National Mall
NPS History
NPSHistory.comThe National Mall and Memorial Parks encompasses some of America's most iconic public spaces and monuments in the heart of Washington, D.C. The Mall stretches approximately two miles from the U.S. Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial and includes the Washington Monument, the World War II Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the Korean War Veterans Memorial, and the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, among others. Pierre Charles L'Enfant's 1791 plan for the federal city envisioned the Mall as a grand public promenade, though the space took its current form largely through the McMillan Plan of 1901–1902. The Mall has served as the nation's premier stage for public assembly and free expression, hosting events from Marian Anderson's 1939 concert to the 1963 March on Washington where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech.
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The National Mall stretches from the United States Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial — two miles of monuments, memorials, and public spaces that tell the story of American democracy, sacrifice, and the ongoing struggle for equal rights.
The Mall hosts the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial, World War II Memorial, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, and the African American Civil War Memorial. Over 24 million people visit the National Mall each year, making it the most-visited national park in the country. Park staff flagged their own waysides asking whether content about the Holodomor memorial and the African American Civil War Memorial 'meets the requirements' of the Secretary's Order.
Among the content targeted: “All men are born equally free and independent And have certain inherent natural rights...among which are the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possesing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety.” — language that the administration has flagged for review under its directive to review historically accurate interpretive materials.
Why this matters: The National Mall is where America tells its own story. The memorials here honor soldiers, civil rights leaders, and victims of genocide. When park staff question whether these stories can still be told, it reveals how deeply the chilling effect has penetrated — even at the nation's most visible public space. Over 24 million people visit this site each year.
Current verbiage: the last paragraph might be seen as disparaging. Have not had a chance to redraft.
Forgotten Founder “All men are born equally free and independent And have certain inherent natural rights...among which are the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possesing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety.”
In front of you is a statue of George Mason (1725—1792). Mason holds a book by Cicero, a Roman politician and orator. Mason was inspired by Cicero and others when he wrote the Virginia
Declaration of Rights in 1776. A month later, Thomas Jefferson was inspired by Mason’s words when he wrote the Declaration of
Independence. The Virginia Declaration was the first document to protect individual rights, like freedom of religion and the press, in what would become the United States.
Mason continued to champion individual rights. As a delegate to the 1787 Constitutional Convention, he refused to sign the
Constitution because it did not include such protections. As a result, Mason was marginalized as a founder. But his ideas lived on. James Madison wrote the Bill of Rights two years later (and less than a year before Mason’s death)....
Flagged for Review: Interpretive materials
The National Mall stretches from the United States Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial — two miles of monuments, memorials, and public spaces that tell the story of American democracy, sacrifice, and the ongoing struggle for equal rights.
The Mall hosts the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial, World War II Memorial, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, and the African American Civil War Memorial. Over 24 million people visit the National Mall each year, making it the most-visited national park in the country. Park staff flagged their own waysides asking whether content about the Holodomor memorial and the African American Civil War Memorial 'meets the requirements' of the Secretary's Order.
The flagged materials include content from “A Carefully Crafted Image”, targeted for review under the current directive.
Why this matters: The National Mall is where America tells its own story. The memorials here honor soldiers, civil rights leaders, and victims of genocide. When park staff question whether these stories can still be told, it reveals how deeply the chilling effect has penetrated — even at the nation's most visible public space. Over 24 million people visit this site each year.
This is one of the waysides at FDRM. It sits next to the wheelchair statueI, which was added in 2001. I recommend keeping it, but am concerned that it may be seen by some as disparagement.
It currently reads-
A Carefully Crafted Image
The original 1997 memorial barely hinted at Franklin Roosevelt’s paralyzed legs—much as FDR had during his Presidency.
Roosevelt’s battle with polio was not a secret. The president worried that if people knew he was unable to walk, his opponents could portray him as too weak for office. Years before live video, the press agreed not to report on FDR using a wheelchair or aides carrying the president. [Tactile Drawing Label]
These hand sketches (right) appear on the back of the FDR statue in the Prologue. FDR believed a standard 1920s wheelchair was too bulky, so he designed his own. He oversaw the construction of his wheelchair, created by adding wheels to a kitchen chair. [Tactile Model Label]
FDR tried to keep his use of a wheelchair from the public. Disability rights advocates, including the National
Organization on Disability, successfully lobbied President
Bill Clinton and Congress to add this explicit portrayal in 2001. The new statue depicted...
