Ohio! Put a woman in Statuary Hall!
The statue of Gov. William Allen in National Statuary Hall has been slated for replacement.
Ohio is in the process right now of choosing a replacement for one of its statues.
For more than a century, Ohio has been represented in Statuary Hall by the marble likenesses of President James Garfield and Governor William Allen. Garfield is still secure on his perch, but Allen’s racist views have made him something of an embarrassment. In 2006 the Ohio General Assembly voted to form a Statuary Committee to find a suitable replacement for the Allen statue.
In January 2010 Dr. Lynette Long, President of EVE, testifed before the Statuary Committee on the importance of honoring more women in National Statuary Hall. When the Statuary Committee announced its list of ten finalists, three women had made the list.
- Thomas Edison, inventor
- Harriet Beecher Stowe, abolitionist and author
- Jesse Owens, Olympic gold medal winner
- Harriet Taylor Upton, women’s suffrage activist
- James M. Ashley, Toledo congressman and abolitionist
- Wright brothers, Dayton aviation pioneers
- William McCulloch, Piqua congressman and civil rights supporter
- Judith Resnik, Akron astronaut who died on the Challenger
- Albert Sabin, developer of the oral polio vaccine
- Ulysses S. Grant, 18th president and Civil War general
Public Voting:
From March 20 to June 12, 2010, Ohioans were given a chance to vote for their top choices at museums, historical sites, and other locations around the state. EVE campaigned and organized educational events in the state throughout this period, urging Ohians to vote for one of the women candidates.
When the results of the public balloting were tallied in July, the top vote-getter was Thomas Edison.
The Committee’s Recommendation
On August 26, the Statuary Committee formally recommended Thomas Edison for the state’s new statue.
The recommendation now goes to the Ohio State Legislature House and Senate for their consideration.
EVE’s Ohio Statue Project
At this writing, we fully expect Ohio lawmakers to choose Thomas Edison as the state’s new representative in National Statuary Hall. This project section remains as a record of our efforts in the state, and of the remarkable enthusiasm shown by those volunteers and students who campaigned to “Put a Woman in Statuary Hall!”
Ohio Statue Project Action Center
Visit our Action Center for resources and samples to get you started. Share your own ideas and letters too!
- Ohio Newspapers Contact Information
- Sample Letters to the Editor
- Statue Committee Contact Information
- Sample letter to Statue Committee
Have Your Say
Take our poll! Who do you think should represent Ohio in Statuary Hall? We'll send the results to the Ohio Statue Committee:
- Harriet Beecher Stowe?
- Harriet Taylor Upton?
- Judith Resnik?
- One of the guys?
Ohio Statue Project Updates
Ohio statue committee recommends Thomas Edison
August 27, 2010 by EVE · Comments Off
No surprise:
Committee recommends Thomas Edison for new Ohio statue in Washington
By William Hershey | Thursday, August 26, 2010, 02:56 PM
By a unanimous 6-0 vote, a special legislative committee on Thursday, Aug. 26, recommended that inventor Thomas Edison represent Ohio on a new statute in Statuary Hall in Washington, D.C.
Rep. Thomas Letson, D-Warren, initially passed but then cast his vote for Edison to make it a unanimous selection. Letson said after the meeting that his first choice was the Wright brothers, the aviation pioneers from Dayton. He said, however, he wanted the committee’s choice to be unanimous. …continue reading
Ohio voters choose another man for Statuary Hall
July 10, 2010 by EVE · 2 Comments »
Sorry, we couldn’t resist. Here’s the press release from the Ohio Historical Society:
Ohioans Choose Edison for National Statuary Hall
(COLUMBUS, OHIO) -On behalf of the National Statuary Collection Study Committee, the Ohio Historical Society announces that inventor Thomas A. Edison was the top vote-getter for Ohio’s representative to National Statuary Hall Collection in the U.S. Capitol.
From March 20 to June 12, more than 46,000 Ohioans statewide cast ballots for one of 10 nominees for whom they thought should stand for Ohio in Washington, D.C. Of the total, Edison received 14,261 votes, followed by the Wright Brothers with 13,363 votes and Jesse Owens with 4,921 votes, according to Burt Logan, executive director and CEO of the Ohio Historical Society.
“The response to the popular vote was extraordinary,” Logan said. “Ohioans of all ages and from every region of the state took this opportunity to tell state legislators who they want to represent the state in National Statuary Hall and Thomas Edison, world-famous inventor born in Milan, Ohio, is the people’s choice.”
The public vote isn’t binding, but most of the news reports in Ohio seem to be taking it as given that Edison will be the state’s new statue. …continue reading
Are the Wright Brothers the Right Choice for Ohio?
June 30, 2010 by Lynette Long, Ph.D., President of EVE · 1 Comment »
The polling in Ohio has come to a close, and now it’s time for six members of the Ohio state legislature to decide who is the right choice to represent Ohio in National Statuary Hall. Two of the final candidates are Wilbur and Orville Wright, credited with the first flight. Their remarkable achievement is memorialized in a frieze in the Capitol Rotunda called “The Birth of Aviation.” This frieze is one of nineteen friezes that surround the dome of the Rotunda. Only one of the nineteen friezes depicts a recognizable woman, Pocahontas.
The Wright Brothers are also recognized on the reverse of two quarters in the new state quarter series. The quarters from Ohio and North Carolina both honor the Wright Brothers. The quarter from only one state (Alabama) commemorates the achievements of a woman, that woman being Helen Keller.
The contributions of the Wright Brothers were significant, but they have already been honored in the U.S. Capitol and on our nation’s currency. It’s time for Ohio to grant visibility to one of the other candidates for National Statuary Hall. Ohio’s National Statuary Committee has the power to make the world different for the next generation of girls. I hope they put a woman in National Statuary Hall.
Read more posts in Ohio Statue Project Updates
Ohio Statue Project in the News
News roundup: week ending July 9, 2010
July 8, 2010 by EVE · 1 Comment »
Ohioans want Edison as U.S. Capitol statue Edison in running for D.C. statue pick Edison still wins contest after boxes of uncounted ballots discovered Ohio Historical Society Will Recount Statuary