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Lincoln Memorial Visitor's Guide.Pub THE LINCOLN MEMORIAL AT WATERFRONT PARK Visitor’s Guide & Activities for use in conjunction with the Kentucky Historical Society’s Beyond the Log Cabin: Kentucky’s Abraham Lincoln Teacher’s Guide CONTENTS 03 Overview 05 Planning Your Visit 06 The Project 07 The Artist 08 The Landscape Architect 09 Student Activities 18 Vocabulary 19 Resources 20 Map of Waterfront Park Waterfront Development Corporation | 129 River Road | Louisville, KY 40202 | 502.574.3768 www.louisvillewaterfront.com | [email protected] THE LINCOLN MEMORIAL AT WATERFRONT PARK Visitor’s Guide & Activities Waterfront Development Corporation | 129 River Road | Louisville, KY 40202 | 502.574.3768 www.louisvillewaterfront.com | [email protected] CURRICULUM TOPICS LINCOLN MEMORIAL AT WATERFRONT PARK Kentucky history OVERVIEW American history The Lincoln Memorial at Waterfront Park uses sculptural elements, artistic expression, Frontier and Abraham Lincoln’s own words to convey Lincoln’s lifelong ties to Kentucky and Slavery the state’s influence on his life. The memorial offers glimpses of different stages of Civil War Lincoln’s life, including: Art His childhood in Kentucky His political and social rise The impact of the Civil War on Lincoln, his family, and the nation The roots of his abhorrence of slavery BACKGROUND Lincoln Memorial at Waterfront Park The Lincoln Memorial at Waterfront Park was dedicated on June 4, 2009. The $2.3 million Memorial was funded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky, the family of Harry S. Frazier, Jr., and the Kentucky Historical Society/Kentucky Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission. It features a 12 ft. statue of Abraham Lincoln seated on a rock, holding a book and looking out over the Ohio River. His top hat and two books are on the rock beside him. Louisville artist Ed Hamilton sculpted Lincoln and conceived the four bas reliefs that line the path into the site, which feature four scenes that represent stories of Lincoln’s life-long ties to Kentucky. Ed received significant assistance on the first three bas reliefs from another local artist, Juliet Ehrlich. The fourth bas relief, “Slavery and Emancipation,” was the sole work of Hamilton. The memorial site, designed by landscape architectural firm Hargreaves Associates, is an amphitheater that faces the river and provides a frame for the sculptural pieces. The face of the granite amphitheater seating is engraved with four famous Lincoln quotes, and the site is planted with a variety of trees, including several that were Lincoln favorites. Lincoln Memorial at Waterfront Park 03 CURRICULUM Lincoln’s Formative Years in Kentucky CONNECTIONS Born on February 12, 1809, near Hodgenville, Kentucky, Abraham Lincoln was the first ( As identified in the Beyond president of the United States born outside the original thirteen colonies. Lessons the Log Cabin teacher’s guide) Program of Studies Links learned from his early years on the Kentucky frontier shaped our 16th President immeasurably. SS-4/5/8-HP-U-1 History is an account of human Lincoln’s parents, Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks, were both second-generation activities that is interpretive in nature and a variety of tools “pioneers,” who married on June 12, 1806, near Springfield, Kentucky. They taught are needed to analyze and their son the meaning of hard work and perseverance and instilled in him a profound understand historical events. love of learning—a love that Abraham’s stepmother, Sarah Johnston Lincoln, continued SS-4-HP-U-2 to nurture in him. The history of Kentucky can be analyzed by examining the From an early age, Lincoln became an avid reader. He was largely self-taught, becoming connected events shaped by multiple cause-effect one of Illinois’ most successful lawyers long before his election as president in 1860. relationships, tying past to As an adult, Lincoln thought of himself as a Kentuckian and a self-made man. He present. advised others to find their calling as he did: “get the books, and read, and study them SS-4-HP-U-3 carefully.” The history of Kentucky has been impacted by significant individuals, groups, and Lincoln’s Kentucky Connections advances in technology. When Thomas Lincoln moved his family to Spencer County, Indiana, in December SS-5-HP-U-2 1816, he was following a well-worn path laid out by thousands of other households The history of the United States can be analyzed by examining from the Upper South. Similarly, at age twenty-two, Abraham Lincoln left his father’s significant eras to develop a household and made his way to New Salem, Indiana—a growing village inhabited by chronological understanding and recognize cause-and-effect many former Kentuckians. relationships and multiple causation, tying past to Lincoln was already well integrated