When They Built The Big Bridge
John Roebling lost his life and his son lost his health, but after sixteen years the incredible Brooklyn Bridge was finished
October 1956 | Volume 7, Issue 6
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EmailWashington Roebling sat and watched the thundering horde from his window on Columbia Heights. His hour of vindication had been long in coming, but today it had arrived in full measure. He had been visited by the President, the Governor, mayors, ex-mayors, generals, admirals, editors, artists, architects, engineers, and other dignitaries beyond counting.
Afflicted as he was by the ravages of the disease he had contracted in the caissons, he was exhausted by the time the day was over, but not too exhausted to gaze in full contentment at the throngs advancing over what once had been mere lines at the point of his father’s pencil. Beneath its surging load, the bridge was holding firm.
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Why do we need a national nonprofit membership society for American history?
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“Save America’s Treasures” has been totally eliminated—the largest Federal program supporting preservation of such treasures as the original Star Spangled Banner and George Washington’s tent.
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65% of Americans don’t know what happened at the Constitutional Convention, according to a recent survey by Newsweek.
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The “Teaching American History” grants—the largest Federal program supporting history education—have been completely eliminated.
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Visits to the Top 20 Civil War battlefields have dropped in half from 1970 to 2009 according to official National Park Service statistics.
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40% of Americans can’t identify whom we fought in World War II, according to a recent survey by Newsweek.
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A quarter of Americans believe Congress shares power over U.S. foreign policy with the United Nations, according to a recent Annenberg survey.
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“There is little that is more important for an American citizen to know than the history and traditions of his country,” John F. Kennedy wrote in American Heritage.
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The “We the People Program,” which touched some 30 million students and 90,000 teachers over 25 years, has been completely eliminated.
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Two-thirds of Americans could not correctly name Yorktown as the last major military action of the American Revolution, according to a recent national Gallup survey.
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The National Heritage Areas and Scenic Byways program, the only major Federal program encouraging visits to historic places, has been completely eliminated in Congressional committee.
