History of the Washington National Monument and of the Washington National Monument SocietyHarvey, Frederick L. (Frederick Loviad)
History
History of the Washington National Monument and of the Washington National Monument Society
Harvey, Frederick L. (Frederick Loviad)
Washington Monument (Washington, D.C.); Washington National Monument Society
The refusal of Mr. John A. Washington to permit the removal of the
remains of Washington seems to have prompted Mr. Clay to urge the
adoption of the pending resolution to erect a statue of Washington at
the Capitol. "An image," he said, "a testimonial of this great man, the
Father of his Country, should exist in every part of the Union as a
memorial of his patriotism and of the services rendered his country; but
of all places, it was required in this Capitol, the center of the Union,
the offspring, the creation, of his mind and of his labors."
The resolution for the statue of Washington by Greenough was adopted,
and it was ordered. The statue was made and was placed in the rotunda in
1841, but subsequently removed into the east park of the Capitol, where
it now rests.
In 1853, Congress appropriated $50,000 for the erection of an equestrian
statue of George Washington by Clark Mills.
This statue, in bronze, representing Washington on the line at the
battle of Princeton, was placed in its present location in the public
circle at Pennsylvania avenue and Twenty-third street, in the City of
Washington.
THE WASHINGTON NATIONAL MONUMENT SOCIETY.
The resolutions and proceedings of Congress which have been referred to
having remained unexecuted as late as 1833, certain citizens of the City
of Washington, whose names were a passport to public confidence, took
steps in that year to form a voluntary association for erecting "a great
National Monument to the memory of Washington at the seat of the Federal
Government."
In September, 1833, a paragraph appeared in the "National
Intelligencer," leading paper of the City of Washington, calling for a
public meeting of the citizens of Washington to take up the matter and
redeem the pledges of Congress. In response to this call a meeting of
citizens was held in the aldermen's chamber, in the City Hall, on the
26th of September, 1833. There was great interest and earnestness
manifested on the part of those present in the object of the meeting.
The oft-repeated failure of Congress to finally act in the matter of
erecting a monument to Washington was reviewed, and it was deemed almost
hopeless to expect that body to provide for such a monument in the near
future.
The meeting resulted in the organization of the Washington National
Monument Society. Committees were appointed to draft a constitution and
by-laws, and to report at a future meeting of the citizens and to devise
a practical plan for the collection of funds and to prepare an address
to the country.
On October 31 following the second meeting was had, Constitution and
By-Laws were adopted, and officers were chosen, being nominated by a
committee and elected by ballot:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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