Verified Document

Lincoln Memorial And Social Activism Thesis

In spite of the constant pressure that he was subjected to through arrests and violent acts, Luther had kept his concepts throughout his life. With the gathering in 1957 of most influential blacks in the U.S., Martin Luther made it clear that a second emancipation act was bound to take place on the site of the Lincoln Memorial. During the year of 1957 the Congress has established a Civil Rights Commission that would provide assistance to civil rights supporters.

The Washington march for jobs and equality took place during the summer of 1963. The meeting proved to be the perfect place for Martin Luther King Jr. To put his ideas to practice as he held his famous "I Have a Dream" speech there. The profoundness of his speech had been amplified by Lincoln's Memorial which stood behind him. The 28th of August, the day that the speech had been taken, was also the centennial anniversary of Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. The Gettysburg Address, which is graved inside the monument, also celebrated its centennial anniversary at the time. It had been obvious that that had been a great day, and that Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech would be remembered and praised through the generations to follow.

Dr. King spoke to the spectators about several of the issues raised by Lincoln in the Gettysburg Address. Dr. King's speech had had amazing effects throughout the U.S., as the nation had begun a new fight for equal rights regardless of differences. Martin Luther King Jr. had become a national hero ever since the speech he held in front of the Lincoln Memorial. His birthday became a national holiday for Americans to celebrate in 1986. In 2003, to mark the anniversary of the forty years from his speech, the granite step on which he stood had been engraved with his name and with the words "I HAVE a DREAM."

Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech from 1963 had not been the last civil rights reference made in front of the Lincoln Memorial. People still consider the place to be suitable for events to take place. The Million Man march took place in 1995 at Lincoln's Memorial and the leaders of the march held speeches where they cited the Constitution and asked for "a more perfect union." Their main desire was that all of the people in the U.S. should forget the past and the differences existing between them and that they should unite as one.

The meetings which took place in front of the Lincoln Memorial did not refer only to civil rights. The second half of the twentieth century saw a lot of protests concerning wars that Americans believed should not be conducted by the American government. Hundreds of protests took place near the monument during the Vietnam War with the most notable one taking place in April 1971 when approximately half a million came to express their disagreement concerning the war.

The American public has been presented with various pictures of Abraham Lincoln through the ages. The main message that the creators of the Lincoln Memorial wished to send to the normal visitor was the...

Coser, pp. 30) Subsequent to the Civil War and to Lincoln's assassination, the late President's image was that of a humble and honest man that appreciated simplicity and justice.
Time had changed the way that people saw Lincoln, as he became a national hero, and a man that had no defects. However, people still held to the earlier concepts, as they had been aware that, in spite of the fact that several decades had passed from Lincoln's death, he should be honored as a good man, and not as a supernatural being.

Lincoln's image has been used across time in order to provide the American public with confidence and courage. American leaders knew that Lincoln's image needed to be changed depending on the moment in time. "As the U.S. entered World War I, the agents of Lincoln's memory debated which version of the Lincoln image to commemorate -- the epic hero or the folk hero; the strong, dignified Lincoln or the tender-hearted, common man." (Barry Schwartz) as American leaders changed the way in which Lincoln was seen, the public had different perceptions regarding to democracy.

The Lincoln Memorial was, is, and, will be, a monument representing much more than a president and a war. It is a monument representing democracy, unity, and freedom for all.

Works cited:

1. Glazer Nathan, Field Cynthia R., Cooper James Fenimore, "The National Mall: Rethinking Washington's Monumental Core," JHU Press, 2008.

2. Halbwachs Maurice, Coser, Lewis a. "On Collective Memory," University of Chicago Press, 1992.

3. Lane, Sarah. (2005). "Abraham Lincoln Memorial -- History," Retrieved April 16, 2009, from Classbrain Web site: http://www.classbrain.com/artmonument/publish/lincoln_memorial_history.shtml

4. Schwartz, Barry. "Iconography and collective memory: Lincoln's image in the American mind." Sociological Quarterly, 1991, Vol. 32 Issue 3, p301, 20p, 1 chart.

5. Thomas Christopher a., "The Lincoln Memorial & American life," Princeton University Press, 2002.

6. "The Life of Martin Luther King Jr.," Retrieved April 17, 2009, from Seattle Times Web site: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/special/mlk/king/biography.html

Lane, Sarah. (2005). "Abraham Lincoln Memorial -- History," Retrieved April 16, 2009, from Classbrain Web site: http://www.classbrain.com/artmonument/publish/lincoln_memorial_history.shtml idem

Christopher a. Thomas, "The Lincoln Memorial & American life," Princeton University Press, 2002.

