Built between 1939 and 1943, the memorial features multiple quotes from Jefferson intended to capture his ideology and philosophy, known as Jeffersonian democracy, which was staunchly supportive of American republicanism, individual rights, religious freedom, states' rights, virtue, and prioritized and valued what he saw as the undervalued independent yeoman.

[7] The site ultimately selected for the Jefferson Memorial's construction was appealing at least partly because it was located directly south of, and in view of, the White House.

[3] The completion of the Tidal Basin Inlet Bridge in 1908 helped facilitate and expand recreational usage of East and West Potomac Parks.

In 1918, large liquid chlorine dispensers were installed under the bridge to treat the water, which made the Tidal Basin, also known as Twining Lake, suitable for swimming.

The Tidal Basin Beach, on the site of the future Jefferson Memorial, opened in May 1918, operating as a "Whites Only" facility until 1925, when it was permanently closed to avoid addressing the question of whether it should be racially integrated.

The winning design, submitted by John Russell Pope, consisted of a half-circle memorial situated next to a circular basin.

By this point, Pope had died in 1937 and his surviving partners, Daniel P. Higgins and Otto R. Eggers, assumed leadership for the Jefferson Memorial's construction.

[1][6] On September 2, 2020, there was a task force known as the District of Columbia Facilities and Commemorative Expressions (DCFACES), created in a response to the George Floyd protests by Washington D.C Mayor Muriel Bowser, who published a report which recommended "renaming, relocating or adding context to dozens of monuments, schools, parks and buildings in [Washington, D.C.] because of their namesakes participation in slavery or racial oppression".

[9] The memorial is constructed with white Imperial Danby marble taken from Vermont, which rests on a series of granite and marble-stepped terraces.

In addition to Jefferson, who was the primary author, committee members included John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Robert R. Livingston, and Roger Sherman.

[11] The memorial's interior has a 19 feet (5.8 m) tall, 10,000 lb (4,500 kg) bronze statue[14] of Jefferson developed by sculptor Rudulph Evans.

Among many Jefferson quotes inside the memorial, one of the most prominently situated are those inscribed in the frieze below the dome: "I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.

On the panel of the southwest interior wall are excerpts from the United States Declaration of Independence:[17] We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, that to secure these rights governments are instituted among men.

[18] On the panel of the northwest interior wall is a quote from the 1777 Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, which excludes the quote's final sentence and is taken from an August 28, 1789, letter Jefferson wrote to James Madison:[17][19] Almighty God hath created the mind free...All attempts to influence it by temporal punishments or burthens...are a departure from the plan of the Holy Author of our religion...No man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship or ministry or shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief, but all men shall be free to profess and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion.

I know but one code of morality for men whether acting singly or collectively.The Jefferson quotes from the panel on the northeast interior wall come from multiple sources.

This it is the business of the state to effect and on a general plan.The inscription on the panel of the southeast interior wall is excerpted from Jefferson's July 12, 1816, letter to Samuel Kercheval:[17][25] I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and constitutions.

We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors.A lower level of the structure contains a gift shop and a museum focusing on Jefferson's life and political career.

The park is enhanced with the massed planting of Japanese cherry blossom trees, which pre-dated the memorial's construction and were a 1912 gift from the people of Japan.