On May 30, 1922, one hundred years ago to the day, the Lincoln Memorial, was dedicated.

The memorial, which stands at the far western end of the National Mall in Washington, D. C., honors Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth president of the United States. The ceremony was attended by over 50,000 people and was broadcast across the nation via radio. Notable attendees included President Warren G. Harding, William Howard Taft, Chief Justice of the United States and former president who had signed the bill to create a memorial to Abraham Lincoln in February 1911, Dr. Robert Morton, President of Tuskegee Institute, and Robert Todd Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln's son and a former secretary of war and ambassador to Great Britain.

The memorial was inspired by the Parthenon in Athens, Greece, and is adorned with ancient symbols of unity and strength. It was designed by Henry Bacon, a New York architect. The memorial features a statue of a seated Lincoln, sculpted by Daniel Chester French from Massachusetts. Other notable sculptures by French include The Minute Man at the Old North Bridge in Concord, Massachusetts, (1874), and the Statue of The Republic, the 65-foot centerpiece of the World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago (1893).

In the interior of the memorial, Ernest C. Bairstow carved the Gettysburg Address (pictured below) and Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address. Also inside  the memorial are two murals, created by Jules Guerin, with allegorical depictions of what were considered Lincoln’s greatest accomplishments as president, the reunification of the United States after the Civil War and the emancipation of more than four million enslaved people.

This is surely one of the most beloved memorials in America, and it's hard to imagine it as looking different, but browse these other concepts for the memorial, including alternatives from Bacon, who was eventually selected.

See the National Park Service Features of the Lincoln Memorial and Lincoln Memorial Design and Symbolism pages for more details and images.

Written by Donna Keesling, Editor, The History List

Photos by Lee Wright, founder of The History List. The photos were taken in July 2021 and are available under a Creative Commons license. (CC BY 2.0)

Photo by Chris Devers. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Get the chance to ride aboard the USS Constitution as it sails in Boston Harbor to celebrate America's Independence on Monday, July 4.

This annual event is one of the few times that the ship is taken out of its berth in the Charlestown Navy Yard.  There is a lottery for the highly-prized free tickets to be able to sail aboard the ship during the turnaround.  (The ship is actually moved by tug; it's not under sail.)

Click here to apply in this year's lottery.

Submission deadline is on June 3, 2022. A winner will be selected on June 8, 2022 and notified by email.

Watch a short video of the USS Constitution turnaround taken a few years ago:

Shop our USS Constitution limited edition print

This original and commissioned design honors the USS Constitution, also known as Old Ironsides, and is the oldest ship of any kind still afloat and is most noted for her actions during the War of 1812 against the United Kingdom, when she captured numerous merchant ships and defeated five British warships.

Available in a very limited edition archival print, small poster, cards, sticker, and magnet. Explore the complete collection.

Updated April 18 at 1 am

Sources are listed at the end. Check the websites of the towns and local organizations to confirm, especially if the weather appears inclement.

Saturday, April 16

9:30 am — Lexington: The Lexington Minutemen are called to arms by Captain Parker at 9:30 am on Lexington Green and march to the battle site for a noon ceremony at the Parker’s Revenge site in Minute Man National Historical Park.

Noon — Lincoln: Civilian evacuees on the Battle Road leave from the Smith House.

1 pm — Minute Man National Historical Park: Parker’s Revenge, a tactical scenario along the historical road near the Whittemore House  by British and Colonial soldiers. 

3 pm - 4 pm — Lexington: Re-enactors assemble at Munroe Tavern. British troops arrive on the retreat from Concord and occupy the Tavern, tending to their wounded and planning their next steps. The Tavern will be open for tours.

4 pm - 5 pm — Lexington: A battle in the American Revolution will be demonstrated for the public in Tower Park, a natural amphitheater near Munroe Tavern.

Sunday, April 17

1:30 - 4:30 pm — Minute Man National Historical Park — Col. Barrett House: Intense military preparations at the Col. Barrett House. British soldiers will arrive and search the grounds.

