What if the Gettysburg Battlefield Were to Become a Shopping Mall or a Housing Development?
In the last 10-15 years, preservationists and historians have felt a new sense of urgency to insure that Americans will always be able to come to “these hallowed grounds” to remember a vital chapter in our American history. Ironically, we may have the Walt Disney group to thank for a renewed awareness of the importance of our real American heritage. In 1993 The Walt Disney Company began making plans to build an American-history theme park in the northern Virginia Piedmont area, 35 miles from the White House and only 5 miles from the Manassas Battlefield where another important Civil War battle took place. In a historic civic fight that involved historians, environmentalists, American citizens from many states, and the U.S. Senate, The Disney Company was eventually convinced that their plasticized, animatronic version of American history was not welcome in that neighborhood. As the preservationists heaved an initial sigh of relief, they paused in their efforts for only a moment because
