<p><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Welcome to the audio described version of the print brochure for the Thomas Jefferson Memorial in Washington, DC. This
audio description provides the information included in the NPS brochure on the
Thomas Jefferson Memorial. It also
includes descriptions of the photographs in the brochure. The brochure has two sides.</span><br></p><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Section 1 is this overview. The rest of this description is organized to describe each side. Section 2 describes the front side. Sections 2.1 through 2.3 describe the main image in detail and provide transcriptions of the accompanying text. Section 3 describes the back side. Sections 3.1 through 3.7 describe each of the three images in depth and provide transcriptions of their accompanying text.<br></span>
<br>
<p>The
brochure has the standard National Park Service black band across its top, with the title “Thomas
Jefferson Memorial” and the National Park Service arrowhead. The brochure consists of an edge-to-edge photograph of the memorial, a quote near the top, and some interpretive text about
Thomas Jefferson at the bottom.</p><p><br></p>
<br>
<p>The
quote is from the Declaration of Independence and it reads: “We hold these
truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are
endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are
Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”<br><a>
<br>
</a></p>
<p>This
picture is of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial in the distance, across a calm body of water, the Tidal Basin,
on a bright sunny spring day, with blue skies, and a few fluffy white
clouds. Framing the picture in the
foreground are delicate branches full of light pink Yoshino cherry
blossoms. The memorial is modeled after Roman architecture. It is a large round
white marble structure with columns around the perimeter. Its front, facing
left in the photo, has a portico with vaulted roof. It is open air, with a
domed top. Each column is 43 feet
tall with a curl at the top. The memorial has a diameter of 183 feet 10 inches and is 103 feet tall. Surrounding the
memorial are flat grassy knolls, with many small cherry blossom trees in full
bloom. There are also some white pine
trees on the grounds. Several people are walking on the grounds, dwarfed by the memorial's immensity.</p><p>Copyright: Carol Highsmith</p>
<p>The
interpretive text at the bottom reads: Thomas Jefferson—political philosopher,
architect, musician, book collector, scientist, horticulturist, diplomat,
inventor, and third President of the United States—looms large in any
discussion of who Americans are as a people. Jefferson left to the future not
only ideas but also a great body of practical achievements. President John F.
Kennedy recognized Jefferson’s accomplishments when he told a gathering of
American Nobel Prize winners that they were the greatest assemblage of talent
in the White House since Jefferson had dined there alone. With his strong
beliefs in rights of man and a government derived from the people, in freedom
of religion and the separation between church and state, and in education
available to all, Thomas Jefferson struck a chord for human liberty more than
200 years ago that resounds through the centuries. In the end, Jefferson’s own
appraisal of his life, and the one that he wrote for use on his own tombstone,
suffices: “Author of the Declaration of American Independence, of the Statute
of Virginia for religious freedom, and Father of the University of Virginia.”</p>
<br>
<p>The
top half of this page is a large picture of the 19 foot bronze statue of Thomas
Jefferson. A quote is over the image at the upper right of the page above Jefferson's left shoulder.<br>
<br>
The lower half of the page consists of interpretive text about the
construction and dedication of the memorial. It also includes a small picture
of the nearly-completed memorial with surrounding cranes and a
small picture of the memorial’s dedication by Franklin
D. Roosevelt.<br></p>
<p>A large, square photograph that fills around half of the back cover.</p><p><span style="text-indent: -0.25in; font-size: 1rem;">The viewer sees the bronze statue of Jefferson from waist up from below and to the statue's left. Jefferson is standing, arms at his sides, looking straight ahead toward the left side of the image. He looks to be of middle age, and has a
pleasant, peaceful smile on his face. He
has a prominent forehead accenting his deep set eyes. His jaw is strong and square with a pointed chin. Lighting from above him to his right defines his round and high cheekbones. His hair is wavy down to the top of his
shoulders. He is wearing a heavy fur-trimmed overcoat, over a lighter jacket, which is worn over a vest with small low pocket flaps. His vest is tight because we can see it is
waffled around his chest. He is also
wearing a ruffled ascot. One can see behind him the inside of the open air memorial, with some
English letters carved just below the dome.
