Shrines, Monuments and Architectural Achievements Richard A. Gershon, Ph.D. Freedom of Expression, Com. 3070 Western Michigan University
Statue of Liberty The Statue of Liberty is a monument commemorating the centennial of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It was dedicated on October 28, 1886. It was given to the United States by the people of France to represent the friendship between the two countries established during the American Revolution. The monument depicts a woman wearing a radiant crown and sandals, carrying a torch in her raised right hand and a tablet, where the date of the Declaration of Independence JULY IV MDCCLXXVI is inscribed. Standing on Liberty island in NY Harbor, it welcomes visitors, immigrants, and returning Americans traveling by ship. The monument was sculpted by Frederick Auguste Bartholdi.
Discussions in France over a suitable gift to the U.S. to mark the Centennial of the American Declaration of Independence were headed by French politician and sympathetic writer Edouard Rene de Laboulave. French sculptor Frederick Bartholdi was commissioned to design a sculpture with the year 1876 in mind for completion. The idea for the commemorative gift partially grew out of the political turmoil that was shaking France at the time. The French 3 rd Republic was still considered a temporary arrangement by many, who wished a return to some form of monarchy (or constitutional authoritarianism) such as they had known under Napolean. The idea of giving a major representation of republican virtues to a sister republic across the sea served as a focus for the republican cause against other politicians.
The Statue was a joint effort between America and France and it was agreed upon that the American people were to build the pedestal, and the French people were responsible for the Statue and its assembly here in the U.S. Meanwhile in France, Bartholdi required the assistance of an engineer to address structural issues associated with designing such a colossal copper sculpture. Alexandre Gustave Eiffel (designer of the Eiffel Tower) was commissioned to design the massive iron pylon and secondary skeletal framework. In America, fund raising for the pedestal was going particularly slowly, so Joseph Pulitzer opened up the editorial pages of his newspaper, "The World" to support the fund raising effort. Pulitzer used his newspaper to criticize both the rich who had failed to finance the pedestal construction and the middle class who were content to rely upon the wealthy to provide the funds. Pulitzer's campaign was successful in motivating the people of America to donate. The Statue of Liberty underwent a full restoration in 1986 at a cost of $86 million.
Ellis Island One of the defining characteristics of America is the diversity of its people and the many cultures that comprise this nation. It has been estimated that nearly half of all Americans today can trace their family history to at least one person who passed through the Port of New York at Ellis Island. During the years of Ellis Island immigration from 1892 1924, there were more than twenty million people who passed through the immigration station located at Ellis Island.
The Ellis Island Immigration Museum is part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument and is one of the country's most popular historic sites. In 2001, The Statue of Liberty Ellis Island Foundation, in partnership with the National Park Service, unveiled the American Family Immigration History Center.
Atlantic Slave Trade But we should never forget, that some Americans didn t get a choice. Only a few decades after the discovery of America by Europeans, demand for cheap labor to work plantations made slavetrading a profitable business. The most important routes of the slave ships led from the northern and middle coasts of Africa to the Caribbean, South America and the United States. Between 1650 and 1865, an estimated 10 15 million Africans were forcibly transported by ship to the Americas as part of the Atlantic slave trade.
War Memorials A war memorial is a monument, statue or other edifice designed to celebrate a war or victory, or to commemorate those who died or were injured in war. During WW I., many nations saw massive devastation and loss of life. In response, most cities in the countries involved in the conflict erected memorials. Memorials in smaller towns and villages often listed the names of local soldiers who had been killed. Cemeteries are often used as a sacred space with specially designated graves and markers to commemorate the fallen hero. It is one of the world s important archetypes
Minuteman Statue, Concord, MA Marine Corp. Memorial Iwo Jima, Washington, DC
International Examples War Memorial in Canberra, Australia War Memorial in Ottawa, Canada Mamayev Kurga Commemorating the Battle of Stalingrad, Russia
International Examples cont. India Gate, New Delhi, India People s Heroes Beijing, China Cenotaph, London, U.K.
Arlington National Cemetery y On a Virginia hillside rising above the Potomac River and overlooking Washington, D.C., stands Arlington House. The 19th century mansion seems out of place amid the more than 250,000 military grave sites that stretch out around it. y Yet, when construction began in 1802, the estate was not intended to be a national cemetery. Rather, it became a cemetery when the Arlington House estate was confiscated by the Federal Government in 1863 from its owner, Confederate General Robert E. Lee. y Early burials were done in the vicinity of Mrs. Lee's rose garden to keep the Lees from returning to their home. The plan worked. When Mrs. Lee returned to Arlington House in 1873, she was distraught by its condition and realized that she could never go home. The Lee s returned to the family home in Lexington, Virginia.
In 1882, the Supreme Court declared the U.S. Federal Government a trespasser on the Arlington grounds and ordered the lands returned to the Lee family. With over 10,000 grave sites already there, George Washington Custis Lee sold the land to the U.S. Government for $150,000. Arlington National Cemetery is America's most revered burial ground, which shows the Nation's history through the stories of those buried there.
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Arlington National Cemetery
Controversy Who gets to be remembered? What constitutes a proper memorial? War memorials can sometimes be politically controversial. A notable example is the controversy surrounding Yakasuni Shrine in Japan where a number of convicted WW II. criminals are interred. In a similar case, former German chancellor Helmut Kohl (in the company of U.S. President Ronald Reagan) was criticized for visiting the war cemetery at Bitburg Germany. Blitburg also contained the bodies of former Nazi SS. soldiers.
Controversy cont. What is an appropriate design for a war memorial? Vietnam veteran Jan Scruggs initiated a hardfought battle to build a Vietnam War Memorial, having finally convinced the U.S. Congress (1967 1980) to appropriate land for a memorial that would be built with public funds. Maya Lin In 1981, twenty one year old Yale undergraduate Maya Lin won a public design competition for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The black cut stone masonry wall contains the names of the fallen soldiers carved into its face as requested by the families of the fallen. The wall is granite and V shaped, with one side pointing to the Lincoln Memorial and the other to the Washington Monument. The Vietnam Memorial officially opened to the public on November 13, 1982.
The design was chosen by a panel of eight professional artists and architects. The Vietnam memorial is Zen like in form. The beauty lies in its simplicity. Maya Lin wanted to convey a quiet dignity to the men and women who had sacrificed their their lives. It stands in marked contrast to the figurative memorials, usually in stone or bronze, whose tradition goes back hundreds of years. For some, Maya Lin s proposed design did not meet the expectation of what a war memorial should look like. Vietnam Veterans Memorial, USA Ryoanji Garden, Japan
From the moment Maya Lin s design was publicized, a small group within the Vietnam Veterans' community felt that the sculpture was an affront. One opponent commented, One needs no artistic education to see this memorial design for what it is: a black scar, in a hole, hidden as if out of shame. The protesters wanted a more traditional sculpture (i.e., guns and flags). Specifically, they wanted to change the color of the wall to white and to add an 8 foot high sculpture of wounded soldiers and a flag in a central position at the wall. They got the support of Interior Secretary James Watt (Reagan administration) who froze the Vietnam memorial s building permit. Eventually, a compromise agreement was reached when artist/sculptor Frederick Hart was commissioned to design an accompanying sculpture that would be located at an appropriate distance away from the wall. Maya Lin refused to attend the dedication of the sculpture.
The Three Soldiers, Frederick Hart