into an important network of Kentuckians who present. continued to shape his life and career when he moved to Springfield, Illinois in SS-5-HP-U-3 1837. John Todd Stuart, his first law partner, had encouraged Lincoln to run for The history of the United States has been impacted by political office and study the law as early as 1832. In Springfield, Lincoln also met significant individuals, groups, his best friend, Louisville-native Joshua Speed. and advances in technology. SS-8-HP-U-2 Like many of his generation, Lincoln found inspiration in the great Kentucky statesman, U.S. history can be analyzed by Henry Clay. With Mary Todd Lincoln, who came from one of Kentucky’s most prominent examining significant eras to develop chronological families, he formed an ambitious, intellectually rich, and politically powerful partner- understanding and recognize ship. Lincoln often turned to fellow Kentuckians for advice, guidance, and support as cause-and-effect relationships a lawyer, politician, and president. and multiple causation. SS-8-HP-U-3 A House Divided U.S. history (prior to Reconstruction) has been In his famous speech of June 16, 1858, senatorial candidate Abraham Lincoln invoked impacted by significant the biblical injunction, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” When war came individuals and groups. on April 12, 1861, President Lincoln’s own family became a house divided, as most of Mary Lincoln’s relatives, the Todds of Lexington, supported the Confederacy. The Lincolns felt keenly the deaths of Mary’s half-brother Samuel at the battle of Shiloh and her brother Alexander at Baton Rouge. Lincoln was visibly shaken when he learned that his friend and brother-in-law, Confederate Brigadier General Benjamin Hardin Helm, had been killed in the battle of Chickamauga. The conflict permanently estranged the Lincolns from Mary’s sister, the widowed Emilie Todd Helm. Sharing in the nation’s wounds, Lincoln anticipated, in his Second Inaugural Address, the need for true reconciliation, “with malice toward none, with charity for all.” 04 Lincoln Memorial at Waterfront Park MORE Slavery and Emancipation CONNECTIONS Raised in a deeply religious household by Separatist Baptist parents, from an early ( As identified in the Beyond the Log Cabin teacher’s guide) age, Abraham Lincoln abhorred the institution of slavery and considered it a moral wrong. Disagreeing with both defenders of slavery and abolitionists, Lincoln Government and civics nonetheless came to believe that the Declaration of Independence, by stating that “all Democratic ideas/principles men are created equal,” and the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, by outlawing slavery Constitution and amendments Branches of government north of the Ohio River, had placed the institution “in course of ultimate extinction.” Documents of democracy First-hand knowledge of slavery also bolstered these views. Individual/government, Rights and responsibilities Sources of power, Writing to his friend Joshua Speed in 1855, Lincoln recalled their trip of August 1841 State/federal government on the Ohio River, during which he saw a dozen enslaved African Americans being transported to New Orleans: “That sight was a continual torment to me; and I see Cultures and societies something like it every time I touch the Ohio, or any other slave-border.” To others he Nature/elements of culture Institutions asked: “Can we, as a nation, continue together permanently – half slave, half free?” Interaction/conflict Relationship between historical As president during the Civil War, military considerations and Lincoln’s longstanding perspective and culture antislavery views combined to answer this question. On January 1, 1863, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. One year later, he risked losing his presidency Economics Resources/scarcity by supporting the Thirteenth Amendment that abolished slavery in the United States. Interdependence Markets Decision-making PLANNING YOUR VISIT The Lincoln Memorial at Waterfront Park is free to the public and is open year-round Geography during park hours, 6:00 a.m. through 11:00 p.m. daily. Movement Regions Patterns of human settlement Waterfront Park is located on the Ohio River in downtown Louisville, Kentucky. The Symbolism of places and memorial site is north of River Road, between I-65 and the Big Four Bridge. Parking is regions available in the Lincoln Memorial parking lot and the Silver and Purple parking lots. Enter the Lincoln Memorial from the Promenade along the river’s edge. A map of the park is included at the end of this guide. Directions and maps of the park are also available at: www.louisvillewaterfront.com/park/directions/ Lincoln Memorial at Waterfront Park 05 The LLLooouuuiiisssvvviiilllllleee WWWaaattteeerrrfffrrrooonnnttt How the Lincoln Memorial
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