Memorial monuments are constructed to honor events in American history. Some monuments were erected to pay tribute to America's great leaders, such as the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. and Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. Other monuments remind us of what America stands for, such as the Liberty Bell. Millions of visitors from America and around the globe travel to the dozens of American memorials to remember these important moments in American history.
The Lincoln Memorial is located on the west end of Capitol Mall in Washington D.C. Members of Congress met in 1910 to pass a Lincoln Memorial Bill for the creation of the memorial that was signed by President Taft in 1911; as a result, the $3 million building and statue were built. The building that houses Lincoln's statue was dedicated in 1922 in front of an audience of 50,000 people. The memorial was designed by Henry Bacon to resemble an ancient Greek temple and was constructed from stone that originated in Colorado, Indiana, Alabama and Tennessee. The statue that sits inside this building was designed by sculptor Daniel Chester French. Although the original design called for a 12-foot bronze statue, the statue that was eventually made measured 19 feet tall and was carved from Georgia marble.
Veteran Jan Scruggs founded the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund in an effort to create a monument that would honor the men and women who died, were missing in action or who became prisoners of war during the Vietnam War. In October of 1980, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund announced they were holding a design competition to select a final design of the memorial. The four criteria that they were looking for in the memorial were that it be both reflective and contemplative, while listing all the names of those who had died or were missing as a result of the Vietnam War. It was also required that this monument not take political sides about the war itself.
On May 1, 1981, Yale undergraduate Maya Ying Lin won for her winning design, and in 1982, the construction of the wall was completed. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is a wall made from polished black granite that reflects the surrounding landscape. Etched in the granite are the names of all the American casualties of the war, and names are added every year. As of 2010, 58,267 names are etched into the granite.
The National World War II Memorial was designed to honor the millions of Americans who served in World War II. This monument is located between the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial and opened to the public on April 29, 2004. Like the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial, a competition was held to choose the winning design and was won by the architectural team lead by Leo A. Daly. The final design consists of a Field of Stars, the Pacific Pavilion, the Atlantic Pavilion, the Rhode Island Pillar and the Baldacchino statue. The field of stars is a wall containing 4,000 gold stars that symbolize the more than 400,000 people who died in the war. The pillars that surround the plaza feature engravings of each of the states.
Three million visitors come to the Black Hills in South Dakota every year to view Mount Rushmore. This monument was constructed to represent the freedom that America provides. Mount Rushmore features the faces of four of America's former presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt. Each president was chosen for the impact that their term in office had on our country. Construction of Mount Rushmore started in 1927 and was not completed until 1941.
The Pennsylvania Assembly issued an order in 1751 to hang the Liberty Bell from the tower of Independence Hall in Philadelphia. On July 8, 1776, the bell was rung for the first time to summon the residents of the town to assemble to hear the reading of the Declaration of Independence. This bell, which has been known throughout America as a symbol of freedom, was an iconic figure during the Civil War and the movement to abolish slavery. The Liberty Bell was rung for the last time on George Washington's birthday in 1846. The Liberty Bell Center, which opened in October of 2003, is its new home in the former President's House location in Philadelphia.
