Thomas Jefferson Hall Dedication Program
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Class of 1968 Rotunda Thomas Jefferson Hall Dedication Program Invocation .....................................................Father (CH) Edson Wood Welcome ...........................................................Colonel Scott Krawczyk Superintendent’s Welcome ................... Lieutenant General Franklin L. Hagenbeck Guest Speaker ................................................General Richard Cody Dean’s Remarks & Ceremonial Book Presentation ......... Brigadier General Patrick Finnegan Guest Speaker ................................................The Honorable John Charles Thomas Ribbon-Cutting Closing Remarks .........................................Colonel Krawczyk “Every window is intended to provide snapshot pictures of things you know.” — Malcolm Holzman One interesti ng aside about the library is that its functi on during the mid-nineteenth century was far more limited than one might expect. Post orders decreed that fi cti on and At the southern boundary of The Plain (on non-course books could only be checked out the site now occupied by the new library), the old on Saturday and returned on Monday. Books Library and Observatory, built in 1841, stood for used for class work could be taken out for ten nearly 120 years. days. A familiar sight to thousandst of cadets walking tot Thayer Hall every day is the GunG Door of the old West Point Library.L Mounted on the left sides of the door is the so-called “Alpha“ Cannon,” named because itit is alleged to have fi red the fi rst round in the Civil War. On thet right side of the door is the ““Omega Cannon,” alleged to have fi red the last shot of the war. ItIi is not by b accident id that h the main entrance to Jeff erson Hall lies directly opposite the Gun Door. The strategic placement of the main door of Jeff erson Hall, directly opposite the Gun Door, not only makes for a graceful transiti on between buildings, but also provides a symbolic link between the academy’s past and its future. “ThomasT Jeff erson HHall ... will say uunequivocally that iintellectn matt ers in ththe Army profession. SpSpeaking also to ththe importance of trtraditi onal marti al vvirtues,i the building wwill bring old and new coconcepts of offi cership iinton harmony. Jeeff eersonrson HHallall wiwill stand for centuries aas a symbol of both offi cer educati on aand the professional arti stry of the aarchitect, whose creati ve ideas and ststeady hand brought these important idideas to reality.” — BG (R) George B. Forsythe USMA ’70 The Architect’s Vision ... — Malcolm Holzman, Architect “Remarkable architecture lies on the boundary, along the outer edge, of what language and drawings can communicate. The creati on of memorable buildings does not lie in a common central ground, but along the periphery, depicti ng disti ncti ve opportuniti es diffi cult to imagine unti l they are illustrated and built.” “Jeff erson Hall is Hardy Holzman Pfeiff er Associates’ fi rst Army Corps of Engineers project at West Point. Today, our team’s desire to preserve the academy’s “There was no personality while creati ng a new structure is as strong as that of the celebrated architectural fi rm of Cram, Goodhue and Ferguson when they completed their fog in London fi rst federal government project at West Point almost a century ago.” before Whistler “Cadets are made to feel as if the building fi ts in and belongs and that they entered ininto a repository where the surroundings ccomplement the uniform and are painted it.” ccompati ble with the environment.” — Oscar Wilde ““Recalling the past yet looking to the future, the design of Jeff erson HHall realizes both what I saw in my mind’s eye as well as the tthoughtf ul, energeti c contributi ons of others. Eventually, as cadets bbegin to use the library’s new resources, our design vision will become aas visible as Whistler’s fog.” Thomas Jefferson was a polymath, a man whose mind embraced a broad variety of subjects. By the ti me Jeff erson turned thirty, according to one biographer, he could “calculate an eclipse, survey an estate, ti e an artery, plan an edifi ce, try a case, break a horse, dance a minuet, and play a violin.” He also knew seven languages. At thirty-three, he draft ed the Declarati on of Independence. In the half century that followed, Jeff erson served state and country in several diff erent capaciti es: governor of Virginia, United States ambassador to France, secretary of state, vice president, and president. As president, he doubled America’s size through the Louisiana Purchase and dispatched Lewis and Clark on their expediti on of discovery. To this long list of accomplishments he added, in 1802, the founding of the United States Military Academy, an insti tuti on that he considered to be “of major importance to our country.” Two months aft er Jeff erson’s inaugurati on, Henry Dearborn, secretary of war, reported that the president had “decided in favor of the immediate establishment of a military school at West Point.” Jeff erson lobbied Congress to approve—and on March 16, 1802, he signed into law—the Military Peace Establishment Act, which formally authorized the United States Military Academy. It commenced operati ons on the Fourth of July. Jeff erson named Jonathan Williams as the academy’s fi rst superintendent, selected its original faculty, and appointed its fi rst cadets, including future superintendent Sylvanus Thayer, Class of 1808. Throughout his presidency, Jeff erson remained a champion of West Point. “Books constitute Maintaining an acti ve correspondence with Williams, he also agreed to serve as “perpetual patron” of the U.S. Military Philosophical Society, an organizati on capital.... designed to make the academy the hub of a nati onal network of scienti sts and [A]nd often engineers. Moreover, in 1808, he supported the enlargement of The Corps to 256 cadets. Even earlier, Jeff erson had consulted with Williams on a plan to in the case of acquire specifi c books for West Point’s library. Make the purchases, Dearborn directed, “and the bill will be paid.” professional men Jeff erson was no stranger to libraries; indeed, he once confessed, “I cannot live setting out in life, without books.” Books freed the mind, challenged orthodoxy, and prepared the citi zens of a republic to govern themselves. Jeff erson understood “the it is their only important truths, that knowledge is power, that knowledge is safety, and that knowledge is happiness.” At Monti cello, he amassed the largest private library capital.” in the Western Hemisphere. Aft er the Briti sh burned the original Library of — Thomas Jeff erson to Congress during the War of 1812, the federal government acquired 6,707 James Madison, 1821 volumes from Jeff erson. That legacy of learning and generosity is sustained today in Thomas Jeff erson Hall, a library that provides access to over 440,000 books and more than 50,000 periodicals, and a nexus of learning that includes the Centers for Teaching Excellence and Enhanced Performance. This building is a tribute not only to The Long Gray Line of soldier-scholars but also to the success of Jeff erson’s original vision. It will long play a vital role in West Point’s mission to educate, train, and inspire the future leaders of America’s Army. Sculpture of Thomas Jeff erson by James Muir.