BGuthrie Photos: DC -- Lincoln Memorial -- Exhibition Area

DC -- Lincoln Memorial -- Exhibition Area:

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. LINCVC_130407_001.JPG: Abraham Lincoln sat for the original of this life mask in the Chicago studio of sculptor Leonard Volk in the spring of 1860. Daniel Chester French studied the mask, as well as other statues, drawings, and photographs of Lincoln, before creating a likeness that expressed both his strength and gentleness. [???]
2. LINCVC_130407_007.JPG: Italian immigrants, many trained in the marble quarries of Sicily, used wooden mallets, chisels, and calipers to carve immortal words in solid rock. These tools belonged to Anthony Lamanna, one of the carvers of the Gettysburg Address and Second Inaugural speech on the north and south walls inside the memorial chamber.
3. LINCVC_130407_011.JPG: The Building As Art: The murals high on the north and south walls were an integral part of Henry Bacon's Memorial design. Jules Guerin painted each of the 60-feet-long murals to "typify in allegory the qualities evident in the speeches below."
4. LINCVC_130407_036.JPG: Architect Henry Bacon personally oversaw every detail as the concrete, marble, limestone, and granite took the form of his modified Greek temple. As he watched the columns rise, it soon became apparent this would truly be "a fitting tribute to all who love liberty."
5. LINCVC_130407_039.JPG: Daniel Chester French (shown here) was 64 years old when he was selected to be the sculptor of the Lincoln statue on December 8, 1914. He began by studying everything available on Abraham Lincoln -- books, photographs, and the life masks of Lincoln's face. When French finally "got his fingers into the clay," he knew what the statue would represent: Lincoln the President, the humanitarian and the preserver of the Union, with the burdens of war reflected in the rugged features.
6. LINCVC_130407_041.JPG: The Piccirilli Brothers of New York carved the statue of Lincoln from 28 blocks of Georgia marble. It took a year for the six brothers to complete the work. Daniel Chester French often joined the workmen with a hammer and chisel. The Piccrillis' carving is so well done it is almost impossible to see the seams in the marble.
7. LINCVC_130407_046.JPG: The murals high on the north and south walls were an integral part of Henry Bacon's memorial design. Pictured is a part of the mural of Unity, symbolizing the reunion of North and South.
8. LINCVC_130407_047.JPG: Memorial Competition: The Lincoln Memorial Competition determined that the memorial form should "possess the quality of universality and have a character eventually different from that of any monuments existing in the District or hereafter to be erected." The Commission advocated neither great height nor a dome, but strong horizontal lines instead. Those attributes find expression in this contemporary rendering created in 1931 for the Senate Park Commission.
9. LINCVC_130407_057.JPG: John Russell Pope, an accomplished American architect, also submitted several imposing designs for three possible sits. Although the commission ultimately selected Bacon's plan for the Potomac Park site, Pope later gained renown for the west building of the National Gallery of Art, the National Archives, the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, as well as numerous additional buildings throughout the world.
10. LINCVC_130407_062.JPG: As illustrated above right, one of Henry Bacon's early designs met the criteria of simplicity and grandeur the Lincoln Memorial Commission established. On February 1, 1913, Bacon received approval to revise somewhat his "final" Lincoln Memorial design into what now exists.
11. LINCVC_130407_073.JPG: The Dedication: "Mr. President, in the name of the Commission, I have the honor to deliver this Lincoln Memorial into your keeping." With these words, Chief Justice William Howard Taft presented the Lincoln Memorial to President Harding and the American People, May 30, 1922. More than 50,000 attended the dedication ceremonies on a beautiful spring day in Washington. There were 3,500 invited guests as well as a line of Union and Confederate veterans seated in the front row. People across the country heard the speeches and benedictions on one of the first nationwide radio broadcasts. The principal speaker was Dr. Robert Moton, President of Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. His speech centered on the remarkable progress made by American Negroes since the Civil War in achieving full and equal citizenship. He urged all Americans, black and white, to continue the work Lincoln began with the Emancipation Proclamation -- "to free a nation as well as a race." Although Dr. Moton was seated on the speakers' platform, the audience was segregated, blacks on one side, whites on the other. President Harding eloquently expressed the real meaning of the Lincoln Memorial, "This Memorial, matchless tribute that it is, is less for Abraham Lincoln than for those of us today, and for those of us who follow after."