Flagged for Review: Interpretive materials
The National Mall stretches from the United States Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial — two miles of monuments, memorials, and public spaces that tell the story of American democracy, sacrifice, and the ongoing struggle for equal rights.
The Mall hosts the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial, World War II Memorial, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, and the African American Civil War Memorial. Over 24 million people visit the National Mall each year, making it the most-visited national park in the country. Park staff flagged their own waysides asking whether content about the Holodomor memorial and the African American Civil War Memorial 'meets the requirements' of the Secretary's Order.
From the internal review records: “built in 1806 for $2,000. It remained the bustling heart of the city”
Why this matters: The National Mall is where America tells its own story. The memorials here honor soldiers, civil rights leaders, and victims of genocide. When park staff question whether these stories can still be told, it reveals how deeply the chilling effect has penetrated — even at the nation's most visible public space. Over 24 million people visit this site each year.
Is the word “enslaved” ok here?
Test currently reads:
Working Waterfront
If you stood in this spot in the 1800s, you’d be looking out over the biggest dock in Washington, DC. The 17th Street Wharf was built in 1806 for $2,000. It remained the bustling heart of the city until 1902. You might see goods from all over the world, including sandstone to rebuild the White House in 1813. You might hear the shouts of hundreds of dockworkers, many of them enslaved people until the end of the Civil War in 1865. The 17th Street
Wharf reached its largest size in 1881, when it was 1,200 feet long and 150 feet wide. That’s about the size of the Lincoln
Memorial reflecting pool. [image caption]
The 17th Street Wharf was so enormous that it supported its own floating restaurant. General H.G. Wright, Army Chief of Engineers, wrote in 1881 about a lunchroom on the wharf operated by an
African American man named Henry Hill. [Question Bubble]
Can you imagine the National Mall as a bustling port, full of ships and cargo?
Flagged for Review: Interpretive materials
The National Mall stretches from the United States Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial — two miles of monuments, memorials, and public spaces that tell the story of American democracy, sacrifice, and the ongoing struggle for equal rights.
The Mall hosts the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial, World War II Memorial, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, and the African American Civil War Memorial. Over 24 million people visit the National Mall each year, making it the most-visited national park in the country. Park staff flagged their own waysides asking whether content about the Holodomor memorial and the African American Civil War Memorial 'meets the requirements' of the Secretary's Order.
From the internal review records: “under water. Anacostan people harvested fish and shellfish from a”
Why this matters: The National Mall is where America tells its own story. The memorials here honor soldiers, civil rights leaders, and victims of genocide. When park staff question whether these stories can still be told, it reveals how deeply the chilling effect has penetrated — even at the nation's most visible public space. Over 24 million people visit this site each year.
Not sure if this is something that meets SO3431
White House on the Waterfront For most of human history, the place where you’re standing was under water. Anacostan people harvested fish and shellfish from a marshy creek that ran here for thousands of years. In the 1830s, President John Quincy Adams swam in Tiber Creek, which ran past the south lawn of the White House. In the early 1800s, Washington officials turned the natural waterway into the Washington City Canal. When canals were replaced by railroads, the canal was converted into a sewer. [image caption] This 2009 painting by Peter Waddell, Tiber Creek: The Bathers, shows President Joh...
Flagged for Review: Interpretive materials
The National Mall stretches from the United States Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial — two miles of monuments, memorials, and public spaces that tell the story of American democracy, sacrifice, and the ongoing struggle for equal rights.
The Mall hosts the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial, World War II Memorial, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, and the African American Civil War Memorial. Over 24 million people visit the National Mall each year, making it the most-visited national park in the country. Park staff flagged their own waysides asking whether content about the Holodomor memorial and the African American Civil War Memorial 'meets the requirements' of the Secretary's Order.
From the internal review records: “This is one of two waysides at Logan Circle. The other is about Logan himself- straightforward- solier, Congressman, started Memorial Day commemmorations.”
Why this matters: The National Mall is where America tells its own story. The memorials here honor soldiers, civil rights leaders, and victims of genocide. When park staff question whether these stories can still be told, it reveals how deeply the chilling effect has penetrated — even at the nation's most visible public space. Over 24 million people visit this site each year.
This is one of two waysides at Logan Circle. The other is about Logan himself- straightforward- solier, Congressman, started Memorial Day commemmorations.
This one is on the circle itself. Last paragraph talks about how it was a bad area for a while- redlight district, etc.
Residential Retreat
There are many circles and squares in Washington, DC, but Logan
Circle is the only one to retain the residential character that all
Washington circles once had.