5 pm — Acton: The Acton Minutemen will portray the spreading of the alarm throughout Acton with a horse and rider galloping past the homes of Acton’s four militia leaders. At the historic Faulkner Homestead, Colonel Faulkner himself will fire three alarm shots into the air with his musket, and those shots will be repeated again and again off in the distance as the alarm is spread.

• 5:00 pm — Robbins' Home site, soccer fields at the bottom of Concord Rd.
• 5:20 pm — Isaac Davis Homestead at 39 Hayward Road
• 5:40 pm — Faulkner Homestead at 5 High St. in South Acton at the corner of Route 27
• 5:55 pm — Liberty Tree Farm at 24 Liberty St. in South Acton

7 pm — Lincoln: Alarm and Muster at the White Church on the library lawn opposite First Parish, at 3 Bedford Road.

11:30 pm — Lexington: Paul Revere arrives at the Hancock/Clarke House on Hancock Street.

Monday, April 18

4:15 am — Stow: The Annual Trail March and Parade starts from Stow Lower Common. Fiifes and drums and the firing of the muskets awaken the townsfolk along the route. The Minutemen arrive at the North Bridge around 9 am join the Concord parade.

4:45 am — Westford: Col. John Robinson Trail March. Members of the Westford Colonial Minutemen walk the route travelled by the Westford militia and minute companies used when they answered the alarm on April 19th, 1775. You are invited to join this 10-mile walk, which ends at North Bridge in Concord.  

5:30 am — Lexington: This event recreates the skirmish on Lexington Green the morning of April 19, 1775 that marked the beginning of the American Revolution. Following the ringing of the bell in the Old Belfry, members of the Lexington Training Band (now known as the Minutemen) gather on Lexington Green to await the column of British Regulars as they march into the town center. A shot rings out, the skirmish follows, and the British column marches on towards Concord leaving dead and wounded behind.   

6 am — Lexington: Pancake Breakfasts, nominal cost

St. Brigid Church, 2001 Massachusetts Avenue, sponsored by Boy Scout Troop 160. 6:00 am to 10:00 am. Nominal cost. 

First Baptist Church, 1580 Massachusetts Avenue (across from the police station). 6:00 am to 10:00 am. Nominal cost.

6 am — Acton: Isaac Davis March to Concord starting at the Isaac Davis Homestead at 37 Hayward Road, arriving at North Bridge at 9 am.

6:40 am — Lincoln: Tribute and march to Concord beginning outside Bemis Hall at 15 Bedford Road. The Lincoln Minute Men will salute the patriots buried in the Old Meetinghouse Cemetery. Roll call is read, fifers play a lament, minute men mysteriously emerge from the morning mists in the cemetery, and a musket salute is fired. The Minute Men begin their march along Sandy Pond Road toward Concord with colonial music and musket fire. All ages welcome to join the march.

7:30 am — Lexington: Sunrise Youth Parade starting at Munroe Cemetery driveway on Massachusetts Avenue.

8 am — Minute Man National Historical Park — North Bridge: Commemoration of the Battle at North Bridge with British and colonial reenactors and park rangers and volunteers.

8:30 am — Minute Man National Historical Park — North Bridge: Mourn Arms Ceremony at the British Graves with British Regulars from the King's Own 4th Regiment of Foot, Tenth Regiment of Foot, and First Foot Guards will Mourn Arms and salute the fallen soldiers of the 4th.

9 am — Concord: Patriots' Day Parade in Concord Center.

10 am — Lexington: Patriots' Day Road Race starting at Lexington Green.

1 pm — Lexington: Paul Revere arrives at Lexington Green

2 pm — Lexington: Patriots' Day Parade down Massachusetts Avenue through East Lexington and Lexington Center.

8 pm — Minute Man National Historical Park — North Bridge Visitor Center: Patriot vigil and lantern procession, with poetry, music, and a recitation of the names of the soldiers who gave their lives on April 19. If you wish to participate in the lantern procession, please bring a lantern with a real candle, not an LED candle and not a flashlight.

