Welcome to the Jefferson Memorial.
The memorial is built in honor of the third
president of the United States; Thomas Jefferson.
This site is one of the anchor points on the
National Mall, an area consisting of several
monuments and historic buildings in Washington
DC.
While Jefferson was one of the earliest US
presidents, it is not what he is most famous
for.
Thomas Jefferson was born year 1743, being
the third of eight children in one of Virginia's
most respected families.
Already at the age of nine, Jefferson began
studying French, Greek and Latin.
Through his college years he also studied
mathematics, metaphysics and philosophy, finishing
all classes with excellent grades.
Thomas Jefferson was known for his diverse
interests and high intelligence.
After his father died, Jefferson inherited
a dozen of slaves and around 5,000 acres where
he later would build his grand estate, the
Monticello.
After finishing his studies, Jefferson began
working as a lawyer while he at the same time
became active as a Virginian politician.
He protested against the new laws and acts
the British rule imposed on the colonies.
Jefferson argued that the colonists had the
natural right to govern themselves.
Soon after the outbreak of the American War
of Independence, Jefferson was made responsible
for creating the famous Declaration of Independence.
The declaration of Independence is what Jefferson
is most famous for.
He did however have a rich political career
following his declaration, where became a
Virginian Governor, later Minister to France,
Vice President and finally President.
After his presidency he participated in the
foundation of the University of Virginia and
is widely recognized for his architectural
planning of the university.
Jefferson died on the 4th of July 1826.
By then he could look back on his life as
a large land owner, political philosopher,
architect, musician, book collector, scientist,
horticulturist, diplomat, inventor and third
President of the United States.
He is by many held as the most intelligent
and intellectual US president of all times.
The process for building a memorial on the
site began in 1925, when a design competition
for a presidential monument was held.
The president in question was however not
Jefferson, but another famous president -- Theodore
Roosevelt.
The winning designer was John Russell Pope,
but his plans were never funded by the congress
which put the project on hold.
The next time a memorial was brought on the
agenda was in 1934, when an admirer of Jefferson,
President Franklin Roosevelt, suggested a
memorial of Thomas Jefferson to build on the
site.
This time the congress did accept the project
and gave it 3 million dollars.
The chosen architect for the project became
the same one who won the design competition
years ago; John Russell Pope.
The construction began in late 1930ies and
stood finished 5 years later.
The Jefferson Memorial was officially dedicated
by President Roosevelt on April 13th 1943,
the 200th anniversary of Jefferson's birthday.
As you can see, the inside of the memorial
is rather minimalistic and dominated by a
large bronze statue of Jefferson himself.
The statue was completed in 1947, later than
scheduled, as the Second World War caused
a shortage of bronze.
The interior of the memorial is made of Georgia
marble and limestone, which gives it its distinct
white color.
Inside you will also see several inscriptions
on the walls.
These inscriptions are extracts of several
famous texts written wholly or partly by Jefferson,
such as "A Bill for Establishing Religious
Freedom, 1777" and parts from letters Jefferson
wrote to the leaders of the time.
You can read an extract from the Declaration
of Independence on the southwest wall, the
one facing the back of Jefferson's left arm.
The memorial is one of the last American monuments
built in a typical neoclassicism fashion with
origin in ancient Greek architecture.
The architect John Russell Pope intended the
design of the memorial, loosely based on the
Roman Pantheon, to reflect Jefferson's ideals
of freedom, independence, and equality.
The memorial is also believed to have been
inspired by one of Jefferson's own buildings,
the University of Virginia, as the two buildings
copula and main entrance is very similar between.
That way one can say that Jefferson contributed
in the construction of his own memorial.
The project wasn't all that popular during
the construction phase.
One reason was that several popular elm and
cherry trees which stood on the site had been
removed to make way for the new building.
The Commission of Fine Arts also never actually
approved any new construction on the site,
which further caused controversy.
Today however, the Jefferson Memorial is a
popular site, both for locals and for typical
tourists.
