The National Cathedral

When I talk of the 'National Cathedral', I'm not talking about the church that you can find in north-west Washington. I'm talking rather about 'The Mall' - the area, at the heart of DC, where you can find the Capitol Hill, the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. I'm only being slightly facetious when I refer to the area, too - the similarities between the area and a church are striking.

The Lincoln Memorial sits at one end of a two-mile strip of land, the Capitol Building at the other. I haven't quite worked out which is the altar of the nation, but I suspect it's the Capitol - the home of the chosen representatives of the people. In the middle of the strip you have the cathedral's spire, the Washington Monument. The Monument is an enormous tower of white marble, so large that if you stand alongside the column, it is impossible to see to the top. And at either side of the Monument, completing the shape of the cross, you find the Jefferson Memorial, commemorating one of the chief intellectual forces behind the creation of the American Republic, and the White House. home of the steward of the Constitution.

The parallels could run even further - between the Capitol and the Monument, the Mall is lined by various museums, including the majority of the institutions of the Smithsonian and the National Gallery of Art; between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial you will find a number of war memorials - the commemorative stained glass windows marking the heritage and sacrifices of the nation.

The area is one of the most glorious places imaginable to take a walk - most of the key sites are set around an inlet of water known as the tidal basin, and are specifically designed to allow people to walk around them. There are injunctions posted to avoid running, but there is a happiness around all of them. Their scale is enormous; the statues of Jefferson and Lincoln are 19 feet tall, and they are surrounded by vast marble structures, but this means that there is more than enough room for everyone to get a good view, not only of the outside of the structures, but also to have a read of the select inscriptions on the inside.

Of all the memorials, the one that excited me the most was the Jefferson Memorial. While he may have leant rather heavily on the yet more considerable academic talents of James Madison, his vision of American development defined the politics of the nation for 30 years; moreover, he was one of the most multi-talented Presidents in history. Whereas Washington relied on his military expertise for his reputation, Jefferson was an innovator of the highest order, being an accomplished architect, a skilled diplomat, a remarkable writer, and a patron of education (founding the University of Virginia after his presidency ended). The Monument contains the aforementioned statue, surrounded by a model of his Monticello estate, with the insides containing large tablets with some of his most notable writings. None, of course, more remarkable than the famous words of the Declaration of Independence: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It was humbling to think of a man with such talents managing to make the most of the moment he was presented with.

From there, we proceeded to walk round to the FDR memorial, one of the latest additions to the area, and a fitting tribute to my choice for the greatest President of the 20th century. Set in four stages - one for each of his terms as President - the memorial is largely constructed around waterfalls. Each stage focuses on the key challenges that he dealt with during his time, so it opens up with statues symbolising the new deal, then marks the creation of the Tennessee Valley Authority, and goes on to note his 'Four Freedoms' speech, his words regarding Pearl Harbor, and the victory in World War Two, culminating with recognition of Eleanor Roosevelt and the creation of the United Nations.

The loop continues to the Lincoln Memorial, which is flanked at either side by groves with memorials to the Korean War and the Vietnam War. The contrast between the two clearly shows the different place they have in American memory. The former is glorifying of sacrifice - an inscription to the effect that "Freedom is not free" being the only hint of real sacrifice. The rest of the monument shows depictions of soldiers marching towards an American flag, and was strangely untouching, unlike all the others. The Vietnam memorial, on the other hand, is far more sombre. Made out of black marble, it seems much more like a British World War One memorial, containing a list of all the soliders who gave their lives in the conflict. The wall is built into the ground, and so you walk down quite a distance to the middle. The black marble, moreover, sucks in the heat, and so the general impression is of a black spot on the national memory.

That stands in marked contrast to the Lincoln Memorial. The centrepiece is a 19 foot statue of Lincoln sitting down, looking down the Mall as if he is still the steward of the nation. Inside are his two most remarkable speeches; the Gettysburg Address and the second inaugural address. The Memorial is even more impressive when seen at night; when lit up it is a truly remarkable sight. The Memorial is also notable for a small inscription on the steps, noting the spot where Martin Luther King delivered his 'I have a Dream' speech.

The tour of memorials finishes with the World War Two Memorial, just between the Washington Monument and the reflecting pool. This has apparently proved controversial because of the location, yet it has been constructed fully in keeping with the proportions and the style of the area, and adds a beautiful fountain to the view as well. Constructed with a pillar for each of the 50 states, and assorted territories, it has separate sections at each side celebrating victories in the Atlantic and Pacific. What was even more amazing was that at this point the sun had set, and so all the aforementioned memorials were lit up. What was breathtaking by day was even more beautiful by night.

It's hard to find the right words to describe what I felt as I walked around. For all that my studying shows the ironies and contradictions of American history as much as the successes, there is a power to the founding principles of the nation, expressed so eloquently by great men such as Jefferson, FDR and Lincoln. And in creating such accessible memorials, where you are free to stroll around and reflect with many others on the legacy of these Presidents, the power of the ideals is driven home to you. I'm not sure I have the words at the moment to express adequately the sense of awe I felt as I wandered round. All that I am sure of is that I will make sure to return again before I head away from Washington.