Tuesday, April 19

3:45 am — Wayland: The Sudbury Companies of Militia and Minute will march from First Church in Wayland and later at 5:30 am gather in Sudbury Center and march to North Bridge, arriving at approximately 11:30 am, and will fire a salute.

12:30 pm - 4 pm — Minute Man National Park: National Park Rangers will lead an immersive five-mile guided Battle Road trail hike with guided interpretation and immersive living history elements. This program is free and open to the public; registration is required to reserve a seat on the post-program shuttle bus returning participants to their vehicles. Note: I understand that, as of April 17, there is no more space on the shuttle.

6:30 - 8 pm — Westford: Patriots' Day Candlelight Tribute at Fairview Cemetery (Tadmuck Road entrance). Access the service records of Westford’s Revolutionary War Soldiers on your phone or tablet as you stroll through the cemetery. Colonial interpreters will be present to answer questions. 

Sunday, April 24

2 pm — Lincoln: Old Burial Ground Tribute. The Lincoln Minute Men will assemble at the Pierce House and at 2:30 pm march to the Town Cemetery on Lexington Road accompanied by clergy, honored guests, and a contingent of British Regulars and bagpiper. Cravesite ceremonies will honor the Lincoln patriots of the Revolution and the five British soldiers who were killed in Lincoln on April 19, 1775, and are buried there. Refreshments will be served at the Pierce House afterward.

Sources: Battle Road, from His Majesty's 10th Regiment of Foot, Minute Man National Historical Park, Friends of Minute Man, and the Town of Lexington.

Photos: Patriots Day 2008 at Minute Man National Historical Park, by Lee Wright, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Editor: Lee Wright, based heavily on the excellent information on the Battle Road site, and the others listed above under Sources.

Shop our Lexington and Concord "1775" Collection

Our original design recognizes the events on Lexington Green and at North Bridge in Concord that took place on April 19, 1775 and marked the beginning of the Revolutionary War. 

"Celebrated as the largest equestrian monument in the U.S., it is a tour de force of monumental sculpture. . . . It marks the eastern terminus of the National Mall and faces the Lincoln Memorial almost two miles to the west, symbolically linking the President and the General who fought to save the Union. . . . It is a remarkable achievement by a sculptor who, with little formal training, toiled twenty years to translate his grand vision into cast bronze."

The Architect of the Capitol describing the U.S. Grant Memorial, which is located on the West (Mall) side of the Capitol.

It was the largest bronze sculpture cast in the United States at the time.

Edward Pearce Caseys was the architect and Henry Merwin Shrady the sculptor. Their entry was selected by a panel that included renowned sculptors Daniel Chester French and Augustus Saint-Gaudens

The memorial was dedicated on the 100th anniversary of Grant's birth, April 27, 1922.  Shrady had died two weeks earlier.

The 200th anniversary of Grant's birth is less than two weeks away.

— Lee Wright | Founder | The History List | History Camp | The Pursuit of History

Sources for the text: The Architect of the Capitol and Wikipedia.

All photos are by the author and available under a Creative Commons license. (CC BY 2.0)  More images are in this Flicker album.

In 1775 unrest bubbled through the American Colonies. Britain had severely restricted Massachusetts through the Intolerable Acts; towns were voting to boycott British goods, and British soldiers were becoming a common sight in the American Colonies.

In this lesson you will explore a famous speech by Patrick Henry (1736–1799), member of the Second Virginia Convention.

The Second Virginia Convention

Patrick Henry is not speaking in the Virginia House of Burgesses [the state legislature] in Williamsburg because it had been dissolved the year before by Royal Governor Dunmore. Resenting this British interference with local government, the members of the House of Burgesses regrouped as a state convention. In order to avoid any interference from British troops, the Second Convention of approximately 120 delegates met in Richmond, Virginia, from March 20 through March 27.

 The American Colonies were attempting to negotiate with British in 1775, and many of Henry’s fellow delegates wanted to wait until these negotiations were completed before taking action. But Henry felt that delay would be a major mistake. On March 23, 1775, he asked the Virginia Convention to take a defensive stance immediately against Great Britain by raising an armed company in every Virginia county — an action considered by many to be open treason. His speech reflected language and actions far more radical that his fellow delegates were willing to go in public, but Henry based his request upon the assumption that even more aggressive military actions by the British would soon follow. Twenty-seven days after this speech was delivered the Battles of Lexington and Concord proved Henry correct.

