Talk:Statue of Freedom

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Contents 1 "which was due to be re-released in 2006" 2 New image 3 facing east 4 It seems to me 5 Article's title 6 Notes

[edit] "which was due to be re-released in 2006"

this remark that concludes the article is clearly out of date. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 75.19.86.156 (talk) 09:25, 25 April 2007 (UTC).

[edit] New image

Okay, I added an image. It is one I took of Armed Freedom in 1993 with a pretty crappy camera (there were no digital ones back then! gasp!) that I owned when I was, let's see, in junior high school. But its a pretty rare image I would guess, at least with the free license. If someone can find a better govt one please add it. I also have a pic of the dome without Freedom on it if that would be of use. IvoShandor 07:49, 9 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] facing east

I removed this paragraph:

There is much lore surronding the reasoning behind the statue facing east. Some say that Freedom is said to face the East so "The Sun never sets on the face of Freedom." Others say that in facing East, it faces Great Britain, and is thus a post-Revolutionary War mockery of the British. Finally, some say that the statue of Freedom faces east so that it faces "Justice", the statue on the Supreme Court building so that "Freedom" and "Justice" always see eye to eye.

First, the Supreme Court explanation cannot be true because the Supreme Court building wasn't built until 1935. The other explanations are also unlikely. The simplest explanation is that the east side of the capitol was designed as the front because it was expected that most people in Washington would settle on the east side of the city since that is where the Anacostia was and the west was the swampy part. --D. Monack | talk 06:42, 11 August 2007 (UTC)

Good catch, I wondered about that as soon as I saw it but didn't know enough about the topic to really know. IvoShandor 06:51, 11 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] It seems to me

that this paragraph (which I added):

The story that Jefferson Davis, Secretary of War from March 7, 1853 to March 4, 1857, and later to be President of the Confederate States of America, insisted that Crawford remove a Phrygian cap (which was the cap given to freed Roman slaves) from the statue is not accurate. While it is a matter of record ^[1] that Davis, through Montgomery Meigs, did insist on the removal of such a cap from a Crawford statue in the Capitol building, the statue involved was a figure of History to be placed about the bronze doors to the Senate Wing of the building and not the figure of Freedom atop the dome. (N.B.: The Architect of the Capitol website contradicts this assertion.)

needs to be thought (at least by me) re-written and returned. Here is a page from Gale's book on Crawford discussing the Davis/phrygian cap issue two years (1854) prior to the Freedom commission. Surely (opinion) Crawford would not have needed to go through the whole thing again. Still the Office of the Capitol building should probably get the right-of-way over my opinion, so I will email the office and see what I can squeeze out of them. I have another unrelated question for them in any case. Though, having thought about it, probably one question at a time is more likely to draw a response. Stay tuned. Carptrash 14:17, 11 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Article's title

^[2]

If the Architect of the Capitol calls it the "Statue of Freedom" and the official name is "Statue of Freedom" and the original title is "Freedom Triumphant in War and Peace," then where does "Armed Freedom" come from and why should that be the name of the article? --D. Monack | talk 21:42, 14 August 2007 (UTC)

I would very much suppoert changing the name to Statue of Freedom. Crawford, in one letter to Meigs does refer to it as "Armed Freedom", but mostly it is just called Statue of Freedom. Gerds (see you mail) though, calls it "Armed Freedom". I think I'll post a page from the official Us Govt book on the subject. Carptrash 22:58, 14 August 2007 (UTC)

The page has now been moved. --D. Monack | talk 23:09, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

Certainly. I went to elementary school with a picture of "Armed Freedom" (so called) on the classroom wall. I took it to be the most common name. I notice that commercially available versions of the picture are still called "Armed Freedom". (See [1]). Valerius Tygart 16:28, 21 August 2007 (UTC)

The vast majority of references to the statue seem to call it "Statue of Freedom" including the Architect of the Capitol which designates it "official". I don't think a poster disqualifies this. I think I can be excused for assuming consensus since there were no objections to moving the page back for six days and I specifically asked for your comment. If you thought there was no consensus as you stated in your edit summary, why did you move the page before discussing it here? --D. Monack | talk 17:20, 21 August 2007 (UTC)

I agree that one poster does not disqualify what seems to be the most common name for the statue. This page should be moved to either Statue of Freedom or Freedom (statue). IvoShandor 17:27, 21 August 2007 (UTC)

I reverted your name change to the previous one because you had changed it before I had had a chance to weigh in. I only saw your question to me today. Sorry if I hurt your feelings. If you move it again, please leave "Armed Freedom" as an alternate name (...also called...). Valerius Tygart 18:02, 21 August 2007 (UTC)

Of course. No hurt feelings here. Just trying to avoid a revert war. --D. Monack | talk 18:43, 21 August 2007 (UTC)

Wait. IvoShandor didn't really present any discussion as to why s/he reverted the name back to Armed Freedom. It seems to me (opinion) that the offical name of the statue is Statue of Freedom (see page nearby) and that this should be the name of the article. Including the Armed name as another possibility seems fine, but, IvoShandor, what was your reason for reverting, other than you were not asked? Carptrash 15:25, 22 August 2007 (UTC)

Look at the page history before you jump to conclusions. I didn't revert anything. What's your reason for saying that, other than not being asked? IvoShandor 16:45, 22 August 2007 (UTC)

And even if I did, which I didn't, this is still the encyclopedia that anyone can edit. I don't have to ask you anything. IvoShandor 16:48, 22 August 2007 (UTC)

Relax big guy, take a few deep breaths and it will be okay. I inadvertently copied you instead of Valerius Tygart. But in any case I do completely agree that you do not need to ask me for anything. 17:33, 22 August 2007 (UTC)

Regardless that was a pretty snarky comment, I am sure the other editor would respond similarly. IvoShandor 17:37, 22 August 2007 (UTC)

Yes, without a doubt- though speaking for others is a pretty marginal tactic. Snarkiness, on the other hand, can't be left un-responded to. Carptrash 18:13, 22 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Notes