Congress Seeks to Replace Statues of Confederates in U.S. Capitol

June 29, 2021 by Tom Ramstack
Congress Seeks to Replace Statues of Confederates in U.S. Capitol
Statury Hall n the U.S. Capitol. (Wikimedia Commons)

WASHINGTON — America’s racial reckoning that started last year continued Monday with a House hearing on removing statuary from the U.S. Capitol that depicts Confederate sympathizers.

In one case, a pending bill would replace a statue of a U.S. Supreme Court justice who endorsed slavery with a bust of Thurgood Marshall, the first African American to serve on the court.

A House vote expected as soon as this week is facing minimal opposition from both Democrats and Republicans. A similar bill is pending in the Senate, where it also is winning broad support.

“Symbols tell the world who we are and what we stand for,” said Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., chairman of the House Rules Committee.

The Confederate Monument Removal Act was introduced by Democrats in both the House and Senate on Feb. 23, 2021.

It would prohibit “a state from providing for display in National Statuary Hall a statue of a person who voluntarily served with the Confederate States of America, and it provides for the removal, return, and replacement of any statue currently on display that depicts such a person.”

At least 10 statues would be removed under the bill. Some of them have stood in the Capitol’s Statuary Hall for a century.

They were placed there under authority of 1864 legislation that authorized each state to submit two statues of local heroes. They include Thomas Edison from Ohio, Will Rogers from Oklahoma, George Washington from Virginia and Ronald Wilson Reagan from California.

However, they also include Jefferson Davis and Alexander Hamilton Stephens, the president and vice president of the Confederacy.

The statue that grabbed the most attention during the House Rules Committee hearing was the one depicting Roger Brooke Taney, the former chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and a Maryland native.

He delivered the majority opinion in the notorious 1857 case of Dred Scott v. Sandford, ruling that African Americans could not be considered U.S. citizens and that Congress lacked authority to prohibit slavery. During the Civil War, he sympathized with southern states and blamed President Abraham Lincoln for the conflict.

Even Maryland native Rep. Jamie Raskin wants Taney’s statue removed from its pedestal in Statuary Hall.

“He wanted our union to stand on the principle of White supremacy,” Raskin, a Democrat, said.

Like other members of Congress, he wants Taney replaced with Thurgood Marshall, who successfully argued the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education school desegregation case as an attorney before being appointed to the Supreme Court.

Republicans on the Rules Committee agreed that Confederate statues should be removed but expressed concern about the procedure.

The choice of statues is supposed to be left to the states under the original federal legislation, which gives no authority to Congress to override their discretion.

The Confederate Monument Removal Act would not take away a state’s choice but would subject it to federal approval.

“The processes are clearly flawed,” Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Ill., said about the pending federal legislation.

However, even Republican critics of the procedure, such as Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma, said they were glad to see Congress addressing the issue.

“We’re moving in the right direction,” Cole said.

A+
a-
  • COnfederate Statues
  • Congress
  • House Rules Committee
  • Jim McGovern
  • Thurgood Marshall
  • In The News

    Health

    Voting

    Political News

    March 27, 2024
    by Dan McCue
    New Dem Chair Kuster Announces Retirement Following 2024 Election

    CONCORD, N.H. — Rep. Annie Kuster, D-N.H., who, among other things, is the current chair of the New Democrat Coalition... Read More

    CONCORD, N.H. — Rep. Annie Kuster, D-N.H., who, among other things, is the current chair of the New Democrat Coalition in the House, revealed Wednesday that she will not seek reelection to Congress this year. In a lengthy statement released by her office, Kuster gives no... Read More

    March 25, 2024
    by Dan McCue
    CPAC Releases Ranking of Most Conservative Members of Congress

    WASHINGTON — The Conservative Political Action Conference, also known as CPAC, on Monday released its annual ranking of members of... Read More

    WASHINGTON — The Conservative Political Action Conference, also known as CPAC, on Monday released its annual ranking of members of the House and Senate based on their conservative bona fides or lack thereof. To produce this year’s scorecard, the CPAC foundation’s Center for Legislative Accountability analyzed... Read More

    March 22, 2024
    by Dan McCue
    After a Decade on Capitol Hill, Brad Howard Steps Out on His Own

    WASHINGTON — After a decade on Capitol Hill, most recently as chief of staff for former Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla.,... Read More

    WASHINGTON — After a decade on Capitol Hill, most recently as chief of staff for former Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., and communications director of the Blue Dog Coalition, Brad Howard knew it was time for change. “It was time to move into the private sector,” he... Read More

    March 22, 2024
    by Dan McCue
    Greene Files Motion to Vacate Speaker’s Chair

    WASHINGTON — For the second time in five months, a member of the Republican Conference in the House has filed... Read More

    WASHINGTON — For the second time in five months, a member of the Republican Conference in the House has filed a motion to vacate the chair of the party’s speaker. But this time, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., says the motion is intended merely as a... Read More

    March 22, 2024
    by Dan McCue
    Gallagher to Leave Congress April 19

    WASHINGTON — Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., who already announced he would not seek reelection, surprised many on Capitol Hill on... Read More

    WASHINGTON — Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., who already announced he would not seek reelection, surprised many on Capitol Hill on Friday by announcing he plans to leave April 19, several months before his current term is up. Gallagher’s impending departure will further shrink the razor-thin Republican... Read More

    March 22, 2024
    by Tom Ramstack
    Judge Upholds DC Law Giving Noncitizens Voting Rights

    WASHINGTON — A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit Thursday against the District of Columbia Board of Elections that sought to... Read More

    WASHINGTON — A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit Thursday against the District of Columbia Board of Elections that sought to invalidate a law giving noncitizens a right to vote in local elections. The Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act would allow anyone who is a resident... Read More

    News From The Well
    scroll top