WEBVTT - The Visionary Who Designed Washington D.C. and Was Fired Before He Finished

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<v Speaker 1>And we returned to our American stories. Up next, a

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<v Speaker 1>story on how our nation's capital, Washington, d C. Came

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<v Speaker 1>to be, or rather how it came to look as

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<v Speaker 1>it does now, with its grand monuments, boulevards, and centrally

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<v Speaker 1>located capitol building. The man behind it all a French

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<v Speaker 1>immigrant with a particular mind towards the symbolic here to

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<v Speaker 1>tell the story is Wyatt Hensley, an award winning student

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<v Speaker 1>with constituting America. Let's get into the story.

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<v Speaker 2>Our story begins not in the United States, but in Paris, France,

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<v Speaker 2>on August second, seventeen fifty four, Pierre Charles Lafont was born.

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<v Speaker 2>His father was a fan zamos painter who even worked

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<v Speaker 2>in the court of French King Louis the fifteenth, and

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<v Speaker 2>when Pierre grew up, he went and studied at the

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<v Speaker 2>Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture, one of the most

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<v Speaker 2>renowned art schools at the time. There he learned all

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<v Speaker 2>about art, architecture, urban design, geometry, engineering, and so much more.

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<v Speaker 2>These new skills would serve him well, but probably not

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<v Speaker 2>in the place that he was expecting. In seventeen seventy seven,

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<v Speaker 2>he left his home country of France and headed off

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<v Speaker 2>to the American Colonies, where he volunteered for the Continental Army.

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<v Speaker 2>He admired the ideals that the colonies were fighting for,

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<v Speaker 2>such as liberty and self governance. He also believed that

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<v Speaker 2>this would provide a great opportunity to build a name

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<v Speaker 2>for himself, which paid off.

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<v Speaker 1>In the end.

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<v Speaker 2>His service and the Continental Army was filled with acts

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<v Speaker 2>of bravery, strength and determination. He was wounded at the

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<v Speaker 2>Siege of Savannah, but he returned to the army, continuing

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<v Speaker 2>the fight while leaning on a crutch. He went on

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<v Speaker 2>to spend six months as a prisoner of war after

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<v Speaker 2>being captured by the British during the Battle for Charleston

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<v Speaker 2>in seventeen eighty and he used his design skills to

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<v Speaker 2>help with military positions and fortifications. His impressive talents caught

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<v Speaker 2>the eye of the one and only General George Washington.

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<v Speaker 2>In seventeen eighty three, he was promoted to the honorary

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<v Speaker 2>rank of Brevet major. He also became a naturalized citizen

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<v Speaker 2>when the war concluded that year. Now following the war,

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<v Speaker 2>he worked on a few small civil engineering projects, but

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<v Speaker 2>its biggest job was yet to cut the United States

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<v Speaker 2>Constitution More specifically, Article I, Section eight called for a

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<v Speaker 2>new district to be created to become the government's seat. However,

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<v Speaker 2>it did not choose a specific spot. That would be

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<v Speaker 2>the job for Congress to decide at a later date. Well.

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<v Speaker 2>That later date came in seventeen ninety when the Secretary

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<v Speaker 2>of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson,

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<v Speaker 2>and a representative from Virginia, James Madison, agreed to a

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<v Speaker 2>famous compromise. The deal was that they would support Hamilton's

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<v Speaker 2>financial plan of having the federal government assume the state's

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<v Speaker 2>debts while the nation's capital will be in the south

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<v Speaker 2>along the Potomac River. The subsequent Residence Act also gave

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<v Speaker 2>President George Washington authority to choose the exact location of

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<v Speaker 2>the future capital. He did so in seventeen seventy one.

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<v Speaker 3>I do hereby declare and make known that the location

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<v Speaker 3>of one part of the said territory of ten miles

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<v Speaker 3>Square shall be found by running four lines of experiment

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<v Speaker 3>in the following manner, that is to say, running from

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<v Speaker 3>the Courthouse of Alexandria, Virginia, and so continuing for the

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<v Speaker 3>remaining lines until the whole ten miles Square shall be

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<v Speaker 3>included within the said lines. The extensiveness of the grounds,

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<v Speaker 3>the salubrity of the air, and the command of the

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<v Speaker 3>river promise advantages which few other places could afford. George Washington.

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<v Speaker 2>The founders knew the importance that this capital would hold,

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<v Speaker 2>not only serving as where the government would function, but

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<v Speaker 2>as a city that embodies the American spirit and its ideals.

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<v Speaker 3>I hope, however, that simplicity of execution and the avoidance

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<v Speaker 3>of useless ornament will not be lost sight of We

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<v Speaker 3>wish not to imitate European splendor, but rather to set

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<v Speaker 3>an example of economy in Republican simplicity. Yet let the

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<v Speaker 3>character be noble in the objects worthy of a nation.

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<v Speaker 3>Thomas Jefferson. The plan for the city, when completed, will

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<v Speaker 3>I trust, be be worthy of a seat of government

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<v Speaker 3>designed for the accommodation of a great and rising empire.

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<v Speaker 3>The avenues and public squares will be open in grand

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<v Speaker 3>prospects and give the city an air of magnificence, an

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<v Speaker 3>order suitable to its object and to the expectations of

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<v Speaker 3>the citizens of the United States. George Washington.

