tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/pantheon-99840/articlesPantheon – The Conversation2021-11-30T12:02:45Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1727142021-11-30T12:02:45Z2021-11-30T12:02:45ZJosephine Baker’s ‘Rainbow Tribe’ and the pursuit of universal brotherhood<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434143/original/file-20211126-27-4fx722.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=45%2C91%2C1876%2C1355&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Joséphine Baker, Jo Bouillon and their children, 1959.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Josephine_Baker_met_haar_10_kinderen_bezoekt_Rotterdam,_Bestanddeelnr_910-5757.jpg">Herbert Behrens/Anefo</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Among all the causes championed by Josephine Baker, her child advocacy work isn’t the one that is most remembered today. However, her actions helped to popularise international adoption.</p>
<p>On 30 November, Josephine Baker (1906-1975) will be inducted into France’s Panthéon. An <a href="https://www.elysee.fr/emmanuel-macron/2021/08/23/pantheonisation-de-josephine-baker">official statement</a> by the Élysée Palace describes her as “a member of the Resistance and tireless anti-racist activist […] involved in all the battles that unite righteous and willing citizens in France and across the world”. But of all <a href="https://www.lumni.fr/video/josephine-baker-une-artiste-au-service-de-la-france-libre">her life’s commitments</a>, her support for child advocacy and universal brotherhood is less frequently remembered. Nevertheless, her actions in this area influenced public opinion and helped popularise international adoption.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/432247/original/file-20211116-27-1w5piyj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/432247/original/file-20211116-27-1w5piyj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=818&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432247/original/file-20211116-27-1w5piyj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=818&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432247/original/file-20211116-27-1w5piyj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=818&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432247/original/file-20211116-27-1w5piyj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1028&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432247/original/file-20211116-27-1w5piyj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1028&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432247/original/file-20211116-27-1w5piyj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1028&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p>After serving in the Resistance during WWII, Baker married conductor Jo Bouillon (1908-1984). Childless and in her forties, she set about building a family of children of all skin colours who would be raised in brotherhood and universalism.</p>
<p>In 1954, she came back from a tour in Japan with Akio and Teruya (the latter was renamed Janot in France). Later, she brought home Jari from Finland and Luis from Colombia. The couple subsequently adopted two young French children out of the welfare system, Jean-Claude and Moïse. Then, even with Bouillon feeling that another adoption would be madness, two more children were welcomed into the family in 1956. This time coming from war-torn Algeria, Brahim (who became Brian) was born to Berber parents and Marianne – the couple’s first daughter – was born to a French couple.</p>
<p>After her West Africa tour the following year, Baker brought back an Ivorian baby by the name of Koffi. Then in 1959 came the Venezuelan Mara, who was followed by Noël, so named after he was found in a crib in a Parisian street at Christmas time. Some years later, Stellina arrived, having been abandoned at birth in France by a Moroccan friend of Baker’s. She became the second daughter and the 12th child of the “Rainbow Tribe”.</p>
<p>Thanks to her fame, Baker could easily find go-betweens to help build her family at a time when the practice of “inter-country adoption” was not regulated on a global level. The forerunners of international adoption would often travel abroad in search of a child to adopt. This was the case for most of the 12 children, who were adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Bouillon under the French Family Code of 1939.</p>
<h2>A family in the limelight</h2>
<p>For Josephine Baker:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“[There was] no point in adopting children of every colour to be kept away from everyone else! They must be made visible so that people can see that it is in fact possible; that children from different races, raised together as siblings, have no animosity; that racial hate is not natural. It’s an invention by mankind.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The children were all brought up in accordance with their heritage and the religions that Baker assigned to them. Janot was Buddhist, Jari Protestant, Koffi animist, Moïse Jewish, and so forth. Jo Bouillon wrote them a universal prayer of brotherhood:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“O Father, our Good God, grant […] that our brothers and sisters across the world may show greater love for each other, with the peace, understanding and tolerance that You inspire in us each day through the love that You offer us.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Bouillon and Baker decided to turn their Château des Milandes estate into a tourist centre, as a living tribute to brotherhood between human beings. Along the roads of the Dordogne, signs called drivers to visit this “Village of the World”, the “Capital of Brotherhood”, which hosted 300,000 visitors annually in the late 1950s.</p>
