While following your travel guide to the various memorials, be sure you request this one for personal and group travel, the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, surrounded by Japanese cherry trees and overlooking the Tidal Basin in West Potomac Park. It’s quite a jaunt from the other memorials, but in an aerial view the Jefferson Memorial can certainly be considered a part of the National Mall. It also joins the other memorials for the Illuminations Tour when you can explore the DC sights beautifully lit from within.
Thomas Jefferson is known for many things. He was, of course, pivotal in the drafting of the Declaration of Independence. He continued to advocate the end to human injustice at the hand of its government until the end of his life. Through his writings, we learn even more about the Age of Reason and the goal that citizens can all pursue happiness within the framework of a well-balanced government. Jefferson’s pose is one of reflection within the temple structure of his memorial, and his words inscribed there inspire nothing less.
The fabric of our nation was altered in many ways by this great President. Jefferson’s leadership affected commerce, land acquisition, the separation of church and state, and the nature of our government. Specifically, Jefferson declared that, “Laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind.” In essence, it must be pliable, able to change when collective thought determined that it should.
Your travel guide will encourage you to take advantage of the way the round chamber and thoughtful inscriptions in the Jefferson Memorial inspire reflection in its many visitors. After all, the words and philosophies inscribed there shape our country still.