Abraham Lincoln Memorial - Essay Example

The Lincoln memorial was built as a neo ical monument in the honor of the 16th President of the United s, Abraham Lincoln. The memorial wasdesigned by Henry Bacon and it stands at the west end of the National Mall. The Bill to create a memorial for Lincoln was signed in the year 1911, which led to the creation of the Lincoln Memorial Commission that set aside funds for the monument. The area between the Capitol building and the Potomac river was chosen as the site for the construction as many of Sir Lincoln’s aides wanted the memorial to be built in a serene and distinguished location (Abraham Lincoln Memorial).

The memorial, built with inspiration drawn from Greek temples, is 190 feet long, 119 feet wide with a height of almost 100 feet. The memorial is surrounded by 38 fluted Doric columns out of which 36 columns represented the 36 Union states that were present at the time of Lincoln’s death and two in-antis columns were present at the entrance (Lincoln Memorial). The stones used in the building were brought from various states with white Colorado marble used for the exterior, limestone from Indiana being used for the interior walls, pink marble from Tennessee used for the flooring, and marbles from Alabama used for the ceiling (Abraham Lincoln Memorial).

The central hall located between the north and south chambers of the memorial houses the statue of Lincoln in a seated position and was sculpted under the supervision of Daniel Chester French who was a leading American sculptor. (Abraham Lincoln Memorial; Lincoln Memorial) The height of the statue is 19 feet, though the original plan was for only 10 feet, and it weighs 175 tons (Lincoln Memorial). The statue has been carved out of 28 blocks of white Georgia marble. The sculptor later installed special lighting to illuminate the figure.

The construction of the memorial began in the year 1914 and was dedicated to the public on the Memorial Day, May 30 1922, nearly 57 years after the death of Lincoln. The inaugural ceremony was attended by nearly 50,000 people who included several civil war veterans, political figures and Robert Todd Lincoln who was the President’s only surviving son (Abraham Lincoln Memorial). Right behind the statue the words of Royal Cortissoz stating that the statue is dedicated forever in the memory of Abraham Lincoln are inscribed.

The chambers present in the north and south of the statue have carved inscriptions of the Second Inaugural address by Lincoln and his address at Gettysburg respectively. The memorial, which is maintained by the National Park Service, is visited by millions of people from all over the world and is also a site for several public gatherings and protests. It is here that Martin Luther King delivered his famous “I have a dream” speech (Abraham Lincoln Memorial). Abraham Lincoln, whose life began under humble conditions in Kentucky, was sensitive to slavery right from his early days and could only learn some basic formal education from his mother.

However, his parents had instilled the thought that anyone who worked hard could survive which provided the inspiration for all his endeavors. His political career began with his appointment to the Illinois state legislature and later gaining an admission to the Illinois bar. This was soon followed by his marriage to Mary Todd and his subsequent election to the U.S. House of Representatives. Despite many success as an attorney and several personal sorrows, Lincoln rose again with sheer determination to be nominated as the President of the Republican party in 1860 and went on to become President in the year 1861.

This was soon followed by the civil war that attacked the Constitution of the United States. At the end of the war, Lincoln delivered his famous Gettysburg address wherein he upheld that the war paved the way for a new birth of freedom that would provide every individual their right to equality, freedom and citizenship. However, his dreams of a second re-election as President were short-lived as he was assassinated and thus became a martyr. His dreams were taken forward by those who later became presidents and amended the constitution and federal legislations for the benefit of all American people (Abraham Lincoln the man).

Reference 1. “Abraham Lincoln Memorial.” Abraham Lincoln Online. n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2011. 2. “Lincoln Memorial.” Nps.gov. National Park Service. n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2011. 3. “Abraham Lincoln the man.” Nps.gov. National Park Service. n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2011.