Visiting Mass. State House

LeiNa

The destination of last week’s field trip was Mass. State House, which is located opposite the Boston Common. The stars and stripes at the State House flew half-mast, because of Senator Robert Byrd, 92 years old, passed away on June 28th, 2010. He was the longest serving member in Senate. Although he was a senator of West Virginia, Mass. also shows great respect to this former senator.

The tour started from the second floor, the Doric Hall. There was one huge portrait of Abraham Lincoln on the wall; the guide told us that Lincoln was not satisfied with his height and did not accept to take a standing photo or portrait, and this one was finished after 40 years of assassination. I admire his height because it is impossible for me to become as tall as him, how I wish that I could grow taller before 25. One of his hands was at back because at that time drawing a hand cost more, so it was cheaper to draw only one hand. It was an interesting explanation. There were sculptures of George Washington, John Adams, and John Hancock and so on. George Washing looked like a scholar because some people thought a general pose was like a king, so they wanted to show a different president who was full of intelligence. After the guide finished her introduction, Helen and I returned to the scriptures of John Adams, obviously, I was enthralled by his writing though there were some words difficult to understand. As Adams said, “Liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the people.”

Next we visited the Civil War Nurses Hall. During the Civil War, there were numerous unsung heroines who served for the union force. Women always play an important part in human history but the struggle of pursuing equality is going on. Equal pay and equal opportunity should come true in near future.

The Memorial Hall exhibited all kinds of voluntary infantry flags, and it was magnificent, especially when sunshine went through the window on the ceiling.

Then we went on the stairs to the third floor to visit the MA House of Representatives Chamber and the Senator Chamber. I hope that I have the chance to go there hear a session in the open space for the public before I leave Boston. It must be a very different experience.