Information & history on back of plaque:
The five-sided giant,  nerve center of the Defense Department,  is the largest office building in the world.   Located beside Arlington National Cemetery,  the Pentagon commands a majestic view of the Potomac River and the major sights of Washington D.C.   With over 25,000 employees working within the building,  the Pentagon rivals towns for sheer population alone.   Construction on the site began during the Depression.   The building was intended to serve as the region's major hospital.   After Pearl Harbor,  the federal government consolidated the Department of War,  previously scattered throughout fourteen buildings in Washington, into this massive new office complex.   Technically the Pentagon is not a single building,  but a collection of twenty-five,  closely-spaced buildings,  connected by corridors.   The Pentagon is comprised of five concentric rings,  each segmented into five sides.   Each segment of each ring might pass for a building itself.   The Pentagon extends five stories above ground,  with the number of stories below ground being classified.

Information & history on back of plaque:
The White House has been the center of the executive branch of our government since President John Adams moved into the unfinished mansion in November 1800.   It sits majestic amidst sixteen acres of park-like lands,  and contains not only the President's home,  but also the office of the President and many well-appointed rooms for entertaining diplomatic guests.   Burned by the British in 1814,  it was reconstructed and the charred sandstone walls repainted the white for which it is named by 1817,  when James Monroe moved in with his family.   Many presidents have altered the structure;  in fact,  the North Portico - today the main entrance - was added in 1829.   The entire interior was reconstructed between 1948-52 to make better use of space;  the historic rooms visited by over one million members of the public a year are exact replicas of the originals.

Information & history on back of plaque:
Crowned by a dome which supports a statue of Freedom,  the Capitol Building sits in a park at the center of the city.   It is here that United States law is made.   From the central portico,  huge bronze doors depicting the life of Christopher Columbus lead into the rotunda,  where statues and paintings of important people and events in American history surround a spiral staircase which rises to the dome's cupola.   From this vantage,  an impressive view of the city can be seen.   North and south of the rotunda are the chambers which originally housed the Senate and House,  and were later used by the Supreme Court and National Statuary Hall,  respectively.   Though the Supreme Court moved to different premises in 1935,  the Statuary Hall remains here today.   A subway beneath the building connects congressmen and their employees with their offices in other buildings.

Information & history on back of plaque:
Congress authorized construction of the Lincoln Memorial in 1911 to honor the man known as the "Savior of the Union."   The building was dedicated in 1922.   Architect Henry Bacon modelled the building after the Greek Parthenon.   The 36 states in the union under Lincoln are represented by 36 doric columns around the structure,  and the 48 states at the time of construction are listed in the frieze above.   Alaska and Hawaii are included on a plaque on the steps.   Inside sits Daniel Chester French's statue of Lincoln surrounded by murals and inscriptions of two of Lincoln's speeches.

Information & history on back of plaque:
Authorized for construction by Congress in 1934 to honor the author of the Declaration of Independence,  the Thomas Jefferson Memorial was dedicated in 1943.   The structure was designed by John Russell Pope to emulate the tastes Jefferson exhibited in building his own home,  Monticello,  which was based on the Roman Pantheon.

Information & history on back of plaque:
The National Archives was formed by an act of Congress in 1934 to "ensure ready access to essential evidence.....that documents the rights of American citizens,  the actions of Federal officials,  and the national experience..."   The main collection was housed in the building on Constitution Avenue (designed by John R. Pope),  but has expanded both to other buildings and onto the internet.   Included in the texts housed in the core collection are the original documents of the Declaration of Independence,  the Constitution of the United States,  and the Bill of Rights;  all three are preserved in airtight glass cases for public viewing.   In keeping wiith it's duties,  the National Archives also makes available a wide variety of governmental information,  from the daily official record of the Federal government to the texts of public laws.   The agency also offers archival training for government employees and a grants program for the private sector.   In addition,  it is the National Archives,  headed by the Archivist of the United States (who is appointed by the President under the advice and consent of Congress) that coordinates the electorial college,  which selects the President and Vice President.

Information & history on back of plaque:
East of Capitol Hill sits this temple-like building,  which houses the Supreme Court of the United States of America;  it is here that the Constitution is interpreted.   This structure was given to the court in 1935 (previously,  it had the use of a small chamber with two anterooms in the Capitol Building).   On the entablature over the entrance,  the words "Equal justice under the law" are inscribed,  and the pediment above bears statues of a court scene,  including scrolls of law.   The United States Supreme Court is the third branch of the Federal Government.   Organized February 2,  1790,  it is made of one Chief Justice and several Associate Justices (the number was fixed at eight by Congress in 1948).   Justices are appointed by the President wiith Senate approval and serve for life unless impeached by the Senate for serious misconduct.   All Justices get one vote on decisions made by the court,  which reviews apellate cases (cases involving an interpretation of the constitution) and certiorari cases (other cases taken at the discretion of the court).   These cases must first be tried by lower courts.   The Supreme Court also presides over cases between states,  between a state and citizens of another state,  and between a state and the federal government,  as well as rare cases,  such as those involving diplomats,  which fall outside the jurisdiction of the lower courts.   Even laws passed by Congress can be overturned by the Supreme Court if they are determined to be overridden by the Constitution,  and its decisions can only be changed by itself,  a future Supreme Court,  or an amendment to the Constitution.

Information & History on back of plaque:
This stately mansion,  built of wood painted to resemble stone,  sits on a bluff overlooking the Potomac river fifteen miles south of Washington,  D.C.   It was the beloved home of George Washington,  first President of the United States.   The estate,  originally named Epsewasson,  was created by Washington's great-grandfather,  John,  who,  with a partner,  received 8,000 acres by land grant in 1674.   Washington spent part of his childhood on the estate,  and returned with his wife and two stepchildren in 1875,  though he didn't inherit the estate from his half-brother Lawrence's widow for several years.   (The estate had been renamed Mount Vernon in honor of the Admiral under whom Lawrence served.)   Washington retired to the estate after his second term as president,  and died there due to an illness contracted while riding the grounds during a hail-and-rainstorm in 1779.   His body was entombed in a small family vault on the property.   Today the grounds include only 500 acres,  but visitors can still find trees planted by the "Father of the Country",  himself.

Information & history on back of plaque:
The 16th President of the United States of America was a man from a backwoods background.   He was a formidable wrestler,  footracer,  and fistfighter,  a friend to children,  and a man familiar to the general store.   With less than a year of "school learnin",  Lincoln taught himself surveying in six weeks and learned law from borrowed books.   Foreseeing the upcoming crisis,  he intentionally worked to take on what he knew was a dangerous task - the role of President during the unrest that became the Civil War.   Though he preserved the unity of the nation,  he also became the first President to die by assassination,  felled by a bullet while celebrating the end of the war.   In his life,  he exemplified advice he once gave to a student:  "Your own resolution to succeed is more important than any one thing."