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<p>To support the heavy costs of raising such a large family and maintaining the estate, Baker had to perform frequently, and her career soon became intertwined with family life. Baker’s song <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyqHVSWAZW4">“Dans mon village”</a> (“In My Village”), set to music by Francis Lopez, was an immensely popular and touching ballad that alluded to her “little ones” (who increased in number with each subsequent recording) and called for universal brotherhood and peace. Alongside her husband, she also co-authored a children’s book, “The Rainbow Tribe” (1957) that was an ode to tolerance and openness toward others.</p>
<p>A 1961 television broadcast, <a href="https://www.ina.fr/ina-eclaire-actu/video/caf90021986/le-pere-noel-chez-josephine-baker">“Le Père Noël chez Joséphine”</a> (“Santa Comes to Josephine’s”), offered a snapshot of happy family life at Les Milandes. In interviews with French and international media, Baker always spoke of her family, her children, and the humanist philosophy that she practised every day.</p>
<p>There were frequent disputes between Baker and Bouillon, however, particularly concerning difficulties in managing the estate, which came close to being sold on a number of occasions. Josephine Baker relied on her image and her family’s popularity in the hopes of saving it, but categorically refused proposals to make a film about her children. “They are here to represent an ideal,” she said, “not to be turned into performing monkeys.”</p>
<p>In 1964, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tp5xWhj7zJg">Brigitte Bardot spoke</a> at the end of a televised news programme, appealing to viewers to help Baker and her family. The call was answered by members of the French middle class, intellectuals (such as François Mauriac), political elites (such as Antoine Pinay) and, of course, artists (such as Line Renaud and Dalida). But their combined efforts failed to save the Les Milandes estate and Baker and her family had to leave in 1969.</p>
<h2>A unique experiment</h2>
<p>After a stint in Paris, thanks to the aid of the Princess of Monaco, the Rainbow Tribe settled at a villa in the Riviera town of Roquebrune. It was at this point that the relationship between the teens and their mother became strained, due to academic difficulties and boarding school stays, compounded by the double burden of coming from elsewhere and having a famous parent. None of them questioned their mother’s vision of universal brotherhood, but they clashed on issues of clothing, hair styles, and ongoing youth trends. Baker, meanwhile, feared that her children would be led astray, in particular by drugs.</p>
<p>When Baker passed away in 1975, her oldest children were in their 20s, some already married with children. Stellina, aged just eleven at the time, was the only one still living permanently with her mother. On the subject of her death, the artist had stated on a number of occasions:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Once I’m gone, you have to carry on the idea that led me to bring you together.”</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/432244/original/file-20211116-22-8fehc0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/432244/original/file-20211116-22-8fehc0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=478&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432244/original/file-20211116-22-8fehc0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=478&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432244/original/file-20211116-22-8fehc0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=478&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432244/original/file-20211116-22-8fehc0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=601&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432244/original/file-20211116-22-8fehc0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=601&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432244/original/file-20211116-22-8fehc0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=601&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Josephine Baker and her children, 1969.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Josephine_Baker_met_pleegkinderen_op_vakantie_in_Spanje,_Bestanddeelnr_922-6298.jpg">Anefo, CC0, via Wikimedia</a></span>
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<p>By bringing her experiment into the public eye, she hoped that others would follow suit, forming “rainbow tribes” far and wide with children of all colours, creeds and origins. In this regard, her experiment was something of a failure, since other such actions did not become widespread. Nevertheless, adoptions of foreign children saw a considerable increase in France during the 1960s.</p>
<p>Baker repeatedly mentioned the key reason for the strong bonds between her children. She maintained that children should be adopted very young and live together, without having their origins denied, and without individuality being an obstacle toward genuine kinship. Through her vision, the vertical roots formed between the adopted children and “the two Jos” <a href="https://www.canal-u.tv/video/universite_toulouse_ii_le_mirail/vivre_un_ideal_de_fraternite_universelle_la_tribu_arc_en_ciel_de_josephine_baker_yves_denechere.10368">spread outward between the 12 siblings</a>.</p>
