Three Lincolns in One City
Focusing on Details: Compare and Contrast
All documents and text associated with this activity are printed below, followed by a worksheet for student responses.Introduction
Between 1868 and 1920, three statues to Abraham Lincoln were unveiled in Washington, DC. These statues vary in size and scope and depict the 16th President in different ways.Compare and contrast the following three statues. How do they physically depict Abraham Lincoln? What aspects and qualities do they appear to emphasize in their depiction?
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Worksheet
Three Lincolns in One City
Focusing on Details: Compare and Contrast
Examine the documents included in this activity and write your response in the space provided.
Your Response
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Activity Element
Abraham Lincoln Statue, Washington, DC
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Emancipation Memorial in Washington, D.C.
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Lantern Slide of the Lincoln Memorial Statue
Conclusion
Three Lincolns in One City
Focusing on Details: Compare and Contrast
Based on your analysis of the three statues, answer the following questions:- Do you think that Washington, DC, needs three public statues to the same person? Why or why not?
- Which sculpture do you think is best? Why?
- If there was a vote to remove one of the statues, which one would you vote for? Why? Who or what would you memorialize instead in the same place?
Your Response
Document
Abraham Lincoln Statue, Washington, DC
1868 (Photographs Unknown)
This Abraham Lincoln statue by Lot Flannery was erected in Washington, DC in 1868.
This primary source comes from the Records of the Commission of Fine Arts.
National Archives Identifier: 57361738
Full Citation: Abraham Lincoln Statue, Washington, DC; 1868 (Photographs Unknown); Washington, DC, 1870-1950: Statues and Memorials; Records of the Commission of Fine Arts, ; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. [Online Version, https://docsteach.org/documents/document/abraham-lincoln-statue-washington-dc, April 26, 2024]Abraham Lincoln Statue, Washington, DC
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Abraham Lincoln Statue, Washington, DC
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Document
Emancipation Memorial in Washington, D.C.
4/14/1876 (photograph unknown date)
The Emancipation Memorial (also known as the Freedman's Memorial, Freedom's Memorial, or the Emancipation Group) was created by sculptor Thomas Ball. The focus is on Abraham Lincoln as the Great Emancipator as it features the 16th President standing while a formerly enslaved freedman begins to rise. Located in Lincoln Park in Washington, DC, the statue was paid for entirely by the donations of former enslaved people. It was dedicated 11 years after Abraham Lincoln's assassination on April 14, 1876, in an event that featured a speech from orator Frederick Douglass.
This primary source comes from the Records of the War Department General and Special Staffs, 1860 - 1952.
National Archives Identifier: 93961954
Full Citation: Emancipation Memorial in Washington, D.C.; 4/14/1876 (photograph unknown date); J.M. Moon Collection of Lincolniana; Records of the War Department General and Special Staffs, 1860 - 1952, ; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. [Online Version, https://docsteach.org/documents/document/emancipation-memorial-in-washington-dc, April 26, 2024]Emancipation Memorial in Washington, D.C.
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Document
Lantern Slide of the Lincoln Memorial Statue
1921
This photograph shows the completed statue of President Abraham Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, in 1921. Originally designed to be 10 feet tall, the likeness was 19 feet high when completed, so that the cavernous chamber would not dwarf the statue.
Construction began on the memorial to Lincoln in 1915, fifty years after his assassination. American sculptor Daniel Chester French designed the statue to honor the 16th President. French had gained a national reputation with his earlier portrayal of "The Minute Man," a statue to honor those colonials who died at Lexington and Concord in 1775.
In describing his tribute to Lincoln, French said: "The memorial tells you just what manner of man you are come to pay homage to; his simplicity, his grandeur, and his power." President Warren G. Harding dedicated the building and the sculpture on May 30, 1922.
The Lincoln Memorial has been the backdrop for many important public protests and events since its completion. It was on the memorial's steps that singer Marian Anderson gave her Easter Sunday concert in 1939 after being turned away from Constitution Hall by the Daughters of the American Revolution, and where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech in August 1963.
Construction began on the memorial to Lincoln in 1915, fifty years after his assassination. American sculptor Daniel Chester French designed the statue to honor the 16th President. French had gained a national reputation with his earlier portrayal of "The Minute Man," a statue to honor those colonials who died at Lexington and Concord in 1775.
In describing his tribute to Lincoln, French said: "The memorial tells you just what manner of man you are come to pay homage to; his simplicity, his grandeur, and his power." President Warren G. Harding dedicated the building and the sculpture on May 30, 1922.
The Lincoln Memorial has been the backdrop for many important public protests and events since its completion. It was on the memorial's steps that singer Marian Anderson gave her Easter Sunday concert in 1939 after being turned away from Constitution Hall by the Daughters of the American Revolution, and where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech in August 1963.
This primary source comes from the Records of the National Park Service.
National Archives Identifier: 183515080
Full Citation: Lantern Slide of the Lincoln Memorial Statue; 1921; Scenes of Washington, DC, 1921 - 1936; Records of the National Park Service, ; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. [Online Version, https://docsteach.org/documents/document/lantern-slide-of-the-lincoln-memorial-statue, April 26, 2024]Lantern Slide of the Lincoln Memorial Statue
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