12. LINCVC_130407_078.JPG: Dr. Moton (1) addressing the crowd from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, May 30, 1922. Daniel Chester French (2) sculptor of the seated Abraham Lincoln and Henry Bacon (3), architect of the Lincoln Memorial, at the dedication ceremonies. Chief Justice Taft (4), President Harding (5), and Robert Todd Lincoln (6) on the speakers' platform. Abraham Lincoln's only surviving son was a successful businessman and had been Ambassador to Great Britain.
13. LINCVC_130407_091.JPG: Building the Memorial
14. LINCVC_130407_101.JPG: Wrong as we think slavery is; we can yet afford to let it alone where it is because that much is due to the necessity arising from its actual presence in the nation; but can we, while our votes can prevent it, allow it to spread into the national territories, and to overrun-us-here in these free states? If our sense of duty forbids this, then let us stand by our duty, fearlessly and effectively. Address at the Cooper Institute, New York City, February 27, 1860 The Cooper Institute speech launched Abraham Lincoln's bid for the Republican Party presidential nomination; newspapers and campaign officials widely circulated copies of it. Lincoln attacked the Democratic Party stance that America was founded as a slaveholding country. He appealed to the South to hold fast to Republican principles by rejecting the extension of slavery into the territories.
15. LINCVC_130407_115.JPG: Let us discard all this quibbling about this man or the other man, this race and that race, and the other race being inferior and therefore we must be placed in an inferior position... Let us discard all these things and unite as one people throughout this land until we shall once more stand up declaring that all men are created equal. As Abraham Lincoln developed and refined his political philosophy, he always turned to the Declaration of Independence as his guide to the American experiment. The idea that "all men are created equal" automatically negated the institution of slavery. The Declaration said nothing about black or white people or more or less equal -- it said all men. Through his writings, his speeches, and his actions -- in words all Americans could understand -- he patiently taught the real meaning of equality. Writing about Lincoln years after his death, a reportedly aptly noted: "Washington taught the world to know us. Lincoln taught us to know ourselves." Speech at Chicago, Illinois, July 10, 1858 Local papers reported that, following this speech, Mr. Lincoln "retired amid a perfect torrent of applause and cheers." Lincoln's skill in putting complex thoughts into simple words is evident throughout this speech -- one in the famous 1858 Lincoln-Douglas Debates.
16. LINCVC_130407_120.JPG: Allow all the governed an equal voice in the government, and that, and only that, is self government. Speech at Peoria, Illinois, October 16, 1854 Lincoln spoke for more than three hours, arguing against the Kansas-Nebraska Act extending slavery into the West. Speeches lasting three to four hours were not uncommon in the mid-nineteenth century. Large, vocal crowds often followed the speakers from town to town.
17. LINCVC_130407_129.JPG: There is no reason in the world why the negro is not entitled to all the natural rights enumerated in the Declaration of Independence -- the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I hold that he is as much entitled to these as the white man. Speech at Ottawa, Illinois, August 2, 1858 From the first of seven debates between Lincoln and Stephen Douglas, Lincoln took a firm stand on the evils of slavery and argued against its extension into the territories. This well-publicized debate attracted more than 10,000 people, an enormous crowd for the time.
18. LINCVC_130407_139.JPG: You know I dislike slavery and you fully admit the abstract wrong of it. Letter to Joshua Speed, Springfield, Illinois, August 24, 1842 Joshua Speed was Lincoln's best friend when they lived in Springfield. Speed married and moved to Kentucky, but the two men corresponded for many years. This anti-slavery sentiment was written twenty years before the Emancipation Proclamation. As Abraham Lincoln developed and refined his political philosophy, he always turned to the Declaration of Independence as his guide to the American experiment. The idea that "all men are created equal" automatically negated the institution of slavery. The Declaration said nothing about black or white people or [are???] more or less equal -- it said all men. Through his writings, his speeches, and he actions -- in words all Americans could understand -- he patiently taught the real meaning of equality. Writing about Lincoln years after his death, a reporter aptly noted: "Washington taught the world to know us. Lincoln taught us to know ourselves."