<p>In adulthood, the rainbow children have recounted the golden years of their tribe, both in interviews and through their own writing. They have not, however, followed in their mother’s footsteps. Eight of the twelve have had children themselves, but none have adopted – a possibility that was never discussed between the siblings. But they lived the Josephine Baker adventure and are still living it today, as they will be actively involved in the <a href="https://enfance-jeunesse.fr/la-tribu-arc-en-ciel-de-josephine-baker-vivre-un-ideal-de-fraternite-universel/">tributes to her mother upon her induction into the Panthéon</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Translated from the French by Enda Boorman for <a href="http://www.fastforword.fr/en">Fast ForWord</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/172714/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Yves Denéchère ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>Out of everything that Josephine Baker accomplished in her life, her child advocacy work is perhaps the most overlooked.Yves Denéchère, Professeur d'histoire contemporaine, Université d'AngersLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1668652021-08-27T13:18:51Z2021-08-27T13:18:51ZJoséphine Baker: artist, activist, resistance fighter and now honoured in France’s Panthéon<p>In the midst of the second world war, at the edge of the vast Saharan desert, Joséphine Baker <a href="https://fultonhistory.com/highlighter/highlight-for-xml?altUrl=https%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FNewspaper%252024%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Daily%2520Worker%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Daily%2520Worker%25201951%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Daily%2520Worker%25201951%252000024_2.pdf%23xml%3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FdtSearch%2Fdtisapi6.dll%3Fcmd%3Dgetpdfhits%26u%3D35f0c082%26DocId%3D7510879%26Index%3DZ%253a%255cDISK%2520X%26HitCount%3D24%26hits%3D12%2B13%2B1d%2B1e%2B8a%2B8b%2B140%2B141%2B161%2B162%2B1a4%2B1a5%2B216%2B217%2B32b%2B32c%2B376%2B377%2B3a6%2B3a7%2B52e%2B52f%2B53a%2B53b%2B%26SearchForm%3D%252fFulton%255fform%252ehtml%26.pdf&uri=https%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FNewspaper%252024%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Daily%2520Worker%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Daily%2520Worker%25201951%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Daily%2520Worker%25201951%252000024_2.pdf&xml=https%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FdtSearch%2Fdtisapi6.dll%3Fcmd%3Dgetpdfhits%26u%3D35f0c082%26DocId%3D7510879%26Index%3DZ%253a%255cDISK%2520X%26HitCount%3D24%26hits%3D12%2B13%2B1d%2B1e%2B8a%2B8b%2B140%2B141%2B161%2B162%2B1a4%2B1a5%2B216%2B217%2B32b%2B32c%2B376%2B377%2B3a6%2B3a7%2B52e%2B52f%2B53a%2B53b%2B%26SearchForm%3D%252fFulton%255fform%252ehtml%26.pdf&openFirstHlPage=false">took the stage</a>. Her backdrop was a midnight sky, painted with stars.</p>
<p>A crowd of adoring Allied soldiers stationed in North Africa gathered to swoon over the world-renowned entertainer. To their great delight, <a href="https://fultonhistory.com/highlighter/highlight-for-xml?altUrl=https%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FNewspaper%252024%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Daily%2520Worker%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Daily%2520Worker%25201951%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Daily%2520Worker%25201951%252000024_2.pdf%23xml%3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FdtSearch%2Fdtisapi6.dll%3Fcmd%3Dgetpdfhits%26u%3D35f0c082%26DocId%3D7510879%26Index%3DZ%253a%255cDISK%2520X%26HitCount%3D24%26hits%3D12%2B13%2B1d%2B1e%2B8a%2B8b%2B140%2B141%2B161%2B162%2B1a4%2B1a5%2B216%2B217%2B32b%2B32c%2B376%2B377%2B3a6%2B3a7%2B52e%2B52f%2B53a%2B53b%2B%26SearchForm%3D%252fFulton%255fform%252ehtml%26.pdf&uri=https%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FNewspaper%252024%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Daily%2520Worker%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Daily%2520Worker%25201951%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Daily%2520Worker%25201951%252000024_2.pdf&xml=https%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FdtSearch%2Fdtisapi6.dll%3Fcmd%3Dgetpdfhits%26u%3D35f0c082%26DocId%3D7510879%26Index%3DZ%253a%255cDISK%2520X%26HitCount%3D24%26hits%3D12%2B13%2B1d%2B1e%2B8a%2B8b%2B140%2B141%2B161%2B162%2B1a4%2B1a5%2B216%2B217%2B32b%2B32c%2B376%2B377%2B3a6%2B3a7%2B52e%2B52f%2B53a%2B53b%2B%26SearchForm%3D%252fFulton%255fform%252ehtml%26.pdf&openFirstHlPage=false">Baker sang</a> one of her most celebrated songs: <em>J’ai Deux amours</em> or I have two loves. The first was her country, the US – where Baker was born and raised – and the second her newly adopted home, Paris.</p>
<p>More than 75 years after this fated performance, one of these two countries has chosen to bestow upon Baker an honour of the highest degree. Emmanuel Macron has announced that Baker will be <a href="https://www.elysee.fr/emmanuel-macron/2021/08/23/pantheonisation-de-josephine-baker">memorialised in the Panthéon</a> in Paris on November 30. Burial at the Panthéon is a distinction reserved only for the greatest of France’s national heroes, among them Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Victor Hugo and Marie Curie.</p>
<h2>A hero’s final resting place</h2>
<p>The Panthéon <a href="https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-greece/pantheon">takes inspiration</a> from ancient Greece. The name derives directly from the Greek words <em>pan</em> meaning “all” and <em>theos</em> meaning “gods” – denoting a sacred final resting place. Internment in the great crypt is <a href="http://www.paris-pantheon.fr/en/">granted only</a> to those idols who have “shaped France’s national identity”, and their burial must be approved by the president.</p>
<p>Baker will be the sixth woman, first entertainer and first Black woman to be honoured at the Parisian mausoleum. She will also be among the few honourees who were not born in France.</p>
