1.

What does the basic shape of the McMillan 1901 plan of the National Mall (slide 7)
suggest about its design's symbolic scope?

McMillan's 1901 plan of the National Mall is erected in the vision of L’Enfant, it
stands for the central element regarding the cultural values of Washington city. If we look
from one side, we could observe that this plan has the form of a cross and this one could
be associated with the faith, one of the most important values of American society. Even
if the name of God is not mentioned in the Constitution, the cruciform shape can be
associated with the official motto of the USA “In God We Trust”, which is mentioned
during the Civil War and which means that God is omnipotent and omnipresent. The
National Mall is also a reminder regarding the past due to memorials represented by
important personalities that have dedicated themselves to the well-functioning of the
Union, for instance, the memorial dedicated to Abraham Lincoln.

2. What does the architecture of the National Mall complex of buildings suggest about its
designers -- or rather about the US presidents -- and more generally about the edification
of the US capital in symbolic terms 'graven' in stone (or marble, etc)? (This is the
relatively more demanding question, yet don't write an A4 answer please!) 
The architecture of the National Mall buildings is Neo-Classical because there are
elements that are borrowed from Antiquity, more specifically from Greek and Roman
culture. The designers decided to return to columns and the idea of “grandeur”. For
example, the U.S Capitol building is a neoclassical one, the dome shows an influence
from Roman Antiquity. Regarding the US policy, National Mall’s buildings represent a
mixture of the Roman Republic and Greek democracy, political aspects that we encounter
even nowadays when we talk about the lives of former presidents that have acted
correctly and were an ideal, a mentor for a democratic society, like Policrates, Alexander
the Great and so forth.