19. LINCVC_130407_149.JPG: You know I dislike slavery and you fully admit the abstract wrong of it.
20. LINCVC_130407_155.JPG: Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment, for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist, within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. I believe each individual is naturally entitled to do as he pleases with himself and the fruits of his labor, so far as it in no way interferes with any other man's rights. Freedom was not an abstract idea to Abraham Lincoln; it was firmly embodied in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. He never wavered in his personal belief that all Americans should be free, and his writings and speeches reflect this belief. Without the freedom to vote, to work, to discuss issues openly, and to have the opportunity to improve one's status in life, there would be no country. To Lincoln, these freedoms must be available to everyone; therefore slavery should not exist. Abraham Lincoln turned to the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution to support his long held belief that slavery was an inherent evil and must be abolished if the nation was to grow and prosper. The Emancipation Proclamation remains one of President Lincoln's important, far-reaching actions. On January 1, 1863, it merely freed slaves within Confederate-controlled areas, but this humble start inspired Lincoln's advocacy for complete, nationwide freedom guaranteed by the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution. Section 1 of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, ratified December 6, 1865: Ratification of the 13th Amendment completed what Lincoln began with the Emancipation Proclamation. The arguments about slavery were finally over; it was legally abolished forever. Negro citizenship was granted in 1868 with the 14th Amendment. The 15th Amendment, ratified in 1870, gave Negroes the right to vote.
21. LINCVC_130407_176.JPG: I intend no modification to any personally expressed wish that all men everywhere could be free. And, then, there will be some black men who can remember that, with silent tongue, and clenched teeth and steady eye, and well-polished bayonet, they have helped mankind on to this great consummation; while, I fear, there will be some white ones, unable to forget that, with malignant heart and deceitful speech, they have strove to hinder it. Speech in Chicago, Illinois, July 10, 1858: This clearly expresses Lincoln's definition of personal freedom. He spoke for nearly two hours about a number of subjects, but returned again and again to the issues of individual rights and responsibilities. Letter to Horace Greeley, August 22, 1862: Formally and informally, in public addresses and private correspondence, Lincoln expressed his thoughts of freedom. One of Lincoln's traits was honesty in what he said and wrote. For political reasons, he often modified his words, but the basic tenets of his belief never wavered. Letter to James Conkling, August 26, 1863: Lincoln wrote this letter to be read by Conkling as a massive Union rally in Springfield on September 3. The President forcefully defended the Emancipation Proclamation and the use of Negro troops. He urged his listeners not to lose heart, but to fight on for "peace does not appear so distant as it did."
22. LINCVC_130407_186.JPG: A proclamation that on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty three, all persons held as slaves within any state, or designated part of a state, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.... Negroes, like other people, act upon motives. Why should they do anything for us, if we will do nothing for them? If they stake their lives for us, they must be prompted by the strongest possible motive -- even the promise of freedom. And the promise being made, must be kept. Emancipation Proclamation, January 1, 1863 Lincoln labored over the wording of the Proclamation until he was sure it would withstand constitutional scrutiny. It was issued following the northern victory at Antietam -- the bloodiest battle to date in the Civil War. Many were displeased with the Proclamation. Abolitionists felt Lincoln had not gone far enough; others saw it as unenforceable, while the South saw it as proof that Lincoln had always been an abolitionist. Frederick Douglass, spoke for many Americans, black and white, as he called it a "day of poetry and song, a new song." Letter to James Conkling, August 26, 1863 The President could not attend a September 3rd Union rally in Springfield, so he asked his friend, James Conkling, to read this letter to the crowd. Lincoln forcefully urged support for the Emancipation Proclamation and the Union war effort. Freedom was not an abstract idea to Abraham Lincoln; it was firmly embodied in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. He never wavered in his personal belief that all Americans should be free, and his writings and speeches reflect this belief. Without the freedom to vote, to work, to discuss issues openly, and to have the opportunity to improve one's status in life, there would be no country. To Lincoln, these freedoms must be available to everyone; therefore slavery should not exist.
23. LINCVC_130407_196.JPG: I am loath to close. We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battle-field, and patriot grave, to every living heart and hearthstone, all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature. To Abraham Lincoln, the Union began in 1776 with the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. There was never a question in his mind that the political Union of States was a legal entity. It was, therefore, illegal for any one state, or confederacy of states, to dissolve the Union. Lincoln never wavered in his determination to use any and all means necessary to preserve the Union and keep the promise of liberty and freedom as embodied in the Declaration of Independence and realized through the Constitution. States had certain powers, but the Federal Government was responsible for maintaining the "inalienable rights" of all Americans.