Christopher a. Thomas, "The Lincoln Memorial & American life," Princeton University Press, 2002.

Nathan Glazer, Cynthia R. Field, James Fenimore Cooper, "The National Mall: Rethinking Washington's Monumental Core," JHU Press, 2008.

idem

"The Life of Martin Luther King Jr.," Retrieved April 17, 2009, from Seattle Times Web site: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/special/mlk/king/biography.html

Nathan Glazer, Cynthia R. Field, James Fenimore Cooper, "The National Mall: Rethinking Washington's Monumental Core," JHU Press, 2008.

Nathan Glazer, Cynthia R. Field, James Fenimore Cooper, "The National Mall: Rethinking Washington's Monumental Core," JHU Press, 2008.

idem idem

Maurice Halbwachs, Lewis a. Coser, "On Collective Memory," University of Chicago Press, 1992.

Sources used in this document:
Works cited:

1. Glazer Nathan, Field Cynthia R., Cooper James Fenimore, "The National Mall: Rethinking Washington's Monumental Core," JHU Press, 2008.

2. Halbwachs Maurice, Coser, Lewis a. "On Collective Memory," University of Chicago Press, 1992.

3. Lane, Sarah. (2005). "Abraham Lincoln Memorial -- History," Retrieved April 16, 2009, from Classbrain Web site: http://www.classbrain.com/artmonument/publish/lincoln_memorial_history.shtml

4. Schwartz, Barry. "Iconography and collective memory: Lincoln's image in the American mind." Sociological Quarterly, 1991, Vol. 32 Issue 3, p301, 20p, 1 chart.
6. "The Life of Martin Luther King Jr.," Retrieved April 17, 2009, from Seattle Times Web site: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/special/mlk/king/biography.html
Lane, Sarah. (2005). "Abraham Lincoln Memorial -- History," Retrieved April 16, 2009, from Classbrain Web site: http://www.classbrain.com/artmonument/publish/lincoln_memorial_history.shtml idem
"The Life of Martin Luther King Jr.," Retrieved April 17, 2009, from Seattle Times Web site: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/special/mlk/king/biography.html
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Racism Social Science Literature Has Largely Defined
Words: 812 Length: 3 Document Type: Term Paper

Racism Social Science literature has largely defined racist societies as those where: official ideology proclaims that racial differences are unbridgeable; the ideal is "race purity"; social segregation is mandated by law; and stigmatized groups have limited access to economic opportunities so that they are kept impoverished (Fredrickson, p. 101). Thus, it is evident that the historical definition of racism has emerged from a construct of political, sociological and economic ideology, which

Martin Luther King, Jr. As One of
Words: 1165 Length: 4 Document Type: Term Paper

Martin Luther King, Jr. As one of the world's most famous supporters of social change through non-violent means, Martin Luther King, Jr. pulled many of his ideas from numerous cultural traditions. Born in Atlanta during a time of extreme racial unrest, he grew up in a religious family who considered the church an instrument for improving the lives of African-Americans. Several supporters of Christian social activism persuaded Martin Luther King, Jr. To

Civil Rights and Racism
Words: 8232 Length: 25 Document Type: Research Paper

Racism in America: Where do we stand? From the time of the New World's discovery in the year 1492, racism has remained at the forefront of U.S. history. Even in the present day, it is reported that in America, one Black man dies from police confrontations every 28 hours. A majority of these incidents even fail to show up in local newspapers and news channels. It is only occasionally that these

Children, Grief, and Attachment Theory
Words: 22384 Length: 75 Document Type: Term Paper

Figure 1 portrays three of the scenes 20/20 presented March 15, 2010. Figure 1: Heather, Rachel, and Unnamed Girl in 20/20 Program (adapted from Stossel, 2010). Statement of the Problem For any individual, the death of a family member, friend, parent or sibling may often be overwhelming. For adolescents, the death of person close to them may prove much more traumatic as it can disrupt adolescent development. Diana Mahoney (2008), with the

Privacy for High School Students
Words: 12892 Length: 40 Document Type: Term Paper

Internet: Privacy for High School Students An Analysis of Privacy Issues and High School Students in the United States Today In the Age of Information, the issue of invasion of privacy continues to dominate the headlines. More and more people, it seems, are becoming victims of identity theft, one of the major forms of privacy invasion, and personal information on just about everyone in the world is available at the click of

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now