Emancipation Statue at Lincoln Park in Washington, DC
Emancipation Statue is the name of the statue of Abraham Lincoln. It was created from a photograph that depicts him in the role of the great emancipator of the American slaves. The statue shows him freeing a male American slave modeled on Archer Alexander. The slave is depicted as shackled and crouching at the President's feet without wearing a shirt. The statue is built in a park situated on East Capitol Street between the 11th and 13th streets one mile away from the center of the US Capitol.
Emancipation statue is made of a bronze replica of President Lincoln holding the Emancipation Proclamation in his right hand. His left hand is placed over the head of a rising African American the liberated slave. It was meant to depict the "lifting off" and not "pushing down". The statue was designed and sculpted by Thomas Ball and was constructed in 1876.
The construction of the statue was funded by the contributions from the former slaves. The funding campaign was started by a former slave Charlotte Scott of Virginia with a $5 donation.
The part where the Emancipation statue is built was the site of Lincoln Hospital during the Civil War. The place was often visited by important American personalities including Walt Whitman who would come there to comfort the injured and the dying soldiers. The park later on was called Lincoln Square by the decree of the Congress in 1867 and was declared as a memorial to the martyred leader. It was the first site to bear his name.
