Presidential memorials in the United States

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The Washington Monument in Washington, D.C.
Peacefield, the home of John Adams and John Quincy Adams in Quincy, Massachusetts

The presidential memorials in the United States honor presidents of the United States and seek to showcase and perpetuate their legacies.

Living and physical elements[edit]

A presidential memorial may have a physical element which consists of a monument, a statue within a monument, a historical home, a presidential library, and other sites whose entire presence consists of a physical structure that is a permanent remembrance of the president it represents. Most well-known presidential memorials, such as the Washington, Lincoln and Jefferson memorials, have a physical element.

There are also official presidential memorials that have a living element with only a minor physical presence. An example of a presidential living memorial is the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Located in a wing of the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C., the Wilson Center has a small exhibit concerning President Wilson's life and work, but it is best known for its work to unite the world of ideas with the world of policy by supporting scholarship linked to issues of contemporary importance. In this way the living memorial perpetuates President Wilson's legacy of scholarship linked closely to international relations.

Similarly, the Harry S. Truman Scholarship honors U.S. college students dedicated to public service and policy leadership, and thus may be considered a memorial with solely a living element. The Truman Scholarship is the sole federal memorial allowed to honor President Truman.[1]

This can also be accomplished through the establishment of a policy institute, like the Eisenhower Institute whose mandate is to advance Eisenhower's intellectual and leadership legacies through research, public education, and public policy recommendations.[2]

The James Madison Memorial Building, the third and newest building of the Library of Congress, is an example of a memorial with both living and physical elements. The building houses a memorial hall to President James Madison, but is also dedicated in memory of his 1783 proposal that the Continental Congress form an official library.

Existing presidential memorials[edit]

Multiple statues, homes, and other physical memorials to some presidents exist, only large structures are mentioned below:

Presidents Memorials
George Washington Washington Monument

Washington Monument (Baltimore)

Washington Monument (Boonsboro, Maryland)

George Washington Masonic National Memorial

Washington boyhood home

George Washington's Mount Vernon

Washington presidential library

John Adams Adams National Historical Park

John Adams Building

Thomas Jefferson Jefferson Memorial

Thomas Jefferson Building

Thomas Jefferson's Monticello

James Madison James Madison's Montpelier

James Madison Memorial Building

James Monroe James Monroe Museum and Memorial Library

James Monroe's Highland

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson Statue, Lafayette Square, Washington, D.C.

Andrew Jackson's The Hermitage

Andrew Jackson State Park

Martin Van Buren Martin Van Buren National Historic Site
William Henry Harrison William Henry Harrison's Grouseland
James K. Polk James K. Polk Home

President James K. Polk Historic Site

Millard Fillmore Millard Fillmore House
Franklin Pierce Franklin Pierce Homestead
James Buchanan James Buchanan Memorial in Meridian Hill Park, Washington, DC

President James Buchanan's Wheatland

Abraham Lincoln Lincoln Memorial

Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park

Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial

Lincoln's New Salem State Historic Site

Lincoln Home National Historic Site

Ford's Theatre National Historic Site

Lincoln Tomb and War Memorials State Historic Site

Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum

Andrew Johnson President Andrew Johnson Museum and Library

Andrew Johnson National Historic Site

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant Memorial

General Grant National Memorial

Rutherford B. Hayes Rutherford B. Hayes House

Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library and Museum

James A. Garfield James A. Garfield Memorial

James A. Garfield Monument

James A. Garfield National Historic Site

Grover Cleveland Grover Cleveland Birthplace
Benjamin Harrison Benjamin Harrison memorial statue

Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site

William McKinley McKinley National Memorial

National McKinley Birthplace Memorial

William McKinley Monument

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site

Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site

Sagamore Hill National Historic Site

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Theodore Roosevelt's Maltese Cross Cabin

Pine Knot cabin

Theodore Roosevelt Island

Theodore Roosevelt Monument

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft National Historic Site
Woodrow Wilson Woodrow Wilson Boyhood Home

Woodrow Wilson House (Washington, D.C.)

Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

Warren G. Harding Harding Home

Warren G. Harding Memorial (Marion Cemetery)

Calvin Coolidge Coolidge Homestead

Calvin Coolidge House

Calvin Coolidge Presidential Library and Museum

Herbert Hoover Hoover Tower

Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum

Franklin D. Roosevelt Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site

Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial

Original Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial

Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park, New York City's Roosevelt Island

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman National Historic Site

Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum

Harry S. Truman Scholarship

Dwight D. Eisenhower Eisenhower National Historic Site

Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum and Boyhood Home

Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial

John F. Kennedy John F. Kennedy National Historic Site

John F. Kennedy Eternal Flame

John F. Kennedy Memorial (Dallas)

John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park

Lyndon B. Johnson State Park and Historic Site

Lyndon Baines Johnson Memorial Grove on the Potomac

Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library and Museum

Richard Nixon Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum
Gerald R. Ford Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library

Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum

Jimmy Carter Jimmy Carter National Historic Site

Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum

Ronald Reagan Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum

Ronald Reagan Building

George Bush George Bush Presidential Library and Museum
William J. Clinton William J. Clinton Presidential Center and Park

President William Jefferson Clinton Birthplace Home National Historic Site

George W. Bush George W. Bush Presidential Center
Collective Mount Rushmore National Memorial (Shrine of Democracy)

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "20 U.S. Code § 2003 - Other Federal memorials prohibited". LII / Legal Information Institute. Retrieved May 7, 2016.
  2. ^ Eisenhower Memorial Archived November 28, 2005, at the Wayback Machine