Thomas Jefferson Memorial reflected in the Tidal Basin, Washington, DC

© Cvandyke/Shutterstock

Thomas Jefferson Memorial reflected in the Tidal Basin, Washington, DC

Presidents' Day seems an apt time to showcase this perspective of the Jefferson Memorial, reflected in the Tidal Basin in Washington, DC. Construction on this memorial to our third president began in 1938, but it didn’t come without controversy. In an event dubbed the Cherry Tree Rebellion, some 50 women chained themselves to a Japanese cherry tree to protest the removal of trees that would be lost to make way for the monument. The cherry trees had been a gift from the city of Tokyo in 1912. Ultimately, the protest didn’t delay the project, some trees were lost but others were planted, and the memorial was complete in 1943.