The Lincoln Memorial
Seen it on money, seen it on a stamp, the news, and history books. Nothing will ever compare to what I saw today.
The Lincoln Memorial
The Lincoln Memorial is a tribute to our 16th president Abraham Lincoln. It’s a memorial that celebrates the many and extraordinary accomplishments, which have united the nation for more than two hundred years. The memorial has 36 Doric columns, one for each state at the time of Lincoln’s death. The columns are 44 ft high and the diameter is 7 ft 5 inches. The width of the colonnade is 118 ft. The height of the building is 99 ft, above foundation its 80 ft.
On the top of the memorial you will find names of states etched in stone. The memorial was completed, May 1922, the Union had expanded with 12 more states and so the names of the 48 states were carved on the outside of the memorial’s walls. After the admission of Alaska and Hawaii, a plaque was added with the names of the new states. Under the state you find “MDCCCII”. What does that mean Waldo? (Wikipedia find) Year 1802 (MDCCCII) was a common year starting on . What about the year 1802? In November 1802, thirty-five delegates convened to draft an Ohio state constitution. In order for Ohio to become a state, representatives of the territory had to submit a constitution to the United States Congress for approval. Friday of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar.
Inside the 99ft tall marble temple is a large sculpture of Abraham Lincoln seated in a chair. The sculpture, designed by Daniel Chester French, was originally intended to be 10ft/3m tall. Henry Bacon realized the statue would be dwarfed inside the large temple so the size was almost doubled to 19ft/5.8m.
There are a number of urban legends associated with the memorial. Some have claimed that Robert E. Lee’s face is carved onto the back of Lincoln’s statue. Another popular legend is that Lincoln is shown using sign language to represent his initials, with his left hand shaped to form an “A” and his right hand to form an “L”.
Through all walks of life, people come to be inspired with the spirit of President Lincoln’s determination to save the Union and tremendous compassion towards those who had been denied their freedom. Maybe the reason the Lincoln Memorial holds such a special place in the hearts of all Americans is because it serves as a place to celebrate things that unite us as a nation, as well as a place to focus on the things that still divide us today. We unite, on a famous location in history.
Hangin’ with Abe…Skylar, River, Adam, Aunt Linda, Stone, and Foxx
I took this shot at the spot where Martin Luther King stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, August 1963.
Washington - 1963…Martin Luther King delivered his famous speech…
Martin Luther King - “I Have a Dream”
Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.
Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.
But not only that, let freedom, ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tenneessee.
Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi, from every mountainside.
Let freedom ring,
And when this happens,and when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old negro spiritual, “Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, we are free at last.”
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