Joseph Corniel10/7/17

Project #2

If there was a monument to be placed somewhere, it should be a person who has made a difference in society and also continues to do so today by inspiring others with his or her past actions. There are four criteria’s which I have made that should be considered for use when placing a monument and those criteria’s are How do people portray this monument today? How important is this person to our history? How did this person use the position he or she was in to help others around them? Did this person have a positive impact on society? If so what did he or she do to make that positive impact possible?

There are many historic figures that we as a people memorialize today an example of one of those people is Henry Ward Beecher. He was a 19th-century minister, preacher, and social reformer who supported abolition and women’s suffrage. He was the brother of an author as well named Harriet Beecher Stowe. He is memorialized because he represented the most popular and lovable strain of American culture also, mainstream Christianity is so infused with the eloquence of Christ’s love that the majority of American’s cannot imagine anything else, and  have no memory of the revolution fought by Beecher and his noblemen. Beecher is also, memorialized in New York for being a Congregationalist preacher, who emphasized god’s love rather than his punishment. He also used his position as a social reformer and minister to urge churchgoers to buy freedom for enslaved individuals.

Now I selected these four points for my criteria because if there was to be a monument placed, it should be a person that has made a difference in society and also continues to do so today by inspiring others with his or her past actions. An example of Beecher inspiring others can be found in the new world encyclopedia website, where it says “During the American civil war, Beecher’s church had raised and equipped a volunteer infantry regiment. Early in the war Beecher also, pressed President Lincoln to emancipate slaves through a proclamation. The preacher later went on a speaking tour in England to undermine support for the south by explaining the North’s war aims. Near the end of the war, when the stars and stripes were again raised at fort Sumter in North Carolina, Beecher was the main speaker.” This shows how Beecher inspired others because he had his whole church congregation on his side ready to fight at all costs. Beecher also, got Abraham Lincoln on his side and because of this today we have what  we call the emancipation proclamation which reads “all persons held as slaves within any state or designated part of a state, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the united states, shall be then, thenceforward, and be forever free.” So as you can see Henry Ward Beecher was a very important person in our history and plays a major part in the abolition movement. Today you can find a monument of Henry Ward Beecher in Columbus Park in the civic center of downtown Brooklyn, this monument was created by John Quincy Adams ward, and was unveiled on June 24th, 1891. Beecher is seen as hero in today society and is memorialized because he was one of the men that was noble enough to stand up against all opposes even when others did not see his bigger picture.

Many people are memorialized for many different reasons some are remembered for their heroic acts throughout history others are remembered for their injustices to society for example a heroic monument in New York would be the statue of Gandhi at the south west corner of union Square Park. Another example is the Christopher Columbus statue on 59th street but as of lately it’s in the process of removal because of the controversy surrounding the sculpture. Citizens didn’t think that Christopher Columbus was such a heroic figure due to the fact that he pillaged villages and killed innocent people for riches and on top of that had the guts to brag about it in his journal entries pretty psycho if you ask me. But what are the criteria behind the removal of a statue? What are the standards it’s held by to make it a statue in the first place? Well as I found through researching there is no criteria for them when being taken down what people are doing is basically applying modern standards to past behavior and that’ll lead to a distorted understanding of history. Plus, history itself rarely provides an easy to digest narrative. Most heroes often have a little villainy in their past.