Speaker 1: And we returned to our American stories. Up next, a
Speaker 1: story on how our nation's capital, Washington, d C. Came
Speaker 1: to be, or rather how it came to look as
Speaker 1: it does now, with its grand monuments, boulevards, and centrally
Speaker 1: located capitol building. The man behind it all a French
Speaker 1: immigrant with a particular mind towards the symbolic here to
Speaker 1: tell the story is Wyatt Hensley, an award winning student
Speaker 1: with constituting America. Let's get into the story.
Speaker 2: Our story begins not in the United States, but in Paris, France,
Speaker 2: on August second, seventeen fifty four, Pierre Charles Lafont was born.
Speaker 2: His father was a fan zamos painter who even worked
Speaker 2: in the court of French King Louis the fifteenth, and
Speaker 2: when Pierre grew up, he went and studied at the
Speaker 2: Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture, one of the most
Speaker 2: renowned art schools at the time. There he learned all
Speaker 2: about art, architecture, urban design, geometry, engineering, and so much more.
Speaker 2: These new skills would serve him well, but probably not
Speaker 2: in the place that he was expecting. In seventeen seventy seven,
Speaker 2: he left his home country of France and headed off
Speaker 2: to the American Colonies, where he volunteered for the Continental Army.
Speaker 2: He admired the ideals that the colonies were fighting for,
Speaker 2: such as liberty and self governance. He also believed that
Speaker 2: this would provide a great opportunity to build a name
Speaker 2: for himself, which paid off.
Speaker 1: In the end.
Speaker 2: His service and the Continental Army was filled with acts
Speaker 2: of bravery, strength and determination. He was wounded at the
Speaker 2: Siege of Savannah, but he returned to the army, continuing
Speaker 2: the fight while leaning on a crutch. He went on
Speaker 2: to spend six months as a prisoner of war after
Speaker 2: being captured by the British during the Battle for Charleston
Speaker 2: in seventeen eighty and he used his design skills to
Speaker 2: help with military positions and fortifications. His impressive talents caught
Speaker 2: the eye of the one and only General George Washington.
Speaker 2: In seventeen eighty three, he was promoted to the honorary
Speaker 2: rank of Brevet major. He also became a naturalized citizen
Speaker 2: when the war concluded that year. Now following the war,
Speaker 2: he worked on a few small civil engineering projects, but
Speaker 2: its biggest job was yet to cut the United States
Speaker 2: Constitution More specifically, Article I, Section eight called for a
Speaker 2: new district to be created to become the government's seat. However,
Speaker 2: it did not choose a specific spot. That would be
Speaker 2: the job for Congress to decide at a later date. Well.
Speaker 2: That later date came in seventeen ninety when the Secretary
Speaker 2: of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson,
Speaker 2: and a representative from Virginia, James Madison, agreed to a
Speaker 2: famous compromise. The deal was that they would support Hamilton's
Speaker 2: financial plan of having the federal government assume the state's
Speaker 2: debts while the nation's capital will be in the south
Speaker 2: along the Potomac River. The subsequent Residence Act also gave
Speaker 2: President George Washington authority to choose the exact location of
Speaker 2: the future capital. He did so in seventeen seventy one.
Speaker 3: I do hereby declare and make known that the location
Speaker 3: of one part of the said territory of ten miles
Speaker 3: Square shall be found by running four lines of experiment
Speaker 3: in the following manner, that is to say, running from
Speaker 3: the Courthouse of Alexandria, Virginia, and so continuing for the
Speaker 3: remaining lines until the whole ten miles Square shall be
Speaker 3: included within the said lines. The extensiveness of the grounds,
Speaker 3: the salubrity of the air, and the command of the
Speaker 3: river promise advantages which few other places could afford. George Washington.
Speaker 2: The founders knew the importance that this capital would hold,
Speaker 2: not only serving as where the government would function, but
Speaker 2: as a city that embodies the American spirit and its ideals.
Speaker 3: I hope, however, that simplicity of execution and the avoidance
Speaker 3: of useless ornament will not be lost sight of We
Speaker 3: wish not to imitate European splendor, but rather to set
Speaker 3: an example of economy in Republican simplicity. Yet let the
Speaker 3: character be noble in the objects worthy of a nation.
Speaker 3: Thomas Jefferson. The plan for the city, when completed, will
Speaker 3: I trust, be be worthy of a seat of government
Speaker 3: designed for the accommodation of a great and rising empire.
Speaker 3: The avenues and public squares will be open in grand
Speaker 3: prospects and give the city an air of magnificence, an
Speaker 3: order suitable to its object and to the expectations of
Speaker 3: the citizens of the United States. George Washington.