<p>This memorialisation is in part due to <a href="https://www.change.org/p/monsieur-le-pr%C3%A9sident-de-la-r%C3%A9publique-fran%C3%A7aise-jos%C3%A9phine-baker-au-panth%C3%A9on">a petition</a>, led by Baker’s family and fans, which garnered more than 37,000 signatures over the last two years. Though Baker died in 1975 and is buried in Monaco, the petition asserts that Baker deserves a place in the Panthéon.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="The Panthéon in Paris." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/418243/original/file-20210827-25-1iec2c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/418243/original/file-20210827-25-1iec2c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/418243/original/file-20210827-25-1iec2c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/418243/original/file-20210827-25-1iec2c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/418243/original/file-20210827-25-1iec2c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/418243/original/file-20210827-25-1iec2c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/418243/original/file-20210827-25-1iec2c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Panthéon in Paris.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/paris-france-april-17-2020-32th-1712013826">Jerome Labouyrie/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A <a href="https://www.elysee.fr/emmanuel-macron/2021/08/23/pantheonisation-de-josephine-baker">statement from the Élysée</a> – the official residence of the French president – affirmed that Baker is the “embodiment of the French spirit”. It cited her tireless efforts towards the French resistance throughout the second world war, as well as her artistry and commitment to the fight against racism. The <a href="https://www.elysee.fr/emmanuel-macron/2021/08/23/pantheonisation-de-josephine-baker">statement continued</a> that for these reasons, Baker “deserves the recognition of her homeland”.</p>
<h2>Singer, soldier, spy</h2>
<p>Born in St Louis, Missouri in 1906, Baker <a href="https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/siren-resistance-artistry-and-espionage-josephine-baker">moved to Paris</a> at 19. After facing racism, segregation and oppression in the US, Baker looked to France as a haven of liberty and new beginnings. </p>
<p>She found immense success in the French cabarets and music halls and by the early 1930s, <a href="https://fultonhistory.com/highlighter/highlight-for-xml?altUrl=https%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FNewspapers%252023%2FPittsburgh%2520PA%2520Courier%2FPittsburgh%2520PA%2520Courier%25201956%2FPittsburgh%2520PA%2520Courier%25201956%2520%2520-%25201177.pdf%23xml%3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FdtSearch%2Fdtisapi6.dll%3Fcmd%3Dgetpdfhits%26u%3D5629b99f%26DocId%3D1058653%26Index%3DZ%253a%255cDISK%2520S%26HitCount%3D12%26hits%3D7%2B8%2B1e%2B1f%2B158%2B159%2B2dc%2B2dd%2B3d9%2B3da%2B601%2B602%2B%26SearchForm%3D%252fFulton%255fform%252ehtml%26.pdf&uri=https%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FNewspapers%252023%2FPittsburgh%2520PA%2520Courier%2FPittsburgh%2520PA%2520Courier%25201956%2FPittsburgh%2520PA%2520Courier%25201956%2520%2520-%25201177.pdf&xml=https%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FdtSearch%2Fdtisapi6.dll%3Fcmd%3Dgetpdfhits%26u%3D5629b99f%26DocId%3D1058653%26Index%3DZ%253a%255cDISK%2520S%26HitCount%3D12%26hits%3D7%2B8%2B1e%2B1f%2B158%2B159%2B2dc%2B2dd%2B3d9%2B3da%2B601%2B602%2B%26SearchForm%3D%252fFulton%255fform%252ehtml%26.pdf&openFirstHlPage=false">was rumoured</a> to be making more money than any other artist on the Parisian scene. When war broke out in 1939, Baker didn’t hesitate to stand against Nazi tyranny. Soon after the Germans invaded France, Jacques Abtey – head of the French counter-military intelligence – asked if she would officially join the growing resistance. In response, Baker pounded a clenched fist against her heart, <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Josephine_Baker_s_Last_Dance.html?id=DcRWDwAAQBAJ&redir_esc=y">famously avowing</a>: “I am ready, captain, to give my life to France”.</p>
<p>Throughout the second world war, Baker served the French resistance in every way she knew how. Notably, she <a href="https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/siren-resistance-artistry-and-espionage-josephine-baker">sheltered</a> Belgian refugees and resistance fighters in her residence, the Chateau des Milandes. Soon after, however, the Nazi occupiers <a href="https://books.google.ca/books/about/The_Many_Faces_of_Josephine_Baker.html?id=PpVmBgAAQBAJ&redir_esc=y">approached her home</a>, suspecting her of stockpiling weapons. Though Baker managed to charm the officers into leaving her chateau without searching it, she recognised that her days in occupied France were numbered.</p>
<h2>Touring spy</h2>
<p>Her journey with the resistance would continue abroad under the guise of a European tour, accompanied by Abtey, <a href="https://www.historyextra.com/period/20th-century/singer-siren-activist-spy-the-extraordinary-life-of-josephine-baker/">who posed</a> as her assistant. While travelling, Baker <a href="https://books.google.ca/books/about/The_Many_Faces_of_Josephine_Baker.html?id=PpVmBgAAQBAJ&redir_esc=y">received numerous invitations</a> to lavish diplomatic parties. She would attend every event, listening in for information that could help the resistance. She passed along all information to the free French forces, pinning notes to her clothes and writing messages <a href="https://www.historyextra.com/period/20th-century/singer-siren-activist-spy-the-extraordinary-life-of-josephine-baker/">using invisible ink</a> on her sheet music.</p>
