Abraham Lincoln Memorial: Honoring the 16th President - Research Paper

Introduction

In honor of Abraham Lincoln for his role as the sixteenth President of the USA, the government approved a decision to construct a memorial. It is situated at the National Mall to the west, in Washington D.C (Simpson 51). The architect and the designer of the monument were Henry Bacon and Daniel Chester French respectively. Daniel came up with the statue's design in 1920. Piccirilli Brothers and Jules Guerin also made significant contributions during the construction of the monument. Guerin was responsible for paintings while Piccirilli Brothers made the carvings. The statue is among the many national symbols that are highly upheld in the United States. As a result, it has served as a tourist destination as well as a symbolic centre since its launching in 1922.

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Historical Background

Initially, a statue, Lot Flannery, had been constructed to honor the slain president. A statute by Lot Flannery was erected in honor of the slain American President in 1868. It was built in the District of Columbia. However, demands were made which wanted the right recognition of America's slain president. As a result, Congress took up the responsibility by passing a bill allowing for the construction of a monument in honor of the late president (Simpson 62). It was in 1867 that Congress passed the law that allowed for the development of the memorial. The design of the statue was assigned to the Clark Mills, who was a skilled sculptor. Mill's design reflected the national spirit. He created a 21-meter structure with six equestrian as well as the thirty-one pedestrian statue. The statue was then crowned Lincoln's statue, 3.7 meters in height. However, the matter concerning the progress of the monument became dormant. It was until the early 20th century that the issue was revived again. Congress started from where it had been halted by passing six separate bills. The bills were about the incorporation of a new memorial commission. This period, Senator Shelby M. Cullom was in power as the Illinois senator. However, due to the opposition of Speaker Joe Cannon, the first five bills were met with defeat. Fortunately, the sixth bill known as Senate Bill 1949 was passed. On December 13, 1910, the bill was introduced. And in the following year, the commission held its first meeting. Then president, William Haft, was elected as it's the first Chairman. Consequentially, the efforts of the organization resulted in the approval of the location for the construction of the monument in 1913.

The plans on the commission came into question. According to many, Henry Bacon's Greek design of the temple was not fit for the peaceful nature of Lincoln's character. Instead, the proposal made was merely a log cabin shrine. Besides, the site met some opposition too. Many viewed the site as too inaccessible or swampy. Union Station, among other venues, was put into the suggestion (Pinsker 175). However, the commission stood by its recommendations. According to the commission, the site which was located at the Washington Monument-Capitol axis that overlooked the Potomac was ideal.

On February 12, 1914, the project got underway. This was after Congress had approved with the budget allocation of $300,000. The actual construction of the monument began the following month. As planned, the work continued well. However, some adjustments on the statue were made during the installation. It included the enlargement of the sculpture to 5.8meters which ensured that the figure would not be overwhelmed by the massiveness of the chamber. The decisions made in 1920 resulted in the substitution of the glass bottle in place of the glass grille. Despite these changes made, the monument was opened as scheduled. William H. Taft officially handed over the monument to the then US president. The president represented American's by receiving the complete work of the commission. Robert Todd Lincoln, Lincoln's son, was present during this event. It became registered as a historic site in 1966.

Significance

The Lincoln Memorial is a symbol of freedom. The inner part is made up of three-chamber design. The statue of the president is located in the central chamber, and the other rooms contain the two speeches made by Lincoln (Pinsker 174). The expressions reflect on Lincoln's character and his achievements during his era of the presidency.

The Speeches

One of the most historical oratories of the United States' sixteenth president was the Gettysburg Address. The US president made the speech on November 19, 1863. Later the event was christened, "Soldier's National Cemetery Ceremony". The decision to include the speech during the official launch of the monument was due to its advanced familiarity with the people. Besides, the speech was a display of the strengths of the president as well as the determination in seeing the ceasefire from "the American Civil War" (Neely 199). The successful conclusion of the Civil Warfare meant re-uniting of the nation as well as finishing on what the founders of America had begun. The speech encourages unity as well as equality as per the rule of law.

The other speech selected for the monument was Lincoln's Second Inaugural Speech held on March 4, 1865. The statement was delivered a month barely before the civil war was concluded. The message carried by the speech was about the creation of policies to reunite the states which had been split by the civil war. President Lincoln, after being re-elected, had a firm belief that both the countries in the northern and southern would welcome one another (Neely 201). However, the northerners were angered by the southerners' action of leaving the Union. But when Lincoln welcomed both parties for reconciliation, it helped in cooling the hostility between the two regions.

