NAMA Notebook: Lincoln's Legacy

When I am out in the park with students, I will often start by asking them what they know about the site we are visiting or the person memorialized there. I received a typical response when I met a group of students at the Lincoln Memorial this week. "What do you know about Lincoln?” I asked. "He was shot," they said. It is true that Lincoln was the first American president to be assassinated. But, I like to think about the living Lincoln and what he accomplished. National Mall and Memorial Parks includes multiple opportunities for exploring Abraham Lincoln’s legacy. This is especially true in April, when we mark the anniversary of his death.
Lincoln Memorial
Today, when we contemplate Lincoln’s legacy, we might think about emancipation and the end of legal slavery in the United States. That wasn't the most significant aspect on the minds of the Lincoln Memorial's designers, though. At the memorial's dedication in 1922, the focus was on unity, that President Lincoln fought to hold the nation together. During a time when the country was segregated, when racial violence and oppression was worsening, most white Americans did not want to call attention to issues like equality and freedom. Speakers at the Lincoln Memorial dedication were discouraged from talking about the aspects of Lincoln's legacy that remained unfulfilled.

The meaning of this space evolved over time as events representing freedom and equality for all took place here. 2022 marked the 100th anniversary of the Lincoln Memorial’s dedication. Staff researched and presented new programs sharing stories we hadn’t often told before. While rangers knew the 1922 dedication’s audience was segregated, we discovered where the African American seated section was located, on the southwestern end of the Reflecting Pool and learned about Whitefield McKinlay, who refused to sit there. While I knew the Piccirilli brothers had carved the Lincoln statue designed by Daniel Chester French, I learned more about this family of six brothers who moved to New York from Italy and learned the stonecutting trade from their father. And while I knew there had been a woman involved in carving the decorative wreaths around the Second Inaugural Address on the memorial’s north wall, I was fascinated to learn more about Evelyn Beatrice Longman. She apprenticed with Daniel Chester French to learn sculpting and went on to have a career as an artist.

Ford's Theatre

NPS

Ford's Theatre and Petersen House

Though it’s not on the National Mall proper, Ford’s Theatre National Historic Site falls under the management of the park. Here is another place to explore Lincoln’s legacy. The site includes the theatre where Lincoln was assassinated on April 14, 1865, while watching a play. There’s a museum downstairs with exhibits relating to Lincoln, the Civil War, and the assassination. Across the street is the Petersen House, where Lincoln died on the morning of April 15. Connected to the house is the Center for Education and Leadership, operated by Ford’s Theatre Society, the NPS partner onsite. Both organizations work together to tell the story of Lincoln’s legacy through education. The Society operates the theatre, so visitors can watch productions, something Abraham Lincoln enjoyed. This place becomes a living legacy to Lincoln through theatre rather than just the site of his death.

More Resources:

In honor of the Lincoln Memorial’s 100th anniversary, the National Mall Education Team hosted 6 virtual sessions for teachers about memorializing Lincoln. We invited rangers from other parks to play, too!

Want to explore the meaning of the Lincoln Memorial with your students? Use these primary sources as ideas to start the conversation: Lincoln Memorial Education Series

Interested in sharing Lincoln stories with your younger students? Join Ranger Dani as she shares books about President Lincoln.

Your turn!

How do you use Lincoln’s legacy in your classroom? We would love to hear your great ideas. If there is anything we can do to help, please contact the NAMA Education Team and let us know!