Once a rural landscape where a public hanging took place, the
Logan Circle neighborhood took off once the park became a destination in the 1870s. Real estate speculators built the immense townhomes around the circle between 1875 and 1900, forming the core of the historic district. Originally named Iowa Circle, this neighborhood was marketed to upper middle class citizens, and it became a fashionable address. By 1920 the district was booming and became a hub for car dealers. The Great Depression, then
World War II, devastated the automobile industry and the neighborhood began to decline. Riots in 1968 further ravaged the historic district.
The neighborhood’s decline led to the brief rise of a red-light district and a breeding ground ...
Flagged for Review: Interpretive materials
The National Mall stretches from the United States Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial — two miles of monuments, memorials, and public spaces that tell the story of American democracy, sacrifice, and the ongoing struggle for equal rights.
The Mall hosts the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial, World War II Memorial, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, and the African American Civil War Memorial. Over 24 million people visit the National Mall each year, making it the most-visited national park in the country. Park staff flagged their own waysides asking whether content about the Holodomor memorial and the African American Civil War Memorial 'meets the requirements' of the Secretary's Order.
The flagged materials include content from “Men of Color, To Arms!”, “Recruited in Baltimore, the 4th USCT fought in”, targeted for review under the current directive.
Why this matters: The National Mall is where America tells its own story. The memorials here honor soldiers, civil rights leaders, and victims of genocide. When park staff question whether these stories can still be told, it reveals how deeply the chilling effect has penetrated — even at the nation's most visible public space. Over 24 million people visit this site each year.
This wayside was created in partnership with the African American Civil War Museum and sits adjacent to the African Amercan Civil War Memorial
I do not know whether the story we are telling here or how we are telling it meet the SO.
Here is what it says- Men of Color, To Arms!
When the American Civil War began, African Americans saw the war as an opportunity to end slavery in the United States. However, fighting for freedom was not yet possible.
Since 1792, US law prohibited African Americans from serving in the army. The navy did not exclude African Americans. Change began as the ongoing war demanded more troops. The Confiscation Act of
1861 allowed US forces to seize property used to support the rebellion. The army used the new law to hire previously enslaved men and women who were considered contraband of war. Most of the jobs were as laborers, cooks, teamsters, seamstresses, and laundresses.
A year later, Congress passed the Militia Act of 1862 which allowed
African Americans to join the army. Black men from South Carolina,
Louisiana, and Kansas immediately enlisted.
The US government formalized the organization of Black troops after
President Lincoln signed the Emancipation ...
Flagged for Review: Interpretive materials
The National Mall stretches from the United States Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial — two miles of monuments, memorials, and public spaces that tell the story of American democracy, sacrifice, and the ongoing struggle for equal rights.
The Mall hosts the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial, World War II Memorial, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, and the African American Civil War Memorial. Over 24 million people visit the National Mall each year, making it the most-visited national park in the country. Park staff flagged their own waysides asking whether content about the Holodomor memorial and the African American Civil War Memorial 'meets the requirements' of the Secretary's Order.
Among the content targeted: “a case of genocide, of the destruction, not of individuals only, but of a culture and a nation.” — language that the administration has flagged for review under its directive to review historically accurate interpretive materials.
Why this matters: The National Mall is where America tells its own story. The memorials here honor soldiers, civil rights leaders, and victims of genocide. When park staff question whether these stories can still be told, it reveals how deeply the chilling effect has penetrated — even at the nation's most visible public space. Over 24 million people visit this site each year.
This wayside was made in collaboration with the Embassy of Ukraine with the help of the State Department in front of the Holodor Memorial near Union Station- want to make sure it is still ok
This is what it says:
Holodomor: Famine Genocide in Ukraine
This memorial is dedicated to the millions of innocent men, women, and children of Ukraine, who perished due to the Soviet-engineered famine of
1932-1933, known as Holodomor – death by starvation. As part of the
USSR’s forced collectivization project, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin aimed to punish Ukrainians for their resistance to political, economic, cultural, and social subjugation resulting from Soviet occupation of the Ukrainian
People’s Republic (1917-1921).
The Soviet regime confiscated grain from Ukrainian farmers but continued to export Ukraine’s grain to the rest of the world. The result was that
Ukraine’s villagers, those that tended the farms in the breadbasket of
Europe, were purposefully starved by the Soviet regime. At the height of the Holodomor in June of 1933, 28,000 people were dying every day in
For decades, the USSR denied that the Holodomor took place and the regime’s central role in the famine. An indepen...
