his own.
As a country, the United States felt that the War of 1812 was under control and that they were well prepared for any battle any army could throw at them. After the United States won an important battle on Lake Erie in 1813, the American commander, Oliver Hazard Perry, sent the message "We have met the enemy and they are ours." As a new country, America, having just defeated the greatest military strength on the earth, was perhaps overconfident. However, once Great Britain turned all of its attention to defeating the United States, America realized that the fate of her country relied on Baltimore, and Baltimore relied on the protection of Fort McHenry. If Fort McHenry was taken over by the British, the Nation would have been split into two. The fate of the United States rested, to a large extent, on the success or failure of the central prong attack which was being protected by Fort McHenry. If Baltimore had not had Fort McHenry for protection, the city would have been an easy target and our nation would have perished because Baltimore would have lacked the proper protection it needed to prevail.
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.
History has a strange way of coming back around when it comes to human civilization. It has been said repeatedly that those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it. However, just because there is a potential for danger in the future, this does not mean that humanity must ignore what once was. History is normally remembered through what is known as a memorial. When a memorial is put into physical representation, it is then known as a monument.
Why do sentinels guard the tomb 24/7? Why is the tomb so sacred to America? There is no specific way to answer all these questions that so many American’s ponder, but there are many possibilities to consider. The tomb of the Unknowns has a special place in many American’s hearts. Since the remains in the tomb are unidentified many mothers, fathers, wives, and other family members feel a strong connection with the tomb. The families that lost soldiers that never returned after these wars connected with the tomb because they felt that the tomb may contain their sons, husbands, or brothers. What if you were somehow related to one of the four soldiers in the tomb? John Eisenhower wrote a newspaper article about the significance of the tomb. In his article he states, “Its significance is staggering going to the very core of how democracy defends itself in a perilous world.” This quote reveals that the tomb represents America’s fight for democracy in this dangerous world. After every war America remains a democracy even when the world around may not agree. Eisenhower thought this monument was different from any other because it honors soldiers. Most monuments honor men that are high up in the military, but this one honors those who are simply the soldiers. The soldiers in the tomb signify all the other soldiers that have lost their lives at war. The tomb of the unknown soldier is found in many other countries
There were close to 3,000 thousand people at the unveiling of the monument. The state has declared September 25th as Sojourner Truth Day. The monument represents to the people the legacy of Sojourner and how she stood for dignity, respect, and freedom for all, until her death she wanted freedom and impartiality for everyone (sojournertruth.org, nd)
In Virginia, there is a national cemetery visited by thousands a year. This graveyard is called Arlington National Cemetery, a home to a variety of tombs and memorials in order to remember those who have lost their lives. Furthermore, certain deceased veterans and medal of honor winners are buried here. Arlington was built in order to aid families with not enough money to send their soldiers home. Powers writes,
...lding can be, yet it has its own distinctive style and meaning. The Memorial is not a mirror image of its ancient ancestor, rather, it is a descendant of centuries of development and change. The Jefferson Memorial is no simple carbon copy of the original Pantheon, it is a building and a work of art in its own right and should be appreciated regardless of history.
