Free previewStop 3 of National Mall Walking Tour
The Line Where the Money Ran Out
You're standing at the foot of the Washington Monument, inside the big circle of fifty American flags, one for every state. Tip your head back and follow the white marble up the shaft. Partway up, the stone changes shade. Below that line it's one tone of white; above it, another. That line is a scar, and this is the story of how it got there.
When George Washington died in 1799, he was the unchallenged public icon of American patriotism. Ten days later, a congressional committee recommended a tomb inside the Capitol. It went nowhere. There was no money, nobody agreed on what kind of memorial to build, and Washington's family was reluctant to move his body from Mount Vernon.
Politics made it worse.
That's the opening. The rest plays at stop 3 of National Mall Walking Tour (3 min in all). Unlock the tour to hear it all, or try stop 1 free first.
