The Washington Monument
The Washington Monument, a memorial structure designed and constructed in the nineteenth century, signifies an important tribute to the prestigious role and achievements of our nation’s founding father. Ideas for such a monument first arose in 1783, by which time “the fame George Washington, Commanding General and first President of the United States, was assured in the pantheon of statesmen of the world” (1). It was during this year that the Continental Congress proposed an “equestrian statue” in honor of “Washington’s services and his unique role in the founding of the new Republic” (1).
Despite the project’s popularity with the public, however, little action was taken following the suggestion until after the former president’s death in late 1799; and, even then, debate ensued as to the design and methods of funding. When construction finally began fifty years later, more negotiations developed within a wide range of aspects. Engineers argued over site location and an adequate foundation. Finances waned due to non-congressional funding, the nationwide Panic of 1837, and a general loss of faith in the project’s organizational capability. The sole supplier of marble struggled to meet the extensive demands of material needed in the latter part of construction. Political opposition (by the Know-Nothing Party) to the acceptance of foreign aid in funding the project led to radical events (namely, theft and seizure) that slowed progress for several years. And the Civil War resulted in the halt of construction altogether, creating two separate building phases as the country dealt with internal turmoil.
More important than the variety of obstacles these issues pr...
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...ew York City. On each side of the capstone, the official record for the construction of the monument was engraved. “…The west face of the capstone read, “Corner Stone laid on bed of foundation, July 4, 1848. First stone at height of 152 feet laid August 7, 1880. Capstone set December 6, 1884; and the east face read “LAUS DEO (Ch. 5).” Both the north and south faces of the stone named the commission members and the key men involved in the completion of the Washington Monument.
In conclusion, the lengthy process involved in constructing the Washington Monument was one that, despite its difficulties and setbacks, has achieved the project’s initial goal: the impressive structure stands in the Nation’s Capital as “a memorial … worthy of the memory of George Washington.
Works Cited:
1) http://www.nps.gov/wamo/history
2.) http://tourofdc.org
The memorial grew out of a need to heal the nation's wounds as America struggled to reconcile different moral and political points of view. In fact, the memorial was conceived and designed to make no political statement whatsoever about the war. The Memorial is a place where everyone, regardless of opinion, can come together and remember and honor those who served. By doing so, the memorial has paved the way towards reconciliation and healing, a process that continues today.
One country that had imperialism was India. By the mid-1880s, the British East India Company controlled three fifths of India. The cause of British domination was that the land was very diverse and the people could not unite and that the British either paid local princes or used weapons to get control. Positive effects of imperialistic rule in India were that the British set up a stronger economy and more powerful industries. They built roads and railroads. British rule brought peace and order to the countryside. They revised the legal system to promote justice for the Indians regardless of class. Indian landowners and princes, who still owned territory grew rich from exporting cash crops such as cotton and jute. The British introduced the telegraph and the postal system as a means of communication. These improvements and benefits from British rule eventually lead to Indian nationalism. The exposure to European ideas caused an Indian nationalist movement, the people dreamed of ending Imperial ...
The Age of Imperialism brought many changes that caused suffering and improvements in countries. The domination of Europeans in Asia and Africa brought benefits and sufferings. When reading in between the lines, it is clear and obvious that the European?s domination gave Asia much to benefit from and Africa more to suffer from. Asia gained tons of economical power and was educated with Western ideas, but in the long run they turned Western literature it into Chinese matters. On the other hand, Africa lost economical independence.
Documents 1 and 5 show how imperialism should work over politics and their benefits over the colonies while documents 2 and 7 show some beneficial effects of imperialism for the colonies. Documents 3, 8, 10, and 12 are different from the other documents in that they show the unfair way that the Englishmen treated their colonies, which can be described as one of the negative effects of imperialism. Documents 4 and 6 demonstrate how racist the “white men” were to their colonies, leading to another negative effect. And last, documents 9 and 11 explain why a nation must be controlled by another nation. And additional document that show the negative effects of imperialism of how the mother country exploited the colonies would be an article about why the Taiping rebellion occurred and the causes of the Boxer rebellion.