A comment misconception is that Confederate statues and memorials were erected right after the end of the Civil War to honor the fallen soldiers, and while some such statues do exist, the South was too ravaged by the effects of the war to put money forth for so many statues. The truth is that a vast majority of these statues and memorials were actually built during two distinctive time periods. The first was in the early 1900’s, and the second was during the 50’s and 60’s. So what is the connection between the two, and why build statues commemorating Generals that not only lost a war, but lost a war that ended some 60- 100 years before they were built? The dark truth behind these periods was the early 1900’s was during the rise of Jim Crow,
From, “Always to Remember,” Maya Lin said, “You use the landscape.” “You don’t fight it.” “You absorb the landscape.” Maya Lin definitely used the landscape and made the memorial fit in with the rest of the Constitution Gardens. I think putting this memorial in such a meaningful location also contributed to how the memorial is considered moving. In addition, there is a picture of The Vietnam Veterans Memorial, which also shows how the memorial was considered to be
Lee, Stonewall Jackson, or any other Confederate war heroes, the Confederate Monuments should remain in public places. Their image is typically tarnished because they fought for the South, it’s hard for people to look beyond that. Instead of seeing people who were fighting for a cause in what they believed in, they see them as symbols of hatred and racism. It may not have been the cause to fight for, but they were essentially fighting to maintain their source of income. Slavery was a huge part of the Souths income at the time, so once the idea abolishing slavery came about they felt they must take a stand to keep their source of income alive and well. “Abraham Lincoln made it clear that there would be no trials or punishments for the rebels who fought for the Confederacy, and that the national agenda would be reconciliation not retribution” (Herman, National Review). So why after all these years should we remove these monuments of prominent figures in our nation’s history, if the man who abolished slavery didn’t lay down any punishments? “They are monuments to timeless virtues, not to individuals” (Herman, National Review). Removing the monuments now would be a disservice to the men that lost their lives fighting for the virtues that they believed in. Ben Jones of the New York Times makes a great point as well as he used the Confederate flag as his talking point in the article “Does the Confederate
Memorials are used to represent people and their impacts on history. A group or agency should consider the person's’ impact on history, proper representation of the individual, and making sure there are the proper reasons to create it.
While most people use the terms interchangeably, there’s actually a significant difference between the two. A monument is “a lasting evidence, reminder, or example of someone or something notable or great” while a memorial is something “serving to preserve remembrance.” When put like this, it reveals that this is really a debate over whether these statues are monuments or memorials. While they were certainly built as monuments to the south, I believe they've transformed into memorials. Instead of glorifying confederate heroes and southern nationalism as they originally did, today they are instead they constant reminders of how far Americans can go to protect their social dominance. If you erase history, you’ll never truly understand it. It’s also disrespectful to the men who fought as well. Many people nowadays seem to forget that those who fought for the Confederacy were still Americans, and to say they were all evil racist slave owners would just be a lie. While there were plenty of racist planters who supported the Confederacy, they weren't the ones fighting. The soldiers fighting were often young, adventurous men who had no idea what they were getting into; falling victim to the romantic depictions of war prevalent at the time, only to discover that war isn’t as fun as the papers say it is. They deserve to be memorialized just as much as union soldiers
As easy as it is for career historians to espouse the importance of historic preservation, the significance of it could be lost on the rest of society. As stated earlier, books and images alone cannot do justice to the culture and the heritage of the site. By being able to see and touch it, one is able to get a feel for the time. The site itself essentially is a time capsule that jettisons us into the past and allows us to gain some small insight to the lives of those who walked before us. Another reason that historic preservation is important is because sites that we can save provide a positive learning environment that can help people understand and appreciate their past, their cultures, various movements and even some people. Whether the preservation is on a federal or municipal level, the benefits of having a registered historical site in an area can help pump new life into an economy that could otherwise have been dying. Additionally, maintaining buildings and landscapes provide value as art, as Robert Stipe states in his book, A Richer Heritage, “these structures and areas were designed by some of America’s greatest artists. They are as important to our artistic heritage as our decorative arts, our painting and sculpture…If we were to value historic structures as we honor our other works of art, much wanton destruction might be
In our society Mount Rushmore is an awe inspiring sight that is a must on the bucket list of most Americans and for people from other countries all across the world. As someone who has been to Mount Rushmore I experienced over whelming feelings of patriotism and confidence that we as a nation can handle anything that this trying world may throw at us. I can attest that not only did I feel this way but others feel this way as well. I had friends from Africa visit me this summer, and when they visited Mount Rushmore they said they could feel the patriotism that we Americans are known for. They were in awe of how a simple granite monument could convey those feelings and ideologies.