<p>Strangely in October 1942, Baker <a href="https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000566/19421025/065/0012">was reported dead</a> in Portugal. Newspaper headlines around the world mourned the singer and entertainer, <a href="https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000564/19421026/032/0003">who was suspected</a> of succumbing to tuberculosis in poverty. Even <a href="https://fultonhistory.com/highlighter/highlight-for-xml?altUrl=https%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FNewspaper%252024%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Post%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Post%25201964%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Post%25201964%2520-%25203377.pdf%23xml%3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FdtSearch%2Fdtisapi6.dll%3Fcmd%3Dgetpdfhits%26u%3Da61ea88%26DocId%3D2922455%26Index%3DZ%253a%255cDISK%2520X%26HitCount%3D14%26hits%3D2a%2B2b%2B3e%2B3f%2B50%2B51%2Bbc%2Bbd%2B111%2B112%2B1c4%2B1c5%2B357%2B358%2B%26SearchForm%3D%252fFulton%255fform%252ehtml%26.pdf&uri=https%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FNewspaper%252024%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Post%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Post%25201964%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Post%25201964%2520-%25203377.pdf&xml=https%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FdtSearch%2Fdtisapi6.dll%3Fcmd%3Dgetpdfhits%26u%3Da61ea88%26DocId%3D2922455%26Index%3DZ%253a%255cDISK%2520X%26HitCount%3D14%26hits%3D2a%2B2b%2B3e%2B3f%2B50%2B51%2Bbc%2Bbd%2B111%2B112%2B1c4%2B1c5%2B357%2B358%2B%26SearchForm%3D%252fFulton%255fform%252ehtml%26.pdf&openFirstHlPage=false">Langston Hughes</a>, the American poet and playwright, wrote a heartfelt obituary for Baker in the Chicago Defender. </p>
<p>But while Baker was gravely ill, she was still <a href="https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1942/12/06/85616496.html?pageNumber=79">very much alive</a>, albeit in Morocco. In early 1941, Baker had <a href="https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000563/19421205/065/0008">travelled to north Africa</a>, where she faced <a href="https://books.google.ca/books/about/The_Many_Faces_of_Josephine_Baker.html?id=PpVmBgAAQBAJ&redir_esc=y">serious complications</a> from an emergency hysterectomy. </p>
<p>She recovered in a private clinic in Casablanca from <a href="https://books.google.ca/books/about/The_Many_Faces_of_Josephine_Baker.html?id=PpVmBgAAQBAJ&redir_esc=y">June 1941 until December 1942</a> – all the while using her convalescent bed as a rendezvous point for members of the French resistance. When Baker heard the news of her untimely death, <a href="https://books.google.ca/books/about/The_Many_Faces_of_Josephine_Baker.html?id=PpVmBgAAQBAJ&redir_esc=y">she reportedly replied</a>: “I’m much too busy to die”. </p>
<p>And busy she was. When she wasn’t recruiting members for the resistance or passing along secret messages, Baker performed for the Allied troops stationed in north Africa. Her aim was to <a href="https://www.historyextra.com/period/20th-century/singer-siren-activist-spy-the-extraordinary-life-of-josephine-baker/">raise morale</a> for all troops, regardless of the colour of their skin. For these performances, she refused payment. And though she was still frail from her illness, <a href="https://fultonhistory.com/highlighter/highlight-for-xml?altUrl=https%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FNewspaper%252024%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Daily%2520Worker%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Daily%2520Worker%25201951%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Daily%2520Worker%25201951%252000024_2.pdf%23xml%3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FdtSearch%2Fdtisapi6.dll%3Fcmd%3Dgetpdfhits%26u%3D35f0c082%26DocId%3D7510879%26Index%3DZ%253a%255cDISK%2520X%26HitCount%3D24%26hits%3D12%2B13%2B1d%2B1e%2B8a%2B8b%2B140%2B141%2B161%2B162%2B1a4%2B1a5%2B216%2B217%2B32b%2B32c%2B376%2B377%2B3a6%2B3a7%2B52e%2B52f%2B53a%2B53b%2B%26SearchForm%3D%252fFulton%255fform%252ehtml%26.pdf&uri=https%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FNewspaper%252024%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Daily%2520Worker%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Daily%2520Worker%25201951%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Daily%2520Worker%25201951%252000024_2.pdf&xml=https%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FdtSearch%2Fdtisapi6.dll%3Fcmd%3Dgetpdfhits%26u%3D35f0c082%26DocId%3D7510879%26Index%3DZ%253a%255cDISK%2520X%26HitCount%3D24%26hits%3D12%2B13%2B1d%2B1e%2B8a%2B8b%2B140%2B141%2B161%2B162%2B1a4%2B1a5%2B216%2B217%2B32b%2B32c%2B376%2B377%2B3a6%2B3a7%2B52e%2B52f%2B53a%2B53b%2B%26SearchForm%3D%252fFulton%255fform%252ehtml%26.pdf&openFirstHlPage=false">her voice never wavered</a>.</p>
<p>For all of these efforts, Baker was <a href="https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1944/10/11/86881523.html?pageNumber=27">made a lieutenant</a> in the <em>Auxiliaire Feminine</em>, the women’s air auxiliary in France. She was <a href="https://historynewsnetwork.org/article/170603">also awarded</a> the <em>Croix de Chevalier de la Legion du Honneur</em>, the <em>Croix de Guerre</em>, and the <a href="https://fultonhistory.com/highlighter/highlight-for-xml?altUrl=https%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FNewspapers%252023%2FTarrytown%2520Ny%2520Daily%2520News%2FTarrytown%2520Ny%2520Daily%2520News%25201965%2FTarrytown%2520Ny%2520Daily%2520News%25201965%2520a%2520-%25201820.pdf%23xml%3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FdtSearch%2Fdtisapi6.dll%3Fcmd%3Dgetpdfhits%26u%3D751d4452%26DocId%3D5658192%26Index%3DZ%253a%255cDISK%2520S%26HitCount%3D12%26hits%3D1bd%2B1be%2B424%2B425%2B45b%2B45c%2B4ab%2B4ac%2B4b6%2B4b7%2B89d%2B89e%2B%26SearchForm%3D%252fFulton%255fform%252ehtml%26.pdf&uri=https%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FNewspapers%252023%2FTarrytown%2520Ny%2520Daily%2520News%2FTarrytown%2520Ny%2520Daily%2520News%25201965%2FTarrytown%2520Ny%2520Daily%2520News%25201965%2520a%2520-%25201820.pdf&xml=https%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FdtSearch%2Fdtisapi6.dll%3Fcmd%3Dgetpdfhits%26u%3D751d4452%26DocId%3D5658192%26Index%3DZ%253a%255cDISK%2520S%26HitCount%3D12%26hits%3D1bd%2B1be%2B424%2B425%2B45b%2B45c%2B4ab%2B4ac%2B4b6%2B4b7%2B89d%2B89e%2B%26SearchForm%3D%252fFulton%255fform%252ehtml%26.pdf&openFirstHlPage=false">Rosette of the resistance</a>.</p>
