But one hardy group was made of sterner stuff – an ageing band of the so-called Greatest Generation showed up at the World War II memorial and refused to be denied entry.
Those visiting their dead comrades in France, Belgium, Italy and elsewhere were turned away, as funding dried up for American cemeteries in 20 foreign fields.
Another symbol of hard-won freedoms – The Statue of Liberty in New York – was off limits to disappointed tourists.
The military and border patrol were kept at full strength, but the Pentagon was due to stand down almost half of its 800,000 civilian employees.
Warring lawmakers, exhausted by Monday night’s political theatrics, stirred under the serene Capitol Rotunda, but early hopes that a compromise would emerge once the shock of the shutdown had hit proved premature.
House Republicans sought to pass a trio of measures funding popular parts of government, including veterans benefits and museums.
The plan appeared to be an attempt to shame Democrats who say they will not negotiate with “a gun to their head” with the government closed.
“That proposal shows the utter lack of seriousness that we’re seeing from Republicans,” said White House spokesman Jay Carney.
All three bills were defeated, heaping more pressure on Congress to end the stalemate.
Democratic leader in the Senate, Reid, added: “We won’t be forced to choose between parks and cancer research… or the FBI.”
Democratic tactics were designed to thwart every Republican attempt for a face-saving exit and to force an eventual climbdown by Boehner.
Obama warned that the shutdown could have disastrous consequences for America’s sluggish economic recovery.
“We know that the last time Republicans shut down the government in 1996, it hurt our economy. And unlike 1996, our economy is still recovering from the worst recession in generations,” the president said.
To highlight his case, Obama was due to meet CEOs of some top Wall Street firms at the White House on Wednesday.
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