The Presidential Monuments of D.C. and How are Nation Wishes to Remember and Think of Them…
Washington D.C. is the perfect place to visit if you really wish to remember, learn about, and honor the memory of all of our greatest US presidents. George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt, George Mason, and even President William Howard Taft (that one I hadn’t actually known about until I researched it), all have monuments or memorials in D.C. dedicated to them. Yet how does the structure of each of these presidents’ memorials reflect how we as people remember them and how our nation wishes for us to think of them? What is similar or different about the memorials in D.C. dedicated to the presidents deemed to be the heroes of this country, our founding fathers, and those who followed in their footsteps in the name of this country? Do they really achieve the desired effect on the public, both the residents and citizens of this country as well as those tourists and foreigners who visit the nation’s capital and these memorials and monuments erected in their honor?
I have been a resident of the D.C. metropolitan area my entire life. I have visited the nation’s capital a countless number of times since I was born, with my family, with my friends, and on school fieldtrips. I have toured it dozens of times, though I have not yet visited all the monuments, memorials, and museums there. I still learn something new every time I visit, which is one thing I definitely love about D.C. There is so much to learn historically that you can never really know everything. It’s still a new experience for me every time I go, and as a lover of history, it never gets old. For this assignment, and in order to answer the above questions, I yet again visited D.C. with a friend of mine, and we walked from one presidential monument to another. It took us pretty much the whole day, even though we didn’t go to ALL of the president’s memorials. I wish I would have had the time, but for the sake of this essay, I decided to focus on the greatest of the greatest. Though different polls and rankings show different results, generally both scholars and the American public tend to agree on the top four presidents to be George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt (with Theodore Roosevelt running in a close fifth). Therefore I will focus on those top four presidents. How are the monuments erected in their honor similar and different, and how do they portray the essence of who that person was to us and in our history? It’s a big and not so very easy question to answer, really, but the more you think about it, the more interesting the answer is.
Let me start with the tallest monument of them all, and the one most recognizably associated with our nation’s capital: The Washington Monument. It is the center of the entire city and towers above all other constructions. It is 555 feet 5 1/8 inches high and is dedicated to our nation’s first President and the founding father of this country, George Washington. This monument is strategically located in the center, with all the other monuments and memorials built around it. In a way this depicts him as being the center of everything this country is built and founded upon. It is suitable that the founding father of our nation be at the center of all its creations. The opening to every other presidential monument actually faces the Washington Monument, so in a way it’s like all the other presidents are looking up at George Washington. Though they were all great in and of themselves, they all looked to George Washington as a role model.
Interestingly enough, the original design that had been submitted by architect Robert Mills for the Monument was completely altered during the course of the monument’s construction. His original design had consisted of a massive and elaborately designed circular building with columns and a giant ornate obelisk coming out of it. It would’ve been like an “American pantheon” containing inside it multiple statues of the nation’s greatest presidents and national heroes. Amongst the many statues would be a gargantuan statue of George Washington. The design of the monument standing today is much simpler, plain, and without decoration. Its cornerstone was laid on July 4, 1848, but six years later construction was halted due to political issues and growing tensions between the North and the South that would soon lead to the Civil War. When the building of the Monument was finally resumed in 1880, the type of marble used differed slightly so you could actually see the difference in coloring between the bottom and top of the giant structure.
Despite the fact that the giant edifice is not quite as elaborate as the original design, I think the simplicity of the structure standing today is actually more powerful in its meaning and message. It depicts everything that George Washington stood for, and what this nation stands for, to be a large, great, but very simple and very pure concept. The fact that it is larger at its base and then narrows as it extends higher until it is capped by a triangular tip makes it seem like it is forever growing taller towards the sky. If the structure had just been built straight up and with a flat roof it would have seemed as if it was implying that the structure just comes to an end at the top. The way it is now, however, makes the structure, and everything it stands for, to be like this greatness that stretches up to and beyond the sky, like it has no limits.
I think the Washington Monument does a great job of representing the American people and everything this country stands for, but when it comes to representing George Washington himself and who he was as person, it is severely lacking. First of all, very few people, as far as I can tell, even know that the giant structure we know as the Washington Monument is a monument to honor our first president. Most people just think that the structure is a monument to D.C. and this nation that represents everything this country stands for. People associate it with the city as being an icon or trademark, sort of, just as the Eiffel Tower is associated with Paris and Big Ben with London. I have lived here my whole life and have been to the Monument more times than I could count, but I never once associated it with George Washington the man. Indeed I had not known until I had researched it that this building had been erected in his honor. This shocked me and I was truly horrified. How had I not known that? Obviously the structure doesn’t do a very good job of achieving its purpose of honoring the father of our country. It’s pretty sad if you ask me. When I went back to the monument to visit it again, in order to write this essay, I walked around the structure looking for any slight clue that I might have missed that would suggest that this building had anything to do with George Washington. I couldn’t find anything. The very name of the man this building represented is not even written anywhere around the structure. How were people who visited the monument even supposed to know this was a monument to George Washington. As my father stated, they should have called the building the George Washington Monument to eliminate confusion, and there most certainly should be a sign somewhere that says something. Furthermore, a couple of quotes, and maybe some things to remember his achievements, would have been nice. It wouldn’t hurt to be a bit more informative.
