{"id":2657432,"date":"2026-09-10T09:09:56","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T13:09:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignnew-lincoln-memorial-museum-is-beautiful-but-misses-the-point\/"},"modified":"2026-09-10T09:16:17","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T13:16:17","slug":"utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignnew-lincoln-memorial-museum-is-beautiful-but-misses-the-point","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignnew-lincoln-memorial-museum-is-beautiful-but-misses-the-point\/","title":{"rendered":"New Lincoln Memorial Museum Is Beautiful But Misses The Point"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Futm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignnew-lincoln-memorial-museum-is-beautiful-but-misses-the-point%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2657432&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/late-night-restaurant-owners-want-to-play-fair-so-far-they-say-newsom-hasnt\/\" title=\"Late-night restaurant owners want to play fair. So far, they say, Newsom hasn&#039;t\">newly opened<\/a> Lincoln Memorial undercroft offers rare access to a critically important and visually extraordinary underground space beneath the memorial, showcasing structural details such as the 122 concrete pillars and graffiti from early workers. This renovation, part of a $69 million project, enhances the historic architecture with improved lighting and facilities, providing visitors with a sense of scale and craftsmanship. However, the exhibits within the undercroft fall short of fully contextualizing Lincoln\u2019s profound impact on American history and ideals. While they highlight the memorial\u2019s construction, design, and notable speeches, they omit deeper discussions about why LincolnS principles-such as preserving the Union to uphold liberty and equality-are of enduring importance. A more comprehensive exploration of Lincoln\u2019s legacy and his vision for America-especially considering his famous speeches-is anticipated in future presentations, wich would better align the space\u2019s importance with the broader patriotic themes of the nation\u2019s 250th anniversary.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Normally, opening one\u2019s basement to visitors wouldn\u2019t spark national headlines. But when the basement in question provides architecturally striking views of one of the country\u2019s great memorials, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.msn.com\/en-us\/travel\/article\/lincoln-memorial-s-big-underground-exhibit-opens-soon-here-s-how-to-get-tickets\/ar-AA246KoL?ocid=msedgntp&#038;pc=DCTS&#038;cvid=6a16f7f8bd2d49fdb5972951421f6f8d&#038;ei=23\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">press<\/a> and the public make an exception.<\/p>\n<p>Opened mere days before America officially celebrated its <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/04\/24\/how-to-make-sure-americas-250th-birthday-goes-out-with-a-bang-not-a-shrug\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">250th birthday<\/a>, the Lincoln Memorial undercroft tour allows visitors to explore a previously closed section of the monumental tribute to our nation\u2019s 16th president. While the tour gives unique views of the memorial\u2019s structure and construction, the accompanying exhibits collectively understate the impact of the \u201cGreat Emancipator\u201d on America\u2019s culture and psyche.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Supporting Pillars<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The undercroft\u2019s basic ingredients might not sound glamorous: 122 concrete pillars. The pillars sink down into bedrock, below the tidal marshlands that used to be part of the Potomac River, to support the temple-like memorial structure and statue of Lincoln above. <\/p>\n<figure><figcaption>\n<div>\n<p>         <span>Image Credit<\/span>Christopher Jacobs       <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>But the space manages to look vast yet intimate. Vast because of the undercroft\u2019s great size \u2014 the visitor space totals <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nps.gov\/linc\/planyourvisit\/undercroftvisit.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">15,000 square feet<\/a>, yet comprises only a small amount of the area\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.smithsonianmag.com\/smart-news\/lincoln-memorial-new-underground-museum-2026-180981736\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">total volume<\/a>, which extends far below visitors\u2019 feet. But intimate because of the details on display: the rough texture of the columns, which results from the wooden molds into which the 1910s workers poured concrete, and the graffiti drawn on those columns by those original workers, some of which are reproduced on the walls of the facility\u2019s bathrooms. (None of the graffiti is obscene.)<\/p>\n<figure><figcaption>\n<div>\n<p>         <span>Image Credit<\/span>Christopher Jacobs       <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.msn.com\/en-us\/news\/us\/an-illuminating-new-museum-hidden-beneath-the-lincoln-memorial-is-set-to-open-to-the-public-here-s-what-you-can-expect\/ar-AA24dlS6?ocid=msedgntp&#038;pc=DCTS&#038;cvid=6a1dafc7fd1b4a8483c33e612fa11af5&#038;ei=127\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$69 million project<\/a>, announced by the National Park Service a decade ago,\u00a0included phenomenal renovations of the space itself. The new facilities and lighting enhance and highlight the historic structure of the undercroft, rather than seeking to replace or overpower it.