Flagged for Review: Exhibit panels
The National Mall stretches from the United States Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial — two miles of monuments, memorials, and public spaces that tell the story of American democracy, sacrifice, and the ongoing struggle for equal rights.
The Mall hosts the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial, World War II Memorial, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, and the African American Civil War Memorial. Over 24 million people visit the National Mall each year, making it the most-visited national park in the country. Park staff flagged their own waysides asking whether content about the Holodomor memorial and the African American Civil War Memorial 'meets the requirements' of the Secretary's Order.
The flagged materials include content from “American citizens during World War II.”, targeted for review under the current directive.
Why this matters: The National Mall is where America tells its own story. The memorials here honor soldiers, civil rights leaders, and victims of genocide. When park staff question whether these stories can still be told, it reveals how deeply the chilling effect has penetrated — even at the nation's most visible public space. Over 24 million people visit this site each year.
One FDR Memorial Exhibit panel looks at some of the things the designers purposely left out of the memorial. The idea is to help visitors understand that memorials, like FDR not only represent something in the past, but they can also tell us a bit about what was important at the time it was built.
The text reads: WHAT’S
What is left out of the memorial reflects the story the creators wanted to tell. The memorial omits personal items, like the cigarette missing from FDR’s left hand. Eleanor wore a fur coat, not the cloth one depicted in her statue. The memorial does not highlight Roosevelt-supported policies that we now consider discriminatory. The New Deal National Housing Act reserved financial assistance for whites only. This reinforced “redlining” and segregation. Racism drove the forced internment of Japanese-American citizens during World War II.
Flagged for Review: Publications
The National Mall stretches from the United States Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial — two miles of monuments, memorials, and public spaces that tell the story of American democracy, sacrifice, and the ongoing struggle for equal rights.
The Mall hosts the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial, World War II Memorial, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, and the African American Civil War Memorial. Over 24 million people visit the National Mall each year, making it the most-visited national park in the country. Park staff flagged their own waysides asking whether content about the Holodomor memorial and the African American Civil War Memorial 'meets the requirements' of the Secretary's Order.
Why this matters: The National Mall is where America tells its own story. The memorials here honor soldiers, civil rights leaders, and victims of genocide. When park staff question whether these stories can still be told, it reveals how deeply the chilling effect has penetrated — even at the nation's most visible public space. Over 24 million people visit this site each year.
These are all books in the Thomas Jefferson Memorial- I am not sure if they really disparage Thomas Jefferson, but they do aknowledge that he had children with Sally Hemings
Flagged for Review: Publications (10 items)
The National Mall stretches from the United States Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial — two miles of monuments, memorials, and public spaces that tell the story of American democracy, sacrifice, and the ongoing struggle for equal rights.
The Mall hosts the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial, World War II Memorial, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, and the African American Civil War Memorial. Over 24 million people visit the National Mall each year, making it the most-visited national park in the country. Park staff flagged their own waysides asking whether content about the Holodomor memorial and the African American Civil War Memorial 'meets the requirements' of the Secretary's Order.
From the internal review records: “These books are currently sold at the Martin Luther King Memorial Eastern National Bookstore- not sure they are all considered disparaging, but they are about either Malcolm X or Freedom Riders or Slavery”
Why this matters: The National Mall is where America tells its own story. The memorials here honor soldiers, civil rights leaders, and victims of genocide. When park staff question whether these stories can still be told, it reveals how deeply the chilling effect has penetrated — even at the nation's most visible public space. Over 24 million people visit this site each year.
These books are currently sold at the Martin Luther King Memorial Eastern National Bookstore- not sure they are all considered disparaging, but they are about either Malcolm X or Freedom Riders or Slavery
Flagged for Review: Film/video (1 items)
The National Mall stretches from the United States Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial — two miles of monuments, memorials, and public spaces that tell the story of American democracy, sacrifice, and the ongoing struggle for equal rights.
The Mall hosts the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial, World War II Memorial, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, and the African American Civil War Memorial. Over 24 million people visit the National Mall each year, making it the most-visited national park in the country. Park staff flagged their own waysides asking whether content about the Holodomor memorial and the African American Civil War Memorial 'meets the requirements' of the Secretary's Order.
Why this matters: The National Mall is where America tells its own story. The memorials here honor soldiers, civil rights leaders, and victims of genocide. When park staff question whether these stories can still be told, it reveals how deeply the chilling effect has penetrated — even at the nation's most visible public space. Over 24 million people visit this site each year.
This film is just 6 minutes. I don't think it disparages anyone, but it does mention slavery in the capital
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