The idea of a Shevchenko memorial in Washington, DC arose in the 1950s. For example, as far back as 1955, Roman Smal’-Stockyi, president of the Shevchenko Scientific Society, proposed the idea of a memorial to be completed in time for the 1961 centennial of Shevchenko’s death. The 24th convention of the Ukrainian National Association passed a resolution supporting such a project in May, 1958. Dmytro Halychyn, then head of the UNA and president of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, referred the matter to the UCCA. On his and Lev Dobrianskyi’s initiative, Senator Jacob Javits introduced a resolution in the Senate on February 19, 1959. On March 17, 1959, Alvin Bentley of Michigan sponsored a similar resolution in the US House of Representatives. In early 1959, the UCCA launched a national lobbying effort in favor of the memorial and approved the creation of a Shevchenko Memorial Committee.

Resolutions for the memorial’s construction were unanimously approved by the House of Representatives in June 1960, followed by the Senate in August. On September 13, 1960, U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed Public Law 86-749, authorizing the erection of the Shevchenko monument. The Ukrainian Congress Committee of America then immediately proceeded to establish the Shevchenko Memorial Committee which would devote itself exclusively to the planning and execution of the Memorial.