<p>Following the end of the war in 1945, Baker returned to her home in France – but also made frequent trips to the US, where she actively fought for the civil rights of Black Americans.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sHrOV8YorHI?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>Artist, entertainer, resistance fighter, and anti-racism activist – the deeds of Joséphine Baker make her indeed worthy of hero status. Harold Cruse, an academic of African American studies, was in the audience that starry night in north Africa, stationed with the Allied forces. Upon watching her performance, <a href="https://fultonhistory.com/highlighter/highlight-for-xml?altUrl=https%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FNewspaper%252024%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Daily%2520Worker%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Daily%2520Worker%25201951%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Daily%2520Worker%25201951%252000024_2.pdf%23xml%3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FdtSearch%2Fdtisapi6.dll%3Fcmd%3Dgetpdfhits%26u%3D35f0c082%26DocId%3D7510879%26Index%3DZ%253a%255cDISK%2520X%26HitCount%3D24%26hits%3D12%2B13%2B1d%2B1e%2B8a%2B8b%2B140%2B141%2B161%2B162%2B1a4%2B1a5%2B216%2B217%2B32b%2B32c%2B376%2B377%2B3a6%2B3a7%2B52e%2B52f%2B53a%2B53b%2B%26SearchForm%3D%252fFulton%255fform%252ehtml%26.pdf&uri=https%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FNewspaper%252024%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Daily%2520Worker%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Daily%2520Worker%25201951%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Daily%2520Worker%25201951%252000024_2.pdf&xml=https%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FdtSearch%2Fdtisapi6.dll%3Fcmd%3Dgetpdfhits%26u%3D35f0c082%26DocId%3D7510879%26Index%3DZ%253a%255cDISK%2520X%26HitCount%3D24%26hits%3D12%2B13%2B1d%2B1e%2B8a%2B8b%2B140%2B141%2B161%2B162%2B1a4%2B1a5%2B216%2B217%2B32b%2B32c%2B376%2B377%2B3a6%2B3a7%2B52e%2B52f%2B53a%2B53b%2B%26SearchForm%3D%252fFulton%255fform%252ehtml%26.pdf&openFirstHlPage=false">Cruse wrote</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>What she sings, what she says in words, expresses in movement of body, in dance motions and pantomime, constitute an art of such magnificence and individuality that it is not enough to talk about it. She must be seen.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>With the memorialisation of Baker in France’s most honoured burial site, Cruse’s wish may indeed come true. Fans will flock to admire this indomitable entertainer once more and everything she contributed to art and culture as well as to France will be celebrated.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/166865/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Clare Church does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Baker will be the sixth woman, first entertainer and first Black woman to enter after a successful petition from her family and fans.Clare Church, PhD Researcher in History, Aberystwyth UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1541442021-02-08T18:41:46Z2021-02-08T18:41:46ZIs the US Capitol a ‘temple of democracy’? Its authoritarian architecture suggests otherwise<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/383063/original/file-20210208-17-1gisizv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=16%2C21%2C3571%2C2372&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The U.S. Capitol is modeled on the baroque Cathedrals of Europe, which were built to honor monarchs and popes. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://pixnio.com/free-images/interiors-and-exteriors-design/united-states-capitol-at-night-illuminated-with-decorative-lights-725x484.jpg">Pixnio</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Honoring the Capitol Police officer killed in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, the House Speaker at the time, Nancy Pelosi, invoked the building’s symbolic role in American democracy. </p>
<p>“Each day, when members enter the Capitol, this temple of democracy, we will remember his sacrifice,” <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/insurrection-at-the-capitol/2021/02/03/963598638/lawmakers-honor-slain-capitol-police-officer-brian-sicknick-in-rotunda">she said of the slain officer, Brian Sicknick</a>.</p>
<p>Former President Donald Trump was impeached, although not convicted, for inciting the mob that attacked the Capitol. The insurrection has reaffirmed the building’s almost sacred status. </p>
<p>As the place where American deliberative democracy has been practiced for the past 232 years, the Capitol is in at least one respect a sanctified place. But as a <a href="https://www.archeoroma.org/sites/pantheon/">historian of ancient Roman architecture</a> and <a href="https://gallatin.nyu.edu/people/faculty/mgp263.html">its legacy</a>, I would argue that the architecture of America’s “temple of democracy” is in fact fundamentally anti-democratic.</p>
