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George Washington Thomas Jefferson John Biography & Facts

The Jefferson Memorial is a presidential memorial in Washington, D.C. It was built between 1939 and 1943 in honor of Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence, a central intellectual force behind the American Revolution, a founder of the Democratic-Republican Party, and the nation's third president. The memorial features multiple quotes from Jefferson intended to capture his ideology and philosophy, known as Jeffersonian democracy, which was staunchly supportive of American republicanism, individual rights, religious freedom, states' rights, virtue and prioritized and valued what he saw as the undervalued independent yeoman. Jefferson was simultaneously deeply skeptical of cities and financiers and hostile to aristocracy, elitism, and corruption. He is widely considered among the most influential political minds of his age and one of the most consequential intellectual forces behind the American Revolution. The Jefferson Memorial is built in neoclassical style and is situated in West Potomac Park on the shore of the Potomac River. It was designed by John Russell Pope, a New York City architect, and built by Philadelphia contractor John McShain. Construction on it began in 1939 and was completed in 1943, though the bronze statue of Jefferson was not completed and added until four years after its dedication and opening, in 1947. Pope made references to the Roman Pantheon, whose designer was Apollodorus of Damascus, and to Jefferson's own design for the rotunda at the University of Virginia as inspirations for the memorial's aesthetics. The Jefferson Memorial and the White House form anchor points to the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The Washington Monument, initially intended to be built at the intersection of the White House and the Jefferson Memorial's site, was ultimately built farther east because the ground at that location was deemed too soft and swampy. The Jefferson Memorial is a designated national memorial and is managed by the National Park Service of the U.S. Department of the Interior's National Mall and Memorial Parks division. In 1966, the Jefferson Memorial was named to the National Register of Historic Places. In 2007, it ranked fourth on the "list of America's favorite architecture", published by the American Institute of Architects. History Early considerations The site ultimately selected for the Jefferson Memorial's construction was appealing at least partly because it was located directly south of, and in view of, the White House. By 1901, the Senate Park Commission, in the McMillan Plan, proposed building a Pantheon-like structure on the site that would host "the statues of the illustrious men of the nation, or whether the memory of some individual shall be honored by a monument of the first rank may be left to the future," but no action was taken by Congress on the commission's recommendation. The completion of the Tidal Basin Inlet Bridge in 1908 helped facilitate and expand recreational usage of East and West Potomac Parks. In 1918, large liquid chlorine dispensers were installed under the bridge to treat the water, which made the Tidal Basin, also known as Twining Lake, suitable for swimming. The Tidal Basin Beach, on the site of the future Jefferson Memorial, opened in May 1918, operating as a "Whites Only" facility until 1925, when it was permanently closed to avoid addressing the question of whether it should be racially integrated. The same year, a design competition was held for a memorial to Theodore Roosevelt. The winning design, submitted by John Russell Pope, consisted of a half-circle memorial situated next to a circular basin. Like the McMillan Plan in 1901, the plan was never funded by Congress or acted upon. Funding and authorization Another opportunity for the Memorial's development emerged in 1934 when then President Franklin Roosevelt, who admired Jefferson (in large part because of a book on Jefferson by his friend Claude G. Bowers) inquired with the Commission of Fine Arts about erecting a memorial to Jefferson. Roosevelt included plans for the Jefferson Memorial in the Federal Triangle project, which was then under construction. Later the same year, Congressman John J. Boyland followed Roosevelt's lead, urging Congress to create the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Commission to explore the memorial's development. Boylan was appointed the Commission's first chairman, and Congress eventually appropriated $3 million for the Jefferson Memorial. The following year, in 1935, the Commission chose John Russell Pope as architect for the Jefferson Memorial. Pope had served previously as architect for the National Archives Building and the original West Building of the National Gallery of Art. He prepared four different plans for the project, each on a different site. One was on the Anacostia River at the end of East Capitol Street; one at Lincoln Park; one on the south side of the National Mall across from the National Archives administration building; and one was situated on the Tidal Basin, directly south of the White House. The Commission preferred the site on the Tidal Basin mainly because it was the most prominent site of those proposed and completed the four-point plan called for by the McMillan Commission, which encompassed the region including the Lincoln Memorial to the Capitol and from the White House to the Tidal Basin site. Pope designed a large pantheon-like structure designed to be situated on a square platform, flanked by two smaller, rectangular, colonnaded buildings. Construction Construction on the Jefferson Memorial began December 15, 1938. The cornerstone was laid roughly eleven months later, on November 15, 1939, by Roosevelt himself. By this point, Pope had died in 1937 and his surviving partners, Daniel P. Higgins and Otto R. Eggers, assumed leadership for the Jefferson Memorial's construction. At the request of the Commission of Fine Arts, a slightly more conservative design for the memorial was agreed upon. The memorial's cost was approximately $3 million. Construction commenced amid some opposition. The Commission of Fine Arts never actually approved any design for the memorial and even published a pamphlet in 1939 opposing both the proposed design and site for the memorial. Additionally, some Washingtonians opposed the proposed location for it because it did not align with L'Enfant's original plan for the city, and many established elm and cherry trees, including rare stock donated by Japan in 1912, would be removed under the memorial's original plan. Construction continued amid the opposition, which included women protestors chaining themselves to cherry trees around the construction site. Opposition to the memorial proved dismaying to Roosevelt, but the opposition diminished notably once revised plans identified a means for maintaining the surrounding cherry trees amidst the memorial's construction. In 1939, the Memorial Commission hosted a compet.... Discover the George Washington Thomas Jefferson John popular books. Find the top 100 most popular George Washington Thomas Jefferson John books.