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Proposal for the Kentucky Young Abraham Lincoln Memorial

"With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow; and his orphan--to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace, among ourselves and with all nations."

                                                                Abraham Lincoln--                                   Second Inaugural Address, March,1865

We propose a design that presents the lone figure of Abraham Lincoln as a boy striding across a broad granite slab, gazing ahead with determination towards his adult self and across the momentousness of his life and of a nation nearly torn apart.  Inscribed on the stone slab at his feet, the final words from one of his final speeches.  These inspired words spoken at the end of his life, exemplified the manner in which he lived his life from its very beginning in the rough frontier of Kentucky.

Mediating the space between this new sculpture and the existing adult figure of Lincoln, low granite walls will create both a physical barrier between them, as well as demarcate a path connecting them.  Splitting apart as if to allow passage, symbolizing both the nation tearing apart in civil war, and the path that was to be his life.  

Emblazoned on the walls of this passage are two large words: "Freedom" and "Forgiveness."  These two words underpinned Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address, and are two words that motivated Lincoln throughout his life.

The young Lincoln strides towards his adult self with palms open towards the future.  Throughout the site numerous granite blocks inscribed with short meaningful phrases quoted from Lincoln will be placed so that they might be happened upon by viewers.  Thus, this design will present both a dramatic visual image from all views, as well as unfold continually to contemplative viewers as they move through the space.

"No man is good enough to govern another man without the other's consent."  Lincoln--October 16,1854

"As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master.  This expresses my idea of democracy.  What ever differs from this, to the extent of the difference, is no democracy."  Lincoln--August 1858

"If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong."  Lincoln--March 26. 1864

"I leave you, hoping that the lamp of liberty will burn in your bosoms, until there shall no longer be a doubt that all men are created free and equal."  Abraham Lincoln

Above is the adult Lincoln commissioned by Congress in 1909, installed in Hodgenville, Kentucky.  To the right is my life size head study of Lincoln as a young boy.

This inspired and powerful site plan design and all graphics were created by Brad Michael Bourgoyne.