Temple of the Union

Temple of the Union is a small unit of escaped slaves that are trying to create a haven for other runaway slaves. Their leader, Hannibal Hamlin, has a dream of creating a place for slaves that they can protect from Slavers. This place turns out to be the Lincoln Memorial.

Although it is unclear how it arrived at this location, Abraham Lincoln's Head can initially be found here. Completing the quest Head of State can result in the head being moved to Lincoln Memorial.

The name 'Temple of the Union' and associated imagery related to Abraham Lincoln are reminiscent of language used prior to, during, and after the American Civil War, of which the question of slavery was a major cause. In this case 'Union' refers to Lincoln's supporters and the 'Union' which fought to re-unite the United States as a single political entity.

The name "Temple of the Union" comes from the words above Lincoln's statue at the Lincoln memorial. The passage reads, "In this temple, as in the hearts of the people for whom he saved the Union, the memory of Abraham Lincoln is enshrined forever.” On the block Caleb is working on, the words "Temple of the Union" are visible, with the others faded out. Presumably, the block arrived at the building at the same time as the statue's head.

The Temple of the Union is located northwest of Canterbury Commons. You will be given the location on your map if you help out Mei Wong.

No real notable loot. A copy of a Pre-War Book can be found in Caleb's room on his bed. It is of course considered stealing and will result in a loss of Karma.

This is a possible location for a Random Encounter, but only if the slaves have been moved to The Lincoln Memorial or you helped the slavers kill the slaves.

Bugs
Once you enter The Temple Of The Union, the game will treat it as an interior, therefore you cannot fast travel from it, despite the building being mostly open with the Wasteland clearly visible in many directions. Once you leave, the game will not register it as leaving a building and you will not be able to fast travel until you find another interior and enter/exit it. You can override this by opening the console ( ~ ) and typing in EnableFast 1

If you go away far enough (not exceptionally far) it should work to fast travel without doing anything irregular (PC).

While using multiple companions, picking the lock to the Temple of Union caused one companion (Clover) to begin attacking my other companions (Charon and Dogmeat). The Temple NPCs fled, but returned and were never hostile. The gate was relocked, but when I picked it again the same action occurred.