<h2>An American Pantheon</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CDOC-106sdoc29/pdf/GPO-CDOC-106sdoc29-6-1.pdf">original design for the Capitol</a>, proposed by the amateur architect <a href="https://www.aoc.gov/about-us/history/architects-of-the-capitol/dr-william-thornton">Dr. William Thornton</a>, was based on the ancient Roman Pantheon. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/383058/original/file-20210208-19-1qsclyl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="The Pantheon, n ancient building with columns and a dome, and a crowd in front of it" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/383058/original/file-20210208-19-1qsclyl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/383058/original/file-20210208-19-1qsclyl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=371&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383058/original/file-20210208-19-1qsclyl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=371&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383058/original/file-20210208-19-1qsclyl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=371&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383058/original/file-20210208-19-1qsclyl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=466&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383058/original/file-20210208-19-1qsclyl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=466&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383058/original/file-20210208-19-1qsclyl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=466&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Pantheon in Rome.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/06/Rome_Pantheon_front.jpg/800px-Rome_Pantheon_front.jpg">Roberta Dragan/Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>President <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/24632660">Thomas Jefferson thought</a> the Pantheon was one of the most beautiful buildings ever made: simple, elegant and geometrically perfect – but also an engineering masterpiece, with the <a href="https://www.archeoroma.org/sites/pantheon/">largest dome ever built in antiquity</a>. </p>
<p>Jefferson believed an American Pantheon would bring beauty to the nation, aiding the <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Architecture-Liberty-and-Civic-Order-Architectural-Theories-from-Vitruvius/Westfall/p/book/9781138567801">moral and civic development of the American people</a>. Since the United States had no domed buildings at that point, its construction would also show the young nation could be the equal of older, grander European nations.</p>
<p>Jefferson, a devoted classicist, knew <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/24632660">the Pantheon had been built by emperors</a>. Its original manifestation was devised in the year 25 B.C. by Marcus Agrippa – the right-hand man of Rome’s first emperor, Augustus – as a temple for emperor worship. It was redesigned by Hadrian around A.D. 126 to serve a function that remains enigmatic. </p>
<p>But the stupendous grandeur of its dome and its adornment in marble quarried and shipped from across the Roman empire leads <a href="https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300102024/principles-roman-architecture">most architectural historians</a> to agree that the Pantheon celebrated Rome’s global dominion. </p>
<p>Indeed, Jefferson very likely chose to model the Capitol after the Pantheon because of, not in spite of, its imperial associations. He envisioned America as an “<a href="https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691156071/empire-for-liberty">empire for liberty</a>” – a force bringing civilization westward.</p>
<h2>A dome fit for a king</h2>
<p>Jefferson’s American Pantheon was never realized. </p>
<p>Subsequent architects substantially altered the design, and what little progress had been made was halted in 1814 when the Capitol was <a href="https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/August_Burning_Washington.htm">burned</a> by British invaders – joined by <a href="https://www.aoc.gov/explore-capitol-campus/art/slave-labor-commemorative-marker">some of the very slaves who built it</a> – in the War of 1812. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/383056/original/file-20210208-23-1vuew0m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Black-and-white floor plan of the Capitol, a T-shaped building" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/383056/original/file-20210208-23-1vuew0m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/383056/original/file-20210208-23-1vuew0m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383056/original/file-20210208-23-1vuew0m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383056/original/file-20210208-23-1vuew0m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383056/original/file-20210208-23-1vuew0m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=517&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383056/original/file-20210208-23-1vuew0m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=517&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383056/original/file-20210208-23-1vuew0m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=517&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A proposed floor plan for the new U.S. Capitol, dated 1817.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://picryl.com/media/united-states-capitol-washington-dc-floor-plan-supreme-court-vestibule-judiciary-1?zoom=true">Library of Congress</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The new Capitol that emerged from the ashes, completed by Charles Bulfinch in 1826, was already too small for the fast-growing Congress of the fast-growing United States. