Editing Washington Monument (section)

===Proposals===
Starting with victory in the [[American Revolutionary War]], there were many proposals to build a monument to Washington, beginning with an authorization in 1783 by the old [[Congress of the Confederation|Confederation Congress]] to erect an equestrian statue of the General in a future U.S. national capital city. After his December 1799 death, the [[United States Congress]] authorized a suitable memorial in the planned national capital then under construction since 1791, but the decision was reversed when the [[Democratic-Republican Party]] (Jeffersonian Republicans) took control of Congress in 1801 after the pivotal [[1800 United States presidential election|1800 Election]], with the first change of power between opposing political parties.<ref>Sheldon S. Cohen, "Monuments to Greatness: George Dance, Charles Polhill, and Benjamin West's Design for a Memorial to George Washington." ''Virginia Magazine of History and Biography'', April 1991, Vol. 99 Issue 2, pp. 187–203. {{JSTOR|4249215}} {{ISSN|0042-6636}}. Retrieved February 16, 2015.</ref> The Republicans were dismayed that Washington had become the symbol of the [[Federalist Party]]; furthermore the values of Republicanism seemed hostile to the idea of building monuments to powerful men. They also blocked his image on coins or the celebration of his birthday. Further political squabbling, along with the North–South division on the Civil War, blocked the completion of the Washington Monument until the late 19th century. By that time, Washington had the image of a national hero who could be celebrated by both North and South, and memorials to him were no longer controversial.<ref>Kirk Savage, ''Monument Wars: Washington, D.C., the National Mall, and the Transformation of the Memorial Landscape'' (2009) pp. 32–45</ref>

As early as 1783, the old [[Congress of the Confederation|Confederation Congress]] (successors after 1781 to the earlier [[Second Continental Congress]]) had resolved "That an equestrian statue of George Washington be erected at the place where the residence of Congress shall be established". The proposal called for engraving on the statue which explained it had been erected "in honor of George Washington, the illustrious [[Commander-in-Chief]] of the Armies of the United States of America during the war which vindicated and secured their liberty, sovereignty, and independence".<ref>George Cochrane Hazelton, ''The national capitol: its architecture, art and history'' (1902) p. 288.</ref> Currently, there are two equestrian statues of President Washington in the national capital city of Washington, D.C. One is located in [[Washington Circle]] at the intersection of the [[Foggy Bottom]] and [[West End (Washington, D.C.)|West End]] neighborhoods at the north end of the [[George Washington University]] campus, and the other is in the gardens of the [[Washington National Cathedral|National Cathedral]] of the [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopal Church]] on Mount St. Alban in northwest Washington.

On December 24, 1799, 10 days after Washington's death, a U.S. Congressional committee recommended a different type of monument. [[John Marshall]] (1755–1835), a [[United States Representative|Representative]] from Virginia (who later became [[Chief Justice of the United States]], 1801–1835) proposed that a tomb be erected within the [[United States Capitol|Capitol]] and it was designed later to place such a crypt sepulchre below the rotunda of the great dome. However, a lack of funds, disagreement over what type of memorial would best honor the country's first president, and the Washington family's reluctance to move his body from [[Mount Vernon]] prevented progress on any project.<ref name="wash">{{cite news
| url=http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/62wash/62wash.htm
| publisher=National Park Service, ParkNet
| title=The Washington Monument: Tribute in Stone
| access-date=April 27, 2006
| archive-date=December 25, 2016
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161225083027/https://cr.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/62wash/62wash.htm
| url-status=dead
}}</ref>