“Washington, D.C. was intended to be more than a city; it was imagined
to be a symbol of the utopian possibilities available both to the newly founded
nation and to the nation’s cities.” (Farrar, 39) The National Mall in Washington, D.C.
consists of a number of monuments, memorials, statues, gardens, etc. that commemorate
important figures, events, militaristic contributions, etc. that were important
to the history of the United States of America.
I will be analyzing the structure of the Lincoln Memorial and how this
commemorative building expresses “power,” which is then used to construct the
ideas of an American identity. The Lincoln Memorial was constructed as a
tribute to President Abraham Lincoln and his fight to preserve his nation
during the Civil War.
Daniel Chester French Sculpture of Abraham Lincoln Inside the Lincoln Memorial. http://www.earthinpictures.com/world/usa/washington%2C_d.c./daniel_chester_french_sculpture_of_abraham_lincoln_inside_the_lincoln_memorial.html.
Abraham Lincoln Memorial. http://washingtonvirtualtrip.wikispaces.com/Abraham+Lincoln+Memorial.
Sources:
Cooper, Rachel. Lincoln Memorial - Washington, DC. 2013, http://dc.about.com/od/monuments/p/LincolnMemorial.htm.
Farrar, Margaret E. Building the Body Politic: Power and Urban Space in Washington, D.C. Champaign, IL: University of Illinois Press, 2008.