1830-1859 Items (59 total)

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This design of the Statue of Freedom was rejected for its reference to slavery. It was one of three designs developed by sculptor Thomas Crawford for the top of the Capitol dome. In 1856, he proposed a statue with a “Liberty Cap.” This style of cap…

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In his annual report for the year 1856, Secretary of the Smithsonian Joseph Henry complained that Congress had not provided money in the Smithsonian's budget to maintain the Institution's grounds. As a result, he said that the area around the…

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In 1837, the President and Congress commissioned Italian-born artist Luigi Persico to create a sculpture depicting Christopher Columbus to be one of a pair of artworks flanking the staircase on the eastern entrance to the Capitol. When it was…

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While not an exact image of the Mall, this abolitionist print shows the role of the federal city in the interstate slave trade in the early 1800s. Slaves worked, lived, were held captive, and sold within sight of the Capitol building. In this print,…

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This painting from 1833 was published in New York City in 1834. It shows a view of Washington, DC from Anacostia. The Navy Yard and the Capitol can be seen in the center, while the Arsenal and the White House can be seen toward the left. The ships…

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There was a hotel on this part of Pennsylvania Avenue starting in 1805. In 1820 the business was bought by Jesse Brown in 1820 and the place was renamed Brown's Indian Queen Hotel. The hotel was popular with out of town visitors and congressmen…

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At the center of Lafayette Park, along the White House’s north side, stands this equestrian statue of President Andrew Jackson. Cast to commemorate Jackson’s victory at the Battle of New Orleans, the bronze statue was sculpted by artist Clark Mills…

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William Hushka, an immigrant from Lithuania, was a World War I US Army veteran who joined the 1932 Bonus Marchers in their campaign to secure early payment of veterans' pensions from the government. Along with fellow veteran and marcher Eric Carlson,…

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Freeman Hunt wrote a series of articles for his Merchants' Magazine in the spring of 1848 describing the history and current state of the capital city, which was mostly undeveloped at the time. In the second installment of the series he wrote about…

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Solomon Brown was likely the first African American employee at the Smithsonian Institution. He began work there in 1852 as a maintenance worker, building exhibit cabinets, cleaning, and moving specimens. He advanced to serve as clerk to Secretary…
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