Existing comment:
The Freedman's Memorial:
Funded entirely by contributions from emancipated slaves, the Freedman's Memorial in Lincoln Park, several blocks east of the US Capitol, depicts Lincoln striking the shackles from a kneeling ex-slave. The latter was modeled on a photograph of Archer Alexander, the last person to be recaptured under the prewar Fugitive Slave Act.
On April 14, 1876, 25,000 people attended the dedication ceremony of the Memorial. Frederick Douglass was the keynote speaker. "Viewed from the genuine abolition ground, Mr. Lincoln seemed tardy, cold dull, and indifferent." Douglass acknowledged, "but measuring him by the sentiment of his country... he was swift, zealous, radical and determined."
Depicting a shackled, shirtless African American, the Freedman's Memorial was -- and remains -- controversial. Frederick Douglass acknowledged this at the dedication, saying that the sculpture "showed the Negro on his knees when a more manly attitude would have been indicative of freedom." |