Jules Guerin made the Murals placed on each of the selected speeches. Above the Gettysburg speech, the mural depicts "Angel of truth" which was flanked by the slaves who were freed recently (Rider 34). On the other hand, the mural which was placed above the Second Inaugural Address bears a unification theme. Besides, the "Angel of Truth" is surrounded on both sides by the representatives from the northern and southern regions.

The Statue

The statue of the president was designed in a manner that it depicted the president Lincoln as strong despite appearing worn-out due to many hardships. The hands of Lincoln were positioned in a way which show-cased his leading qualities (Rider 35). One of the hands of President Lincoln is pressed tightly together as a representation of his strength as well as determination in seeing through the conclusion of the war. The other side is open and relaxed which signified his warm and compassionate nature.

Criticism

The controversy of the memorial lies in Abraham Lincoln's legacy. The way the White Americans viewed Lincoln overpowered the black Americans' perspective on him. The memorial has brought about the different representation of ideologies. According to the National Anthem sung by Marian Anderson in 1939, she recognized Lincoln as the reason behind the establishment of the Civil Rights Movement (Braithwaite 197). When she was denied to sing previously at the Constitutional Hall, she voiced her sentiments against the issue of racism. Besides, NAACP dubbed the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People demanded the memorial's provision of the same ground to all the races.

The use of the memorial by the NAACP and Anderson highlighted the reality on the issue of the continued racial discrimination. There was an advanced use of the monument as a tool of propaganda by the blacks. One of the notable examples of this was the historic speech made by re-known activist, Martin Luther King Jnr (Lane 43). All these circumstances heightened the already existing controversies surrounding the monument (Kauffman 201). Both blacks and whites wanted the memorial to be made clear on whether President Lincoln was the Great Emancipator or the Savoir of the Union.

Despite the controversies surrounding the monument, Lincoln's legacy still lives on. His ideologies and perceptions still influence many up to this day. Illinois enacted the laws in 1999 that resemble the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission Act (Simpson 74). The act is in praise of Lincoln's role during the Civil war.

Epigraphs

"IN THIS TEMPLE AS IN THE HEARTS OF THE PEOPLE FOR WHOM HE SAVED THE UNION THE MEMORY OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN IS ENSHRINED FOREVER."-Abraham Lincoln Monument

"WE WILL GO TO THE CEMETERY, TO THE MORTUARY, and ask the guardians of the past for permission. We'll take the dead man out to the public garden naked and set him on the public garden naked and set him on the platform under the ripe orange sun. We'll try to hold his head in place. An insect, a fly buzzes around him; although flies buzz equally around the living and the dead. We'll implore him to repeat the story to us. There's no need to kick him in the balls for him to tell the story honestly and impartially because the dead are usually honest, even the bastards among them." - An Army Newspaper

The above epigraphs relate them to the struggle for justice. Just as in the inscription on the Abraham Lincoln Monument, the epigraph from the article "An Army Newspaper" is a wakeup call for freedom and stopping injustices in the society. As we have noted, Abraham Lincoln's monument acts as a symbol of justice for the American people. Likewise, the epigraph in the above article carries a message that symbolizes the struggle for freedom.

Lane, Ashfeldt. "Literary Defiance: an Interview with Hassan Blasim." World Literature Today. 89.1 (2015): 10-12. Print.

Braithwaite, Sir Rodric. "Svetlana Alexievich, U voiny-ne zhenskoe litso: Poslednie svideteli [War Does Not Have a Woman's Face: The Latest Witnesses]. Minsk: Mastatskaya litaratura, 1985. Svetlana Alexievich, Zinky Boys: Soviet Voices from the Afghanistan War, trans. by Julia Whitby and Robin Whitby. London: Chatto, 1992. 197 pp." (2016): 231-233.

Kauffman, Michael W. "Process versus Truth in the Case of the Lincoln Conspiracy." The Lincoln Assassination, 2010, pp. 195-213.

Neely, Mark E. "Was the Civil War a Total War?" The American Civil War, 2017, pp. 181-204.

Pinsker, Matthew. "Abraham Lincoln: Redeemer President, and: Abraham Lincoln: A Constitutional Biography (review)." Civil War History, vol. 47, no. 2, 2001, pp. 173-175.

Rider, Toby C. "Symbols of Freedom." University of Illinois Press, 2017.Simpson, Pamela H. "Civil War monuments in America." Oxford Art Online, 2011.