The Lincoln Memorial and the Jefferson Memorial are much better tributes to the great presidents that they were and all that they achieved for this nation. The Lincoln Memorial is a massive rectangular building surrounded by 36 columns representing the states in the Union at the time of Lincoln’s death. The names of the 48 states that were present by the time the memorial was completed are carved into the building’s exterior, and a plaque honoring the addition of Alaska and Hawaii into the Union was added later on. When you walk up the many steps to the building and walk past the many columns, you enter a room at the center of which is a colossal statue of the President sitting on a large thrown-like chair. The figure is huge and slightly intimidating, and above him is carved a quote. On the walls to his right and left are carved Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address and the Gettysburg Address, and on top of them are paintings depicting evident parts of Lincoln’s life. The Jefferson Memorial, however, is a domed circular structure with an entrance that sticks out, sort of like an igloo, only instead of a curved top it is triangular. It is also surrounded by columns and in its center, at its heart, is a large 19 foot, 10,000 pound bronze statue of Jefferson. Inscribed on the walls are several quotes by Jefferson including an excerpt from the Declaration of Independence.
It is hard to say what the structures really say about each president. For me, the monument representing President Lincoln, the man voted by most experts and regular citizens as well as being the number one greatest president in US history, seems to give the essence of power yet somehow intimidating humbleness. I say this for many reasons. First of all, the fact that Lincoln is shown sitting on a giant chair I described as looking “thrown-like”. Plus the bottom looks bigger than the top, giving you this sense that he is elevated above you looking down upon his people (almost like God). Ironically, the statue and the building it’s in actually very much resemble the statue of Zues in the building that is supposed to represent the “house of God” in the Disney movie Hercules. This could just be a coincidence, considering the structure of the Lincoln Memorial was actually inspired by the ancient Greek temples, but perhaps Disney also did this on purpose. It would be an interesting and subtle implication that Lincoln is viewed by the American people as being almost God-like. In the movie, Hercules goes to the House of Zues looking for guidance. Likewise, Lincoln is someone many consider to be a role-model figure of what a great President would and should be. He did, after all, surpass even our Founding Father himself in his ratings.
Something that also adds to the eerie sense of power and Godliness is that, when you go at night, the Memorial is actually not very well lit. The chamber is dark and the only light there is focuses on the president’s face, only dimly lighting the massive structure. As intimidating as the large statue is, however, the fact that Lincoln is portrayed as sitting down instead of standing up, as Jefferson is, does portray a sense of humbleness in his character as well. He was a peaceful man, it says, but also a very intelligent and powerful one who was very much in control of all that went on around him. He led the nation during very difficult times, and he did it all sitting down! Jefferson’s Memorial differs to me in that it portrays him more as a man who was a great politician. He is shown standing up, as if ready to debate or argue – a true politician. Surrounding him are statements he made regarding his political philosophy and beliefs. The rounded structure versus the large rectangular one of the Lincoln is not as intimidating. Plus the location of it, directly across from the monument on the shore of the Potomac River Tidal Basin where it is surrounded by beautiful greenery and harmonious nature, gives it a sense of exquisite allure. The design seems sophisticated and elegant in a way that suits Jefferson’s political prestige and eloquence in speech and writing. The monument looks gorgeous sitting along the River Basin and is beautiful at night when its chambers are lit up, and you could stand at the mouth of the building and gaze out across the Basin at the monument. The sight is truly priceless.
The Lincoln Memorial has a wonder of a sight as well, though one that also reflects a sense of power as the rest of the structure does. You stand at the top of the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and gaze out at the Monument in the far distance, across from the World War II Memorial with its long Reflecting Pool, and you feel incredibly small. It’s hard to imagine yourself being like Martin Luther King and having to stand there and give a speech to what must have seemed like the whole world. I truly don’t know how he found the guts to look out at all those people below him and not feel dwarfed by the massiveness and sense of God-like power that surrounds him. Then again, maybe standing there, with Lincoln right behind you, is empowering in itself. What a perfect place for King to be able to give a speech about his own American dream that inspire others for generations.