Washington, DC is a spectacular place. This being my first time in DC, I was in awe of everything and all the historical places I encountered. The presence of the monuments and history is what made the capitol so magnificent. Having only read about the Lincoln memorial, I never had the chance to experience the sensation of being inside such an honorable place of importance. The imposing white marble walls of the memorial and the many people surrounding it could be seen from afar. Arriving at the location, an unknown feeling came over me. I was experiencing history in a whole different level. When I think about a memorial, the term remembrance comes to mind. Seeing the statue of Abraham Lincoln brought pieces of memories from history class and evoked thoughts of what it might have felt like to be in his shoes. I was astonished by the statue’s enormousness and how grand Abraham Lincoln looked in his chair. The size of the statue compared to pictures from books and elsewhere was surreal. Abraham Lincoln was a very “powerful and prominent individual” in the history of our nation, the statue’s design and size reflected upon that. Looking around me, I wanted to know what the others thoughts were on seeing his statue and how they felt in that building. I finally had the courage to ask one or two people what they thought; they all had the same appreciation as me. Hearing about an important person or learning about them in a history book gives you vast knowledge but it doesn’t evoke the feeling of utter appreciation as the memorial does. When Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, many people wanted to build a memorial in honor of him. They wanted to be able to show how important he was to shaping our nation and to “honor his existence”. Ce...
The Jefferson Memorial is a testimonial to the past, present, and future of the United States. Its architecture, like most neo-Classical buildings, gives a sense of permanence. This permanence has a history far older than many would suspect. Centuries ago and thousands of miles away a building was erected that would later become the model for which many other buildings, including the Jefferson Memorial, are based upon. This building is the Roman Pantheon. Though the Jefferson Memorial borrows the basic form and elements from the Pantheon, the Memorial has distinctive differences from its predecessor.
The Gambling industry attempts to win support with misleading information in its promotions. For example, gambling is said to help stimulate the economy by providing more jobs. According to the American Gaming Association study, "In 1995, the casino industry recorded $25 billion . . . and paid only $7 billion in wages" (Arthur Anderson). Also according to Maura J. Casey, there is high unemployment rates around casinos. (Casey 37) With people's losses and by encouraging workers to believe in cheating customers, casinos focus on gaining more and more money for their n...
What do you know about imperialism? Imperialism can be defined as a strategy for outspreading a country 's power and effect through diplomacy. Many people know it as a force to spread ideas or gain power. This is consequently how the West was named as mother nations. When studying this topic many focus on the West, including Europe and North America. When discussing Imperialism it is important to discuss how it is justified, how the West engaged in it, and the advantages and disadvantages.
The interesting history of the capitol building begins back in 1810. This is when Harrisburg was named the new capital city of Pennsylvania (“CPC Home Page”). Since then, three buildings have sat upon Harrisburg’s Capitol Hill. Local architect, Stephen Hills, was chosen to design the first building. In 1819, Hills began to construction on the structure. The building was completed in 1822, and cost a total of $135,000. The first capitol building existed for seventy-five years, until a fire destroyed it in 1897 (“Capitol”).
History has a strange way of coming back around when it comes to human civilization. It has been said repeatedly that those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it. However, just because there is a potential for danger in the future, this does not mean that humanity must ignore what once was. History is normally remembered through what is known as a memorial. When a memorial is put into a physical representation, it is then known as a monument.The need to memorialize events or people is complex; in some cases, monuments honor moments of great achievement, while in other cases, monuments pay homage to deep sacrifice. A monument's size, location, and materials are all considerations in planning and creating a memorial to the past. Examples of such feats are the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, and even Mount Rushmore. For the latter of the
Since the building of Congress was built it has been through many stages. Being the meeting house for the bodies that govern our land of the free since 1793. The United States Capitol is one of the greatest structures in the world also serving as a symbol to the people of our nation. It will forever be the heart of our nation.(New Book, 420)
Imperialism took place in the late 1800’s through the early 1900’s and it defines one country’s superiority over another. Specifically, The United States practiced imperialism for the desire to strengthen military and create new markets for money. It led to many wars and disputes over countries, heavily in Latin America. Imperialism was not a proper and legitimate policy for the United States to follow.
Imperialism has definitely played its role in our lifetime as well as in the 19th century. First of all we attacked Iraq regarding a power issue. We believed they had some powerful items in which could be harmful to our nation so we decided to attack them to ensure our security. Another one is how we attacked Japan because they were becoming to powerful. We have done a lot to these countries just so we could have the security of keeping our power. Military reasons are also another reason for Imperialism.
Imperialism was a time period in which more developed nations colonized less developed nations. The developed nations took advantage of the less developed nations resources, people, lands, and much more. Many countries lost their freedom and independence due to imperialism, however, they also received new technologies and innovations.
I came across many monuments in my research for this paper. I was very intrigued by monuments in New York City. Many people forget about the less talked about monuments. Such as the Flatiron Building and Gracie Mansion. Of course they are those well-known monuments as well. There is the UN building, which has been around since 1949. Penn Station is also another well-known monument. It has been around since the early 1900’s. There are many others including Grand Central Station, the George Washington Bridge, the Cathedral of St. John and Yankee Stadium just to name a few.