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<v Speaker 2>So who would design this important city? Pierre Charles Lafon

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<v Speaker 2>His overall goal was to design a beautiful and grand metropolis,

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<v Speaker 2>drawing inspiration from numerous European cities such as Paris and

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<v Speaker 2>even the Palace of Versailles. He also want to incorporate

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<v Speaker 2>a grid layout with plenty of walkways, public spaces, room

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<v Speaker 2>for monuments and more. One of his most important elements

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<v Speaker 2>of the design was rather than having a grand palace

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<v Speaker 2>or even the President's house at the center, he intentionally

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<v Speaker 2>had the Capitol building to symbolize that the people are

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<v Speaker 2>at the center of the American Republic and that all

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<v Speaker 2>power derives from the people.

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<v Speaker 3>In my plan, the Congress House shall not be a

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<v Speaker 3>mere building, but a central figure, the heart of the nation,

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<v Speaker 3>beating visibly and audibly. It must be visible from every quarter.

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<v Speaker 3>All other public buildings, all squares and gardens shall serve

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<v Speaker 3>to enhance its domination, so that the sphere of Republican

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<v Speaker 3>government is never out of sight, even in daily life.

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<v Speaker 3>From this point, every citizen may look outward to the

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<v Speaker 3>broad lands of the Republic and inward to the ideals

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<v Speaker 3>for which it stands. Pierre Charles Lafont.

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<v Speaker 2>Now during this process he often came into conflict with

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<v Speaker 2>the federal commissioners that were tasked by Congress to manage

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<v Speaker 2>the project. He was incredibly proud and even more stubborn

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<v Speaker 2>about his vision for the Capitol.

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<v Speaker 3>I have projected lines of grand avenues and streets which

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<v Speaker 3>will be open and spacious, crossing at such angles as

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<v Speaker 3>to produce a please variety in command prospects of the

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<v Speaker 3>most interesting points. The avenues diverge from two principal points,

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<v Speaker 3>the Congress House, of course, and the President's House, thus

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<v Speaker 3>uniting legislative and executive branches visually and symbolically. And I

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<v Speaker 3>consider it my duty to remove obstructions to the execution

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<v Speaker 3>of the plan, and that no individual encroachment might be

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<v Speaker 3>suffered to alter the design laid out for the benefit

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<v Speaker 3>of the nation.

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<v Speaker 2>In fact, he even had a partially built home demolished

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<v Speaker 2>because it interfered with his planned street grid.

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<v Speaker 3>I have made considerable expenditures under the belief that I

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<v Speaker 3>was free to improve my own land as I saw big.

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<v Speaker 3>The abrupt demolition of my building without notice or compensation,

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<v Speaker 3>has occasioned me serious injury and distress. I appealed to

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<v Speaker 3>the commissioners and the President for justice and restitution. Daniel

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<v Speaker 3>Carroll of Duddington has thought it advisable that your services

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<v Speaker 3>be dispensed with in the further prosecution of the plan

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<v Speaker 3>of the Federal City, and hopes that in some other

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<v Speaker 3>line your talents might be employed to better mutual satisfaction

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<v Speaker 3>Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson.

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<v Speaker 2>Though he was relieved of his duties and subsequent designers

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<v Speaker 2>were hired, they largely continued to use his original design.

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<v Speaker 2>When he passed away on June fourteenth, eighteen twenty five,

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<v Speaker 2>he was in poverty and largely forgotten. Given his great

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<v Speaker 2>contributions to the design of Washington, DC, he began to

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<v Speaker 2>request fair compensation for his work. He initially requested around

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<v Speaker 2>ninety five five hundred dollars about three point two million

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<v Speaker 2>dollars a day, but he was only offered at most

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<v Speaker 2>a few thousand dollars. Many years after his initial request,

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<v Speaker 2>he was buried on a friend's farm in Prince George's County, Maryland,

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<v Speaker 2>despite his important work. However, in nineteen oh nine, his

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<v Speaker 2>remains were exhumed and transported to the US capital to

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<v Speaker 2>lie in state, making him the first foreign born individual

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<v Speaker 2>to receive such honors. He was then given a military

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<v Speaker 2>funeral which included a military escort to his final resting

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<v Speaker 2>place in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.

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<v Speaker 3>No other city of the world owes so much to

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<v Speaker 3>a single man. As we look upon the noble avenues,

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<v Speaker 3>the vistas in the monumental center of our national life,

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<v Speaker 3>we recall that it was his genius which first saw

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<v Speaker 3>these things, not as they were, as they might be,

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<v Speaker 3>and ought to be Secretary of State Route April twenty eighth,

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<v Speaker 3>nineteen oh nine.

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<v Speaker 2>Much more fitting and appropriate way to remember and honor

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<v Speaker 2>the man who not only served his adopted nation in uniform,

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<v Speaker 2>but designed its capital to perfectly symbolize the nation's beauty

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<v Speaker 2>and the important ideals it strives to uphold.

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<v Speaker 1>And a special thanks to Constituting America for sending us

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<v Speaker 1>this audio, and to find out more about the great

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<v Speaker 1>work they do with students across this country, go to

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<v Speaker 1>Constituting America dot org. That's Constituting America dot org. And

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<v Speaker 1>we do have the grand and great layout that could

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<v Speaker 1>not have been done without the frenchman who designed Washington,

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<v Speaker 1>DC and got fired. Pierre Charles Lafon's story here on

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<v Speaker 1>our American Stories