Why the Lincoln Memorial was almost never built 

am i supposed to watch this with 3d glasses

"This is my swamp." -Joseph Gurney Cannon

Long story short: There was swamp where the memorial was going to be and a guy didn't want to spend that much money renovating the swamp land.

why is cannan pictured as the bad guy with a lack of vision and against change, he wanted the memorial to be in a better place, i dont get it...

At 3:22, she said that Cannon "wanted it to be a garden for the poor." Sounds like he was a really nice guy.

My late grandmother who grew up in Washington, D.C. remembered seeing the Lincoln Memorial being built.

Can you imagine walking to the memorial and you see this random person holding a picture frame, a telephone and moving it around in front of a camera?

is it just me or is the red and blue outlines trippy

The old man impression wasn't necessary.

4:18 that's not where sound comes out of a phone...

I'm a seventh generation southerner and second generation fan of Lincoln because bitter, resentful, and stupid is no way to go through life without a guaranteed income.

Could do without the annoyingly distracting old-man voice you guys chose for Cannon. Otherwise, very good video.

This is Vox's 420th video, does this explain something?

"Get out of my swamp!" - Joe Cannon, the inspiration for Shrek. Donkey helped him out.

I'm glad we got a Greek temple rather than a pyramid.

The Washington monument was also almost not built too. Washington himself said it was a waste of resources, but after he died he had no say as he had no words as he was dead, so they built it then.

Why are all these American memorials and stuff always built to look like they're thousands of years, when in reality they're like 200 years old?

Their videos are so quality oh my god

When you look at the history of things, it just makes you appreciate it more

I just had a thought about possible symbolism behind the Lincoln Memorial. Hear me out on this. The building that the big statue of Lincoln is inside is clearly based off of Greek temple style of architecture. This is to represent the view that many had and still have of Lincoln on the surface as almost a deity like figure who was to be revered as such. But going inside you see Lincoln sitting in his chair peaceful yet contemplative. While he is large he is still approachable. You can get pretty close to Lincoln and see the human imperfections in his face. The inscription behind him speaks not of a deity like reverence but a reverence based off of his important impact in saving the union and freeing the slaves. One could even say the size of the statue is reflective of this. He is not a behemoth of a deity figure but a person who's large and important impact on this country is what makes him large in our hearts and minds just as he is in the memorial. The point I'm getting at is that the memorial presents the Building Lincoln is in as one of a God but upon a closer look we see the true Lincoln. We see Abraham Lincoln an American man born as common as everyone else who despite the uphill battles he sometimes faced made enormous impact in the lives of the entire country for the rest of his history and furthermore broke the chains of the oppressed slaves and led them to freedom.

Maybe the guy was right. Why not a park and other measures to help the poor

A Lincoln pyramid would have been horribly ironic. A monument to the man who freed the slaves in the form of monuments that were originally built by slaves.

This was extremely interesting and beautiful! I loved what you did with the picture frames and the park :D

And to think that Frank Gehry once said, *"The Lincoln Memorial is in the form of a Greek temple. What’s that got to do with Lincoln?”* You read that right: The most famous living architect in the world doesn't understand the history of architecture. And we throw millions of dollars at that man to build monuments of his own.

Never stop making these videos, you guys rock

Weird montage but cool topic

Immagine the Illuminati-theoires if they had build it as a pyramid!

There is, however, a lot of value in the sort of practical utilitarian mindset Cannon had. Are we truly better off for having the Lincoln memorial situated on the National Park rather than a park for the poor? Grand artistic projects like the Lincoln Memorial cost money, and the stance that we should spend money on improving access to basic humans rights (water, food, education, housing) for those who don't have them over magnificent monuments to dead people, however admirable, is legitimate. The Lincoln Memorial was, after all, built during the Gilded Age - a time in which the creation of spectacular works of art, whether monuments or mansions, took precedent over social programs.

Am I the only one who really doesn't get how this building is considered beautiful? Don't get me wrong, I think USA is full of beautiful, visionary architecture, but this monument seems so underdone. Like, I live in a small town in eastern Europe and a classicist church down my street looks better than this. And that church was bombed three times.

Think of all the Illuminati videos we could have had about the Lincoln pyramid.

I love you guys so much! Keep up the great work!

What is the cite for Cannon's quote "tender feet... art" line? Awesome vid!

"It was terrifying. One moment you're at home, answering the door, and the next, you're stuck in some kind of suit. ... The only thing you can do is look through two little holes. It was some kind of mask, and whenever the sun shined near, I could see the inside of it. It was a familiar face. Every few nights straws would be put through the holes and someone would feed me some weird soup. ... They don't care if I talk about it or not. No one would take me seriously. Lincolnlooking is just... too absurd." ~ Maya Arnoldson on being a former Lincolnlooker.