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/383082/original/file-20210208-17-6mqs1p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Rendering of the Capitol dome" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/383082/original/file-20210208-17-6mqs1p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/383082/original/file-20210208-17-6mqs1p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1025&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383082/original/file-20210208-17-6mqs1p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1025&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383082/original/file-20210208-17-6mqs1p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1025&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383082/original/file-20210208-17-6mqs1p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1288&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383082/original/file-20210208-17-6mqs1p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1288&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383082/original/file-20210208-17-6mqs1p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1288&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The U.S. Capitol’s dome has outsize proportions.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Elevation_of_dome_of_U.S._Capitol.jpg">Office of the Architect of the Capitol</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>From 1856 to 1866 the architect Thomas U. Walter <a href="https://www.aoc.gov/explore-capitol-campus/buildings-grounds/capitol-building/capitol-dome">substantially expanded and reconcieved</a> the building. His vision of the Capitol was inspired by the most celebrated domed buildings of the time: St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, St. Paul’s Cathedral in London and the Church of Sainte-Geneviève in Paris, among others.</p>
<p>In these <a href="https://www.scribd.com/doc/305088949/Christian-Norberg-Schulz-Baroque-Architecture">baroque cathedrals</a>, towering domes signified the ruling power of monarchs and popes. They were meant to awe people with their splendor and magnificence, and in so doing to command subservience.</p>
<p>The U.S. Capitol’s architecture is certainly awe inspiring. </p>
<p>But its design history does not exactly embody the values of a democratic government by and for the people.</p>
<h2>Versailles on the Potomac</h2>
<p>Today, the Capitol’s authoritarian architecture is enhanced by its imperial setting. The Capitol sits atop a terraced hill overlooking a broad promenade of open lawns, tree-lined boulevards, reflection pools and hundreds of monuments and memorials: the National Mall.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/383081/original/file-20210208-17-w7etxv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Aerial shot of the Capitol with the Mall in front of it" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/383081/original/file-20210208-17-w7etxv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/383081/original/file-20210208-17-w7etxv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383081/original/file-20210208-17-w7etxv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383081/original/file-20210208-17-w7etxv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383081/original/file-20210208-17-w7etxv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383081/original/file-20210208-17-w7etxv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383081/original/file-20210208-17-w7etxv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The National Mall, modeled after the gardens of Versailles.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aerial_view_of_National_Mall_15847v.jpg">U.S. Library of Congress</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This landscape was created as part of a 1901 plan to beautify Washington, D.C., whose monumental core was then filled with slum housing and railyards. A team of leading architects revived <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/a-brief-history-of-pierre-lenfant-and-washington-dc-39487784/">Pierre L’Enfant’s original 1791 master plan for the city</a>. </p>
<p>In L’Enfant’s original vision of Washington, D.C., the Mall was to be a large formal public garden inspired by the <a href="https://www.upenn.edu/pennpress/book/1228.html">manicured gardens of Versailles</a>, a private escape for France’s ruling class. Versailles was designed in the mid-17th century to distance the élites of the royal court from the dreary, dirty city and rough, rude commoners. </p>
<p>Unlike Versailles, the National Mall was intentionally made public. But when people gather there to protest, there’s still a tension between that orderly space and a disruptive but essential democratic activity.</p>
<p>The Capitol, long known as the “people’s house,” has never really embodied democracy in its appearance. </p>
<p>After the insurrection of Jan. 6, the Capitol became a military encampment, and a <a href="https://wgntv.com/news/washington-dc-bureau/us-capitol-surrounded-by-fence-troops-as-threats-continue/">security fence went up around the building</a>. The sacred symbol of American democracy <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/04/weekinreview/04ouroussoff.html">was a fortress</a> – the latest addition in a history of anti-democratic design.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/154144/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Megan Goldman-Petri does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The domed neoclassical Capitol building was inspired by European cathedrals and the Roman Pantheon – shrines to imperial power, not rule by and for the people.Megan Goldman-Petri, Part-time Lecturer, New York UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.