Speaker 2: So who would design this important city? Pierre Charles Lafon
Speaker 2: His overall goal was to design a beautiful and grand metropolis,
Speaker 2: drawing inspiration from numerous European cities such as Paris and
Speaker 2: even the Palace of Versailles. He also want to incorporate
Speaker 2: a grid layout with plenty of walkways, public spaces, room
Speaker 2: for monuments and more. One of his most important elements
Speaker 2: of the design was rather than having a grand palace
Speaker 2: or even the President's house at the center, he intentionally
Speaker 2: had the Capitol building to symbolize that the people are
Speaker 2: at the center of the American Republic and that all
Speaker 2: power derives from the people.
Speaker 3: In my plan, the Congress House shall not be a
Speaker 3: mere building, but a central figure, the heart of the nation,
Speaker 3: beating visibly and audibly. It must be visible from every quarter.
Speaker 3: All other public buildings, all squares and gardens shall serve
Speaker 3: to enhance its domination, so that the sphere of Republican
Speaker 3: government is never out of sight, even in daily life.
Speaker 3: From this point, every citizen may look outward to the
Speaker 3: broad lands of the Republic and inward to the ideals
Speaker 3: for which it stands. Pierre Charles Lafont.
Speaker 2: Now during this process he often came into conflict with
Speaker 2: the federal commissioners that were tasked by Congress to manage
Speaker 2: the project. He was incredibly proud and even more stubborn
Speaker 2: about his vision for the Capitol.
Speaker 3: I have projected lines of grand avenues and streets which
Speaker 3: will be open and spacious, crossing at such angles as
Speaker 3: to produce a please variety in command prospects of the
Speaker 3: most interesting points. The avenues diverge from two principal points,
Speaker 3: the Congress House, of course, and the President's House, thus
Speaker 3: uniting legislative and executive branches visually and symbolically. And I
Speaker 3: consider it my duty to remove obstructions to the execution
Speaker 3: of the plan, and that no individual encroachment might be
Speaker 3: suffered to alter the design laid out for the benefit
Speaker 3: of the nation.
Speaker 2: In fact, he even had a partially built home demolished
Speaker 2: because it interfered with his planned street grid.
Speaker 3: I have made considerable expenditures under the belief that I
Speaker 3: was free to improve my own land as I saw big.
Speaker 3: The abrupt demolition of my building without notice or compensation,
Speaker 3: has occasioned me serious injury and distress. I appealed to
Speaker 3: the commissioners and the President for justice and restitution. Daniel
Speaker 3: Carroll of Duddington has thought it advisable that your services
Speaker 3: be dispensed with in the further prosecution of the plan
Speaker 3: of the Federal City, and hopes that in some other
Speaker 3: line your talents might be employed to better mutual satisfaction
Speaker 3: Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson.
Speaker 2: Though he was relieved of his duties and subsequent designers
Speaker 2: were hired, they largely continued to use his original design.
Speaker 2: When he passed away on June fourteenth, eighteen twenty five,
Speaker 2: he was in poverty and largely forgotten. Given his great
Speaker 2: contributions to the design of Washington, DC, he began to
Speaker 2: request fair compensation for his work. He initially requested around
Speaker 2: ninety five five hundred dollars about three point two million
Speaker 2: dollars a day, but he was only offered at most
Speaker 2: a few thousand dollars. Many years after his initial request,
Speaker 2: he was buried on a friend's farm in Prince George's County, Maryland,
Speaker 2: despite his important work. However, in nineteen oh nine, his
Speaker 2: remains were exhumed and transported to the US capital to
Speaker 2: lie in state, making him the first foreign born individual
Speaker 2: to receive such honors. He was then given a military
Speaker 2: funeral which included a military escort to his final resting
Speaker 2: place in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.
Speaker 3: No other city of the world owes so much to
Speaker 3: a single man. As we look upon the noble avenues,
Speaker 3: the vistas in the monumental center of our national life,
Speaker 3: we recall that it was his genius which first saw
Speaker 3: these things, not as they were, as they might be,
Speaker 3: and ought to be Secretary of State Route April twenty eighth,
Speaker 3: nineteen oh nine.
Speaker 2: Much more fitting and appropriate way to remember and honor
Speaker 2: the man who not only served his adopted nation in uniform,
Speaker 2: but designed its capital to perfectly symbolize the nation's beauty
Speaker 2: and the important ideals it strives to uphold.
Speaker 1: And a special thanks to Constituting America for sending us
Speaker 1: this audio, and to find out more about the great
Speaker 1: work they do with students across this country, go to
Speaker 1: Constituting America dot org. That's Constituting America dot org. And
Speaker 1: we do have the grand and great layout that could
Speaker 1: not have been done without the frenchman who designed Washington,
Speaker 1: DC and got fired. Pierre Charles Lafon's story here on
Speaker 1: our American Stories