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In 1790 George Washington selected Pierre Charles L’Enfant, a French engineer, to lay out the city. The plan was influenced by Versailles and the city of Paris.

The right of the people to keep and bear arms.

The world’s largest collection of books, documents, and sound and video recordings is housed in three huge buildings to the east of the Capitol. The architecture of the Jefferson Building makes it a tourist destination in itself.

The most extensive library ever built contains exquisite decoration.

The stated rights do not limit other rights.

A grand jury indictment is required before trial; a person cannot be tried more than once for the same crime; a person cannot be forced to testify against himself; a person’s property cannot be confiscated without compensation.

The majestic monument to the president who preserved America’s unity and began the long process of ending slavery is built in the form of a Greek temple. Daniel Chester French designed the enormous statue of a seated Abraham Lincoln in 1915, and it is among America’s most inspiring sites, especially for its association with African-Americans’ struggle for equality and opportunity.

This imposing marble memorial honors the US president who carried the country through its most difficult era. Designed by Henry Bacon (1866–1924) and featuring a monumental 19-ft (6-m) high statue of the seated Lincoln by Daniel Chester French (1850–1931), the memorial was dedicated in 1922. The Greek architecture reflects the ideals of its time.

This memorial touches the hearts of all African-Americans because of Lincoln’s steadfastness in ending slavery in the US. It was here that Martin Luther King, Jr. made his “I Have a Dream” speech.

This pleasant urban park does justice to its dedication to Abraham Lincoln. The 1974 Robert Berks statue of Mary McLeod Bethune shows the great educator passing the tools of culture on to younger generations. The Emancipation Statue by Thomas Ball (1876) shows Lincoln holding his Proclamation in the presence of a slave escaping his chains (see Emancipation Monument).