Springfield Il
On our class trip to Springfield, we visited many historical sights. These places taught us about the government buildings, and a lot more information about our sixteenth president, Abraham Lincoln.
The New Capitol Building has served as the capitol building of the state of Illinois since 1888, and is the sixth building to serve as the capitol. Although it is the sixth building, the interior is very formal and beautiful.
The Senate Chamber was filled with wood desks and plush red-brown chairs. In the front there was a speaker's stand with a podium, with the United States and Illinois flags flanking it, and four chairs in front of it. The House of Representative's speaker's stand was very similar to that of the Senate Chamber. The desks were about the same and the chairs were dark green instead of red-brown. Both of the chambers featured extremely beautiful crystal chandeliers, which caught my attention when I first walked in the rooms.
Another astonishing part of this building was the large dome in the center. The dome was made of over 9,000 pieces of mosaic glass and featured the state seal at top.
In one room, they had six different statues of people who were significant figures in Illinois history. Two of these figures were Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas. Lincoln's statue was on display because he was in the Illinois Congress before he became our sixteenth President. He also received his nomination for President while living in Springfield. Stephen Douglas, who was only 5'4 tall, was displayed because he was a United States Senator. He was also nicknamed the "Little Giant," because although he was short, he could debate very well.
Two things that I learned from this trip to the capitol building were that all voting is electronic. The Senator or Representative marks his vote, and they all appear on a large screen at the front of the gallery. Another thing discovered is that everytime one of the chandeliers...
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