At the lower left of the picture is a wreath along the curved wall. </span></p><pclass="msolistparagraph" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:
0in;margin-left:.25in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:
-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><p> Copyright: Carol Highsmith</p><p><br></p>
</pclass="msolistparagraph">
<p>The text beneath the top image reads:</p>
<p>Thomas Jefferson—A Chronology</p>
<p>1743</p>
<p>Born April 13 at Shadwell, Albemarle County, Virginia.</p>
<p>1769–75</p>
<p>Member of Virginia House of Burgesses; part of an increasingly
anti-British faction; helped set up Virginia Committee of Correspondence.</p>
<p>1775–76</p>
<p>Attended Continental Congress; on committee to write the Declaration of
Independence, became its principal author.</p>
<p>1776–79</p>
<p>Member of Virginia House of Delegates; involved in rewriting state legal
code to reflect republican principles concerning landholding, inheritance, and
criminal law; drafted Virginia statute for religious freedom with the help of
James Madison.</p>
<p>1779–81</p>
<p>Governor of Virginia.</p>
<p>1784–89</p>
<p>Ambassador to France; studies of architecture and Roman ruins led him to
introduce the classical style in the United States, of which the Virginia State
Capitol, University of Virginia, and Monticello, his home, are notable
examples.</p>
<p>1789–93</p>
<p>Secretary of State under President George Washington; helped engineer the
compromise to create a Federal Territory for a new capital along the Potomac
River.</p>
<p>1797–1801</p>
<p>Vice President under President John Adams; supported states rights;
opposed Alien and Sedition Acts; ran against and defeated Adams for the
Presidency.</p>
<p>1801–09</p>
<p>President; initiated peaceful transfer of power from one party to
another; oversaw the Louisiana Purchase, doubling the size of the United
States; sponsored Lewis and Clark Expedition to mouth of the Columbia River;
strove to maintain peace and not be drawn into the war between Great Britain
and France.</p>
<p>1809–26</p>
<p>Lived at Monticello; drew plans, supervised construction, and outlined
curriculum of the University of Virginia; corresponded extensively with John
Adams.</p>
<p>1826</p><p>
Died on July 4—the 50th anniversary of the
signing of the Declaration of Independence.
</p>
<p>This
is a black and white photograph of the nearly completed memorial. Surrounding it are several cranes and
scaffolding. The skies are grey. No landscaping appears to have been started
yet. The building's foundation is exposed all the way around it. Two construction sheds are in the right foreground. This point of view is from the left of the
main entrance, slightly looking up at the memorial.<br></p><p>Photo credit: National Park Service</p>
<p>Building
the Memorial. This text accompanies the images of the construction and
dedication. It reads: Jefferson’s importance as a great figure in United States
history demanded a memorial site with prominence equal to the monuments for
Presidents Washington and Lincoln. Building the Jefferson Memorial on the Tidal
Basin, in a straight line directly south of the White House, achieved this. The
Presidential monuments, White House, and the U.S. Capitol, placed in their
east-west and north-south alignments, created a monumental heart for the city. Architect
John Russell Pope was influenced by Jefferson’s taste as expressed in his
writings and demonstrated by his works. The circular colonnaded structure is an
adaptation of the classical style that Jefferson brought into use in this
country. Rudulph Evans sculpted the bronze statue in the center of the memorial. President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the memorial on April 13,
1943, on the 200th anniversary of Jefferson’s birth. The memorial is
especially beautiful in the spring when the Japanese cherry trees are blooming.
The first of these trees planted along the Tidal Basin were gifts from the city
of Tokyo to the city of Washington in 1912.<br></p>
<p>Dedication.
This is a color photograph of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt at the
dedication of the memorial. The sun shines brightly on the faces in the back of the crowd so that some of the men shield their eyes. Around the sides and behind President Roosevelt, who is standing,
are about twenty dignitaries. All are older white males dressed in suits and overcoats. They are
gathered at the front of the memorial. The man to Roosevelt's left is wearing a dress uniform with gold shoulder braids and a star and four stripes on his cuff; he is holding his hat at his waist. President Roosevelt has his left hand on the uniformed man's right arm. Two NBC microphones can be seen nearby, to their front left. Behind them are three American flags hanging
straight down from ceremonial stands, the edge of a fourth peeking from behind a wall. One man in the very back has a cigarette in his mouth. Some of a tree-lined city skyline and body of water are barely visible in the background.<br></p><p>Photo credit: National Park Service</p>
<p>Visiting
the memorial. The text appears at the lower right and reads: Park rangers are
at the memorial daily, except December 25, to answer questions and give talks.
A bookstore and gift shop in the lower lobby carry items relating to the life
and philosophy of Jefferson and to parks in and around Washington, D.C. The
memorial is one of over 380 parks in the National Park System. The National
Park Service cares for these special places saved by the American people so
that all may experience our heritage. To learn about national parks and National Park Service programs
visit <a target="_blank" href="http://www.nps.gov/">www.nps.gov</a>. More Information: Thomas
Jefferson Memorial, National Mall and Memorial Parks, 900 Ohio Drive SW,
Washington, DC 20024 <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nps.gov/thje/index.htm" title="Thomas Jefferson Memorial">www.nps.gov/thje</a><br></p>