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The Lincoln Memorial

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The history...

The Lincoln Memorial is in the capital city of the United States, Washington, D.C. It was built in 1922 to honor the 16th president of the United State, Abraham Lincoln. For many people, it symbolizes race relations in the country, as well as freedom and equality.

During the Civil War, the American North fought the American South over states’ rights and over the right to own slaves. During that time, Abraham Lincoln was the President of the United States, and he fought to preserve the country as one. President Lincoln was shot and killed five days after the Civil War ended. Most Americans consider him to be one of the greatest presidents. The Lincoln Memorial was built to honor Abraham Lincoln, and two of his most famous speeches are carved into the walls. One of them is the Gettysburg Address. In 1863 at the Gettysburg battlefield, President Abraham Lincoln delivered his “Gettysburg Address”, which is one of the most well-known Presidential speeches in American history. The other speech carved into the memorial is his Second Inaugural Address, the speech he gave when he was reelected as President of the United States.

Many important speeches and rallies have taken place in front of the Lincoln Memorial. In 1963, 250,000 people gathered in front of the Lincoln Memorial and heard Doctor Martin Luther King Junior deliver his very famous and moving “I Have a Dream” speech. Although most Americans think of Abraham Lincoln as being one of the best presidents, not everyone agrees. The Lincoln Memorial is sometimes vandalized. Vandalized means to damage on purpose.

One fun fact about the Lincoln Memorial is about his hands. If you look at how President Lincoln’s hands are sitting, they form the American Sign Language signs for A and L, his initials.