This past weekend my family was in town my dad dragged us in the freezing cold to see the Jefferson monument, which he always proclaims is his favorite. I have not been to the monument in many years and wanted to go, just not when it was below 30! As cold as I was the monument looked even more beautiful than I had remembered since I had been there as a kid. The statue of Thomas Jefferson was just as imposing as it was when I was in eighth grade.
The monument has four panels of excerpts of Jefferson's writing. The most recognizable is from the Declaration of Independence, which he wrote at the young age of 33, "We hold these truths to be self-evident..."
Another panel highlights how involved Jefferson was in the creation of the separation of Church and State in our government. His idea of a secular society was very novel at the time. This panel, a picture of which is attached, is compiled from many letters and writings of Jefferson's.
I noticed quite a few signs of construction surrounding the monument. The monument is actually sinking into the ground and efforts are currently being made to prevent this. Washington, D.C. was built on a swamp and this is apparent in the structural and engineering problems that have been going on with the monument since the early 1940's, only years after it was built. Here is a Washington Post article from 2007 which outlines the problem in more depth.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/15/AR2007061502436.html
-Clare
No comments:
Post a Comment