VOX's editing style has come a long way since 2016...

Can someone please tell me who did the music for this video and if I can find it anywhere?

is this the one on fallout 3?

one minor thing, when Ruth is talking on the phone sound would come from the ear piece not the voice receiver. Cheers love Vox videos

Okay the couple at 2:00 taking a picture gave me so much hope

When I clicked on this my thought, it was going to be some folks in the south still pissed about losing the civil war

I’m related to that guy. He’s like my great great great grandfather. (I think)

the music is so good?? does anyone know what it’s called??

Um... hey vox? I think you have something wrong with your phone at 4:17. The sound is coming out at the wrong end of the earpiece.

He seemed reasonable. Why spend 2 million dollars on a memorial?

What is that song playing after the title card? It sounds delicious.

Why did you make a bunch of the clips in blue and red 3D it kinda hurt my eyes.

Why are the sound waves coming out of the microphone end of the receiver?

Very Interesting. I didn't know that. That's how that building on Independence Ave got it name. Good info about Joe Cannon as well.

The artistic design is as magnificent as always !!

I never learned any of this in high school or community college. This was awesome.

I get the old dude, he didn’t want his homies memory to be in a swap

That was very informative!

you have to understand that there are pockets of the country that refer to the civil war as the war of northern aggression

great video thanks for sharing

anyone else find it odd how they put Lincoln in what is essentially a pantheon. werent pantheon's places of the gods in greece?

The music that comes in at 1:04 is so out of place I thought I had a popup add playing in the background. Anyone else agree? But on another note, the video was a great story that I had never heard of at all

sometimes i wish these videos were feature-length documentaries so I could relax with popcorn and just leeeeeeeearn.

There's virtue in a tempered passion. Whilst lack of vision is problematic, so to is making change for the sake of making change.

Next it should get a roof line, it looks unfinished.

6:45 We can see what's always been there. Seeing what's next is the tough part.

All those picture frames were really annoying

What song is first playing in the background?

Can someone explain the music in the intro... 1:07

What is the intro music?

Love it! Great video!

Vox says that "we ask our politicians to be visionaries", I don't think Vox would want anything remotely close to remembering anyone because they as so many are in fear of offending others.

I liked the ideas of skyscrapers on capitol hill.

Picture frames a little pedantic.

So the National Mall isn't actually a mall, right? I'm not from the states so I don't know, is it just the name for a large park?

VOX your last few videos seem to be cut off at the ends.

What is with the picture frames? And the weird sound design? Is this an art piece? I'm not even sure what you were talking about, the music and picture frames were too distracting.

for anyone wondering, the lovely lady in pink is Dr. Lisa Benton-Short, department chair and professor of Geography at the George Washington University.

Should've been a garden for the poor, regardless.

Does anyone have any idea how much that marble would cost today? I can't imagine that it would be even feasible now.

Wow that's a good choice of a voice for him! :D

The 3D effect strained my eyes. Omg

back in the good ol days when republicans were left leaning

these videos always remind me of the serial podcast...

Am I the only one that noticed the voice coming out of the wrong side of the phone?

once a museum, always a fancy one

Is half this video suppose to be in 3-D or something?

is the background music at the start of the video from "one who flew over the cuckoos nest"?

song?

Phil Edward's is definitely one of Vox' best assets

For a second I though this video was starting off with human music XD

The "National Mall" or "Mall", made famous in the video game Fallout 3....

STOP with monuments to politicians!!! The nation needs to be brought together behind joint causes to the PEOPLE...not to individuals!!!

The beginning sounded like Human Music ^(TM).

What's with the frikken picture frames?

Sound doesn't come out of the bottom of a telephone...

Still not sure when I was supposed to put on my 3D glasses...

Seeing as Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt are on Mount Rushmore, would that be the ultimate memorial for any president? Especially as I've heard some call for Reagan to be added while others call for FDR to be added (taking politics aside, as both had big impacts on their generations, I can see why they are called out)

I thought I was watching a Casey Neistat vlog at the beginning 😂

Does anyone else not understand the drawing at 2:13? Seems totally off unless i'm looking at it wrong

Dat good ol' Cannon voice.

There's a line between being a visionary and a megalomaniac. To dismiss all skeptics as "lacking vision" blinds oneself to the possibility that it may actually be a bad idea. That said, the Lincoln Memorial was a good idea.

Is his where terms like "Star Wars canon" comes from? It's not up to the spec of Mr. Canon?

3:57 nice burka

I stopped looking because of the picture frames

everyone on planet earth : vox : WHY THE LINCOLN MEMORIAL WAS ALMOST NEVER BUILT

Great video