Statuary Hall in the United States Capitol

I read recently that Congressman John Lewis (Dem GA) wants the statue of  Alexander Stephens removed from Statuary Hall in the nation's Capitol.    For those who don't know, Stephens was a US Congressman from Georgia, serving from 1843 to 1859 before the Civil War and from 1873 to 1882 during Reconstruction.  He was the Governor of Georgia from 1882 to 1883, and, probably the reasons Congressman Lewis wants his statue removed, the Vice President of the Confederate States of America from 1862 to 1865, and a slaveholder.

I understand Congressman Lewis' wish to rewrite history.  It was a terrible time for our country, but I feel his request might be a bit disingenuous as it came just days after the Atlanta city government asked to have the carving on Stone Mountain sandblasted away.  The Taliban and ISIS have been demolishing historic monuments, sculptures and even ancient cities in Afghanistan and Syria.  Congressman Lewis and Mayor Reed need to re-evaluate their requests before they begin to be compared to those groups.

Spanish philosopher George Santayana said, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it," and without reminders like the statue of Alexander Stephens, repeating past mistakes is certainly a possibility.


Being somewhat of a cynic, I took Congressman Lewis' lead, and looked up to see who else was deified in Statuary Hall with a background we might now question.

• William Allen - a pro-slavery Senator from Ohio (Scheduled to be replaced this year by a statue of Thomas Edison, an inventor, unsuccessful businessman, and quite possibly, an atheist)
• Stephen F. Austin - Texas Secretary of State who helped populate the Republic of Texas by, among other incentives, offering 80 acres of land to immigrants for every slave they brought with them.
• Charles Brantley Aycock - a white supremacist "noted as having advocated that black students be properly educated through curriculum and care tightly controlled by North Carolina whites, to "benefit the black race to fit them into a subordinate role.""
• Bob Bartlett - US Representative from Alaska known for the 'Alaska Mental Health Enabling Act' which no doubt led to Sarah Palin's rise to power.
• William Henry Harrison Beadle - Surveyor-General of the Dakota Territories named for the slave-holding President of the United States.
• Thomas Hart Benton - a one-time slave holder
• Francis Preston Blair, Jr - a United States Senator who opposed Reconstruction
• William Borah - A United States Senator who thought well enough of Adolf Hitler to tell the press that, "the combination of President von Hindenburg and the Nazi leader should be able to administer the affairs of the German people"
• William Jennings Bryan - a Secretary of State who charged upwards of $500 per speech (shades of Hillary Clinton) while still in office, an orator, a prohibitionist, and anti-evolutionist known for his participation in the Scopes Monkey Trial.
• John C. Calhoun - a strong proponent for slavery which he called a 'positive good.'
• Charles Carroll - a Maryland slaveholder
• Lewis Cass - Secretary of War under President Jackson who 'was a central figure in formulating and implementing the Indian Removal Policy' of that administration.'  He was also in favor of letting the people in the territories decide whether or not to become slave states.
• Henry Clay - US Senator and Congressman who, at one time, owned as many as 60 slaves, even bringing several with him to Washington.
• Jefferson Davis - need I say more?
• James Zachariah George - Confederate Brigadier General during civil war, owner of 40 slaves in 1860, including children as young as 1 year. 
• Wade Hampton - Confederate Brigadier General, slaveholder with 153 slaves in 1860
• Andrew Jackson - former President of the United States and a slaveholder
• Robert E. Lee - Confederate General, slaveholder who, despite stories to the contrary, did not free the slaves in accordance with his late father's-in-law wishes.
• Caesar Rodney - Delaware slaveholder
• John Sevier - Governor of Tennessee, slaveholder, US Representative from North Carolina
• Edmund Kirby Smith - West Point Grad, US Army officer, slaveholder, Major General in Confederate Army
• Alexander H. Stephens - see above, also, owned as many as 29 slaves in 1860
• Zebulon Baird Vance - North Carolina US Representative 1858-1861, Governor of NC 1861-1865 and 1877-1879, NC US Senator 1879-1894, slaveholder
• George Washington - President of the United States, General in US Army, owned hundreds of slaves

That's all, folks.  I'll not be philosophizing on this.