The Washington Monument

1. The Washington Monument By Krista, Shandee and Bryan

2. Description The Washington Monument is a four-sided stone structure with a pyramid top The Washington Monument is over 555 feet high and is one of the tallest structures in the world. Fifty flags surround its base symbolizing the 50 states. It was designed by Robert Mills. Visitors can take an elevator to the top observation room where they can see the Lincoln Memorial, the White House, the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, and the Capitol building.

3. Location The Washington Monument is located in Washington, DC.

4. Important Facts On July 4, 1848 the first cornerstone was laid. On December 6, 1884, the 3,300-pound capstone was placed at the top. The official dedication occurred on the day before George Washington's birthday in 1885. On October 9, 1888, the Washington Monument was officially opened to the general public. The project cost a total of $1,187,710.

5. How it Became a Symbol The Washington Monument was built tohonor our first President and the Father of our Country, George Washington. In 1783, the Revolutionary War ended and the Continental Congress decided to honor General Washington by building an equestrian statue of him. But it was never built while he was President. Although the Continental Congress had good intentions, the first President retired without a tribute. A group of private citizens from Washington, D.C., decided to fix this and on September 26, 1833, formed the Washington National Monument Society.

6. What Does this Symbol Mean to You? We conducted a survey to find out what different people thought about the Washington Monument as an American symbol. We surveyed both children and adults. We showed each person we surveyed a picture of the Washington Monument and asked them, “What does this American symbol mean to you?” And “Do you think it is an important American Symbol?”

7. What They Said… “The Washington Monument is an important American Symbol and it represents strength and power.” - Mr. Smith “The Washington Monument represents greatness. It is a very important American symbol.” - Kevin The Washington Monument represents George Washington our first President so of course it is very important to our country.” – Sarah “The Washington Monument represents America and our freedoms. It is one of our most important American symbols.” - Mrs. Houston The Washington Monument means a lot of tax payer dollars wasted. The cost to refurbish it is not worth keeping it. We don’t need as many symbols as we have. The flag is enough.” - Mr. Quinn The Washington Monument represents how our country stands above the rest. It is a very import symbol to Americans.” - Miss Lew

8. What We Learned We learned a lot from the survey but mostly we learned that not everyone feels the same way, and that symbols mean different things to different people. We are glad that the United States is a free country. We have the right to say what we want and we are free to have different opinions. We don’t all have to agree or feel the same way. A symbol that means one thing to you, can mean something different to me and that is ok.

9. It Should Be Selected Our group believes that the Washington Monument should be selected to go on the new $250.00 bill because: Our survey showed that many different kinds of people thought the Washington Monument was a very important American symbol. It watches over our country’s capitol, Washington D.C. Since the new bill will be honoring the birth of our country, we should select a symbol that represents our country’s very beginning like the Washington Monument, which represents our very first President.