Before I left Springfield on Friday, I took a quick tour of the Old Capitol Building. If you live in Illinois and haven't visited here lately, you should. If you don't live in Illinois and if you ever have the chance to go to Springfield, make sure you do. I love this rickety old building. It doesn't have the majestic grandeur of the current state capitol. It doesn't have the opulence of the nation's capitol. It's an old limestone building that was built in a Greek revival style back in the 1830s. It's simple. It's beautiful. It typifies Illinois to me.
If you walk those old halls, there is 170 years of history contained therein. I love the double staircase that leads to to the Senate Hall and the Representatives Hall.
How can you not love the beauty of this simplistic building. Thousands of school kids walk through each year and peer in at the Senate and Representatives Hall. They learn about Lincoln, his time there as a representative from 1840-1841. He didn't run for Illinois state office again after that term. They take a look at this room where George Washington's portrait watches over the House.
I doubt that the importance of the "House Divided Speech" is realized by many of them. On June 16, 1858 Abraham Lincoln was chosen by the newly formed Republican party to challenge Stephen A. Douglas for the US Senate. His speech is less of an acceptance speech and more of a commentary on the major issues that he be the topics of his debates with Douglas in the Presidential campaign of 1860: popular sovereignty and slavery. I read that speech as I sat outside the chamber on Friday. That speech is famous for the line, "A house divided against itself cannot stand," but it is so much more than that.
When Lincoln died, his body was brought back to this place. He was symbolically placed in the Representatives Hall and where he laid in state while over 75,000 people passed through the capitol to pay their respects. Only 20,000 people lived in Springfield at the time. The entire floor of the capitol was striped of all vestiges out of deference from Lincoln.
It may be just a simple building. Thousands may walk through and never really understand what they are seeing.
If you do get a chance to go, take a walk around the place...the whole building is smaller than most mega mansions. Don't forget to look up.
I never tire of this old building. It has so much more meaning to me now that I've taken the time to study the political career of Lincoln and write about his political positions. I'm sometimes a bit troubled by the exploitation of Lincoln for the sake of commerce. I'm not confident that he would have liked that, but then again, he was rather resourceful. He just might have liked people walking around downtown sporting Lincoln t-shirts and buying Land of Lincoln chachkies.
If you walk those old halls, there is 170 years of history contained therein. I love the double staircase that leads to to the Senate Hall and the Representatives Hall.
How can you not love the beauty of this simplistic building. Thousands of school kids walk through each year and peer in at the Senate and Representatives Hall. They learn about Lincoln, his time there as a representative from 1840-1841. He didn't run for Illinois state office again after that term. They take a look at this room where George Washington's portrait watches over the House.
I doubt that the importance of the "House Divided Speech" is realized by many of them. On June 16, 1858 Abraham Lincoln was chosen by the newly formed Republican party to challenge Stephen A. Douglas for the US Senate. His speech is less of an acceptance speech and more of a commentary on the major issues that he be the topics of his debates with Douglas in the Presidential campaign of 1860: popular sovereignty and slavery. I read that speech as I sat outside the chamber on Friday. That speech is famous for the line, "A house divided against itself cannot stand," but it is so much more than that.
When Lincoln died, his body was brought back to this place. He was symbolically placed in the Representatives Hall and where he laid in state while over 75,000 people passed through the capitol to pay their respects. Only 20,000 people lived in Springfield at the time. The entire floor of the capitol was striped of all vestiges out of deference from Lincoln.
It may be just a simple building. Thousands may walk through and never really understand what they are seeing.
If you do get a chance to go, take a walk around the place...the whole building is smaller than most mega mansions. Don't forget to look up.
I never tire of this old building. It has so much more meaning to me now that I've taken the time to study the political career of Lincoln and write about his political positions. I'm sometimes a bit troubled by the exploitation of Lincoln for the sake of commerce. I'm not confident that he would have liked that, but then again, he was rather resourceful. He just might have liked people walking around downtown sporting Lincoln t-shirts and buying Land of Lincoln chachkies. 
1 comment:
I just love your passion for history and people. Great photos of a great building! Congrats on getting the paper done, i hope it turned out like you wanted and you get a great grade!
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