<P> The association expected that $30 million would be needed to undertake the construction of such a monument . It called upon the federal government to foot three - quarters of the bill ($22.5 million). </P> <P> The suggestion to renew the riverfront was not original, as previous projects were attempted but lacked popularity . The Jefferson memorial idea emerged amid the economic disarray of the Great Depression and promised new jobs . The project was expected to create 5,000 jobs for three to four years . Committee members began to raise public awareness by organizing fundraisers and writing pamphlets . They also engaged Congress by planning budgets and preparing bills, in addition to researching ownership of the land they had chosen, "approximately one - half mile in length...from Third Street east to the present elevated railroad ." In January 1934, Senator Bennett Champ Clark and Representative John Cochran introduced to Congress an appropriation bill seeking $30 million for the memorial, but the bill failed to garner support due to the large amount of money solicited . In March of the same year, joint resolutions proposed the establishment of a federal commission to develop the memorial . Although the proposal aimed for only authorization, the bill incurred opposition because people suspected that JNEMA would later seek appropriation . On March 28 the Senate bill was reported out, and on April 5 it was turned over to the House Library Committee, which later reported favorably on the bills . On June 8, both the Senate and House bills were passed . On June 15, then President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the bill into law, instituting the United States Territorial Expansion Memorial Commission . The commission comprised 15 members, chosen by Roosevelt, the House, the Senate, and JNEMA . It first convened on December 19 in St. Louis, where members examined the project and its planned location . </P> <P> Meanwhile, in December, the JNEMA discussed organizing an architectural competition to determine the design of the monument . Local architect Louis LeBeaume had drawn up competition guidelines by January 1935 . On April 13, 1935, the commission certified JNEMA's project proposals, including memorial perimeters, the "historical significance" of the memorial, the competition, and the $30 million budget . Between February and April, the Missouri State Legislature passed an act allowing the use of bonds to facilitate the project . On April 15, then Governor Guy B. Park signed it into law . Dickmann and Smith applied for funding from two New Deal agencies--the Public Works Administration (headed by Harold Ickes) and the Works Progress Administration (headed by Harry Hopkins). On August 7, both Ickes and Hopkins assented to the funding requests, each promising $10,000,000, and said that the National Park Service (NPS) would manage the memorial . A local bond issue election granting $7.5 million for the memorial's development was held on September 10 and passed . </P> <P> On December 21, Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 7253 to approve the memorial, allocating the 82 - acre area as the first National Historic Site . The order also appropriated $3.3 million through the WPA and $3.45 million through the PWA ($6,750,000 in total). The motivation of the project was twofold--commemorating westward expansion and creating jobs . Some taxpayers began to file suits to impede the monument, which they called a "boondoggle". </P>

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