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Missing Ingredient<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>However, the exhibits in the new space seem somehow less than the sum of their parts. They explore the construction of the memorial, the design and features by architect Henry Bacon, the statue of Lincoln by Daniel Chester French, and the history of speeches and protests outside it, from Marian Anderson\u2019s concert on Easter Sunday, 1939, to Martin Luther King\u2019s \u201cI Have a Dream\u201d speech in 1963.<\/p>\n<p>And yet the exhibits not only fail to discuss Lincoln\u2019s life, but also the most important question of all: <em>Why<\/em>? Why this memorial to this president? Yes, Lincoln \u201csaved the Union\u201d \u2014 as the motto coined by writer Royal Cortissoz and inscribed behind the memorial\u2019s statue rightly notes. But <em>why<\/em> did he save the Union \u2014 to what end?<\/p>\n<p>In his seminal work <em>Lincoln at Gettysburg<\/em>, author and historian Garry Wills explained the importance of the speech whose words are inscribed on the south wall of the memorial. In beginning the Gettysburg Address with the words \u201cfour score and seven years ago,\u201d Lincoln did more than coin a catchy phrase via a slightly archaic word formulation. He made the point that, up until the Civil War, many Americans did not embrace: In 1776, the Founding Fathers who gathered in <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/07\/02\/does-independence-hall-sell-our-constitution-short\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Independence Hall<\/a> had created a <em>perpetual<\/em> Union. While many 19th-century citizens thought of themselves primarily as Virginians or Vermonters rather than Americans, Lincoln fully subscribed to the motto <em>E pluribus unum<\/em> \u2014 \u201cout of many, one\u201d \u2014 one nation, not a collection of (at the time) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sos.arkansas.gov\/education\/arkansas-history\/history-of-the-flag\/order-of-states-admission\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">35 separate states<\/a> that could enter or leave as they wished.<\/p>\n<p>The second part of the Gettysburg Address\u2019s first sentence carried as much import as the first: the nation was \u201cconceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.\u201d Lincoln framed the Revolution not just as a struggle <em>against<\/em> the tyranny of King George III, Parliament, and the British Army, but as a struggle <em>for<\/em> liberty and equality. The nation\u2019s founders did not achieve their original proposition \u2014 no nation that held men in bondage could do so. (For that matter, no entity made of mortal men can ever fully achieve this goal; our Constitution describes the aspiration of creating a \u201c<em>more perfect<\/em> Union\u201d for a reason.)<\/p>\n<p>Lincoln didn\u2019t just save the Union to save the Union \u2014 he acted to preserve and expand liberty, freedom, and self-government of, by, and for the people. <em>That<\/em> explains why the nation created a great memorial placed at the west end of the National Mall, as a symbol of gratitude, unity, and healing.<\/p>\n<p>Hopefully, the longer theater presentation scheduled to premiere in the Lincoln Memorial undercroft next year, and\/or additional displays in its exhibit area, will delve into these topics more fully. (The current 3-minute movie merely introduces the newly opened undercroft space.) Exploring the concepts and history that made Lincoln great would reinforce the principles behind the nation\u2019s 250th birthday that we celebrate this year. It would also complement and complete the grand architectural space that the National Park Service has newly opened to the public.<\/p>\n<p><em>The Lincoln Memorial is located near 23rd Street and Constitution Avenue NW in Washington (Metro: Foggy Bottom or Arlington Cemetery). Reserved timed tickets to tour the undercroft are available up to 30 days in advance for a $1 reservation fee <a href=\"https:\/\/www.recreation.gov\/ticket\/10113318\/ticket\/10113319\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<hr>\n<div>\n<p>      Chris Jacobs is founder and CEO of Juniper Research Group and author of the book &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/1645720020\">The Case Against Single Payer<\/a>.&#8221; He is on Twitter: <a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/chrisjacobsHC\">@chrisjacobsHC<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lincoln Memorial\u2019s hidden basement offers unique views and history<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":521,"featured_media":2657433,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/andy-feliciotti-VBU2sowf-nw-unsplash-scaled.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546,33651],"tags":[36487,64980,53770,85428,85427],"class_list":["post-2657432","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","category-the-western-journal","tag-cultural-critique","tag-historic-preservation","tag-lincoln-memorial","tag-museum-design","tag-museum-review"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/andy-feliciotti-VBU2sowf-nw-unsplash-scaled.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2657432","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/521"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2657432"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2657432\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2657440,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2657432\/revisions\/2657440"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2657433"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2657432"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2657432"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2657432"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}