This speech was recreated in 1817 by William Wirt of Maryland, who published the first biography of Patrick Henry. Wirt drew upon materials collected beginning in 1808, including interviews with those who knew Henry and those who were present when the speech was delivered. 

Source: Patrick Henry and “Give Me Liberty!”, The American Humanities Center.

→ View our original designs inspired by Patrick Henry's speech, "Give me Liberty, or Give me Death!". In The History List store.

The speech

St. John's Church, Richmond, Virginia
March 23, 1775

No man thinks more highly than I do of the patriotism, as well as abilities, of the very worthy gentlemen who have just addressed the House. But different men often see the same subject in different lights; and, therefore, I hope it will not be thought disrespectful to those gentlemen if, entertaining as I do, opinions of a character very opposite to theirs, I shall speak forth my sentiments freely, and without reserve. This is no time for ceremony. The question before the House is one of awful moment to this country. For my own part, I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery; and in proportion to the magnitude of the subject ought to be the freedom of the debate. It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive at truth, and fulfill the great responsibility which we hold to God and our country. Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offence, I should consider myself as guilty of treason towards my country, and of an act of disloyalty toward the majesty of heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings.

Mr. President, it is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts. Is this the part of wise men, engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty? Are we disposed to be of the number of those who, having eyes, see not, and, having ears, hear not, the things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation? For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst, and to provide for it.

I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided; and that is the lamp of experience. I know of no way of judging of the future but by the past. And judging by the past, I wish to know what there has been in the conduct of the British ministry for the last ten years, to justify those hopes with which gentlemen have been pleased to solace themselves, and the House? Is it that insidious smile with which our petition has been lately received? Trust it not, sir; it will prove a snare to your feet. Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed with a kiss. Ask yourselves how this gracious reception of our petition comports with these war-like preparations which cover our waters and darken our land. Are fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation? Have we shown ourselves so unwilling to be reconciled, that force must be called in to win back our love? Let us not deceive ourselves, sir. These are the implements of war and subjugation; the last arguments to which kings resort. I ask, gentlemen, sir, what means this martial array, if its purpose be not to force us to submission? Can gentlemen assign any other possible motive for it? Has Great Britain any enemy, in this quarter of the world, to call for all this accumulation of navies and armies? No, sir, she has none. They are meant for us; they can be meant for no other. They are sent over to bind and rivet upon us those chains which the British ministry have been so long forging. And what have we to oppose to them? Shall we try argument? Sir, we have been trying that for the last ten years. Have we anything new to offer upon the subject? Nothing. We have held the subject up in every light of which it is capable; but it has been all in vain. Shall we resort to entreaty and humble supplication? What terms shall we find which have not been already exhausted? Let us not, I beseech you, sir, deceive ourselves. Sir, we have done everything that could be done, to avert the storm which is now coming on. We have petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves before the throne, and have implored its interposition to arrest the tyrannical hands of the ministry and Parliament. Our petitions have been slighted; our remonstrances have produced additional violence and insult; our supplications have been disregarded; and we have been spurned, with contempt, from the foot of the throne. In vain, after these things, may we indulge the fond hope of peace and reconciliation. There is no longer any room for hope. If we wish to be free² if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained, we must fight! I repeat it, sir, we must fight! An appeal to arms and to the God of Hosts is all that is left us!

They tell us, sir, that we are weak; unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house? Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance, by lying supinely on our backs, and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot? Sir, we are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the God of nature hath placed in our power. Three millions of people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us. Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations; and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us. The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable²and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come.

It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!

Source: Based on a description of the speech in Sketches of the Life and Character of Patrick Henry, William Wirt (1836).  The speech appears on pages 119 - 123.  The full text of Wirt’s biography of Henry is online.

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