24. LINCVC_130407_206.JPG: My enemies pretend that I am now carrying on the war for the sole purpose of abolition. So long as I am president, it shall be carried on for the sole purpose of restoring the Union. Interview with Alexander Randall, Washington, DC, August 19, 1864 Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation two years earlier, but he was still working to convince people in the North that the Civil War was being fought for the principle of Union, not the abolition of slavery.
25. LINCVC_130407_213.JPG: A house divided against cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free. I don not expect the Union to be dissolved -- I do not expect the house to fall -- but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing, or all the other. Speech at the Republican State Convention, Springfield, Illinois, June 16, 1858 With this speech, Lincoln accepted the Republican Party nomination for United States Senator. It was his strongest pronouncement to date on the issue of Union and the future of the country.
26. LINCVC_130407_223.JPG: I would save the Union... My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and it is not to save or destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave, I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone. I would also do that. Letter to Horace Greeley, Washington, DC, August 22, 1862 In mid August, Greeley printed the "Prayer of Twenty Millions," an editorial in the New York Tribute calling for immediate emancipation. Lincoln's reply was meant to be published and read. Everyone would then know where the President stood on Union and the war.
27. LINCVC_130407_233.JPG: The fiery trial through which we pass will light us down, in honor or dishonor, to the latest generation. We say we are for the Union. The world will not forget that we say this. We know how to save the Union. The world knows we do know how to save it. We -- even we here -- hold the power and bear the responsibility. In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free -- honorable alike in what we give and what we preserve. We shall nobly save or meanly lose the last best hope on earth. Second Annual Message to Congress, Washington, DC, December 1, 1862 In simple words and ringing phrases, President Lincoln eloquently prepared Congress, and the American people, for the long bitter struggle to come. To Abraham Lincoln, the Union began in 1776 with the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. There was never a question in his mind that the political Union of States was a legal entity. It was, therefore, illegal for any one state, or confederacy of states, to dissolve the Union Lincoln never wavered in his determination to use any and all means necessary to preserve the Union and keep the promise of liberty and freedom as embodied in the Declaration of Independence and realized through the Constitution. States had certain powers but the Federal Government was responsible for maintaining the "inalienable rights" of all Americans.
28. LINCVC_130407_250.JPG: Abraham Lincoln's name is familiar to people in all parts of the world. More than one hundred nations have honored him through the issuance of postage stamps, bringing his name to millions of people and keeping his memory and message alive.
29. LINCVC_130407_258.JPG: The history of the Lincoln Memorial began in 1901 after Senator James McMillan assembled a team of two architects, a landscape architect, and a sculptor to plan for the growth of Washington DC, and the improvement of its public lands. One of their recommendations was to extend the city's central corridor beyond the Washington Monument to the Potomac River, and to create a memorial to Abraham Lincoln at this site. Their published findings exist within the Senate Park Commission Report for the Mall and Capitol Grounds, 1901-1902. In this large 1928 rendering, elements of the McMillan Plan landscape found realization. Although the city changed considerably over time, this area remains much the same today.
30. LINCVC_130407_268.JPG: The man who gave meaning, honor, and purpose to the Nation speaks to us still.
31. LINCVC_130407_280.JPG: It is not merely for today, but for all time to come that we should perpetuate for our children's children this great and free government... that you may all have equal privileges in the race of life, with all its desirable human aspirations. Abraham Lincoln, speech to the One Hundred Sixty-Sixth Ohio Regiment, August 22, 1864
32. LINCVC_130407_288.JPG: Lincoln's Legacy Pennies Make a Monumental Difference Campaign This exhibit resulted from a 1990 visit to the Lincoln Memorial by Arizona school students who felt the story told here should include events that have taken place here. Lincoln's words and actions inspired many to climb the marble steps, look out over the Reflecting Pool, and speak out for a worthy cause, just as they inspired Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on August 28, 1963. These students dedicated themselves to creating this exhibit, working with the National Park Service, and raising funds from around the country through the Pennies Make a Monumental Difference Campaign. Open in September 1994, this exhibit reminds visitors of Abraham Lincoln's legacy of freedom and equality as well as the inspiration his memorial provides for future generations.
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