By far the most different of the four memorials is President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Memorial. Unlike the other three memorials of our president’s, this one isn’t just a large symbolic structure. FDR’s memorial is actually built as a park. It is embellished with waterfalls, greenery, statues, quotations, almost like an outdoor museum. It is divided into four outdoor courtyards, one for each of his terms in office. Walking through the memorial is truly like taking a blissful walk through his long presidency and also through his life. Even more so than any of the other memorials, I felt as though this one really did justice to showing the essence of who FDR was as a person. The use of water depicts a sense of peacefulness and tranquility you really don’t feel at any other memorial. This was a guy who spoke of peace, you think. He was not Godlike, and he was not a politician, but merely an old peaceful man who said and did great things for this nation – someone worth remembering. As you walk through the four courtyards, you see images from his first inauguration, the Depression, faces and sculptures of every day citizens that recall the mood of the time, the difficulties as well as the sense of hope. There are sculptures of an urban breadline, a rural couple, and a man listening to a fireside chat. Quotes from the president about the New Deal as well as just things to inspire and bring hope to the people are carved all around the walls. As you walk from the second courtyard to the third, there is a grassy fortification representing the US’s entrance into World War II. In the third courtyard, there is a sculpture of the president sitting down with his dog nearby. The last courtyard honors the legacy of this great man. There is a sculpture of his wife as well, honoring the First Lady and her contributions to the UN and human rights. Lastly there is a timeline of all the important events in FDR’s life located in the plaza.
More than any of the other memorials, this one was truly my favorite. It did not try to make him seem to be any more than a man who struggled through everything everyone else struggled through, and trying to lead the nation and help them through the difficult times. He was a regular man, however, who wanted peace and loved his wife and his little dog, and had his own personal problems as well because of his disease that had him in a wheel chair as a sculpture of him shows. He was not perfect or inhuman, but he was a great man who had great things to say and did great things for this country. More than any of the other memorials, this one showed the true spirit and inner nature of the man that was Roosevelt, a man who was so loved by his people that he was re-elected four times, serving the longest presidency in US history. It was also the most informative of all the memorials. It didn’t just commemorate the man, but also the people and the mood of the times. Even if you know nothing about the man or about US history, you would still learn a lot by taking this walk through his life, and through American history itself. It shows you what life was like, it sets the right mood, but puts you in a setting of peace and tranquility that reminds you of the man, as if he surrounds you and is in your heart despite the fact that he is not actually there. Even without a statue of him there, you feel the presence of his soul. Any person from any part of the world could come view this memorial and at least partially understand who this man really was.
As you can now see, the structure, design, and even location of every monument and memorial greatly influences how you view and think of that person. Though we cannot be a hundred percent sure if each monument had actually achieved the desired effect, it s interesting to try to infer what the architects were thinking. How did the people of the time wish to remember this person? What kind of man did they see him as being? How do we think of these people now, as a result of these monuments? Do the monuments really do the person they are commemorating justice? Are they exaggerating who they are (perhaps to hide who they were)? It is true after all that the memorials don’t really give you a full picture of who the person was. Why were they so great? What did they do for this nation? And what are their flaws as well? None of the memorials, except the FDR Memorial, are very informative or give an insight into the life of the person. In a way it’s like blind worship. Remember that this man was great but no real need to remember why.
All these questions are debatable, and to me, each of the monuments and memorials has its flaws, but when you look at all of them as whole, they almost seem o complete each other. George Washington is the center; his Monument is like a giant flag that stands proud and is the symbol of everything that is America. Lincoln stands (or sits rather) as a symbol of power and calm, wise control. Power alone, however, is not enough, for he needs Jefferson who stands as his right hand, the symbol of influence, because of his young quick-wittedness, expertise in politics, debate, and eloquence in writing. Then the one who seems to hold the two of them in check, to keep them from being corrupted by power, is Roosevelt, who is like their fatherly figure, who reminds them of peace, love, tranquility, and giving, and stands (or sits due to his Polio disorder) as a symbol of them all. Together the three of them hold hands surrounding the Monument, always looking at what is America and trying to honor and live up to its name the best way they know how. To me, that is what the monuments and memorials all represent, but that is just the evaluation I came up with. Someone else may interpret all the monuments in a very different way. I am not a Historian or an architectural analyst. I am simply an average young citizen who visited the monuments and has analyzed them in her own mind, and after a little research, gave an opinion of her own. To decide whether you agree or not, go see the monuments for yourself, but this time really look at them and analyze them. You may be surprised what you think…
( To view my photos taken of the Monuments at D.C. click on the following link!!!)
