Speech at Lincoln Memorial

I have often visited the Lincoln Memorial as a tour guide and visitor . As I walk into the memorial on the south side is written in stone is the Gettysburg Address. The Gettsyburg Address is 270 words long. President Lincoln took his time writing the speech.He started writing the speech in the White House and finished in Gettysburg.Presidents were not often invited to give speeches in the 1800's. Lincoln was happy he received the invitation . He traveled to Gettysburg by railroad.


On November 19, 1863 President Lincoln gave one of the greatest speeches in American history. The man who spoke before the president was Edward Everett. Mr. Everette he spoke for two hours. Several days after both men spoke Mr. Everette wrote the President on how great the speech was. The speech was later put in newspapers around the nation.

I was at the Lincoln Memorial on Presidents Day when a young man was portraying President Lincoln. I was amazed when he brought the speech to life. I enjoyed the speech very much. The  young man  portaying the former president did a good job except for two mistakes. He did not have a permit to give a speech on the steps of the memorial. Aftter giving the speech at the bottom of the steps he put out a box and asked for money. i really felt that cheapen what he had just done.

African American Tours Washington DC

Frederick Douglass

Washington DC is full of great African American history.Then nations capital was full of slaves and freed black men and women.The slave trade in the city was so bad ministers from other counties would wonder how the capital of the United States could have so many slaves. Pennsylvania Avenue has the inaugural parade every 4 years. Slaves marched down the same avenue to the auction house. If you were black in the 1800's you were under very strict laws. A black person could not be outside his or her house past 10 pm . If you were out pass 10pm several actions could happen to you. You could be put in jail, thrown into slavery, beaten or killed.Blacks were not allowed to gamble .Blacks did own homes . If you were a freed black  if you owned your home every year 3 letters from non blacks were needed to attest to your character.One of the first blacks to own a house in the suburb of Union town (Anacostia) was Frederick Douglass. Mr. Douglass was in charge of the Freeman Bureau in which he borrowed the money for the house.Mr.Douglass named the house Cedar Hill. The house over looks the city.Tours of the house are daily. The tour of the house takes about one hour including a 17 minute video of the life of Mr. Douglass. You then will have a very nice tour of the house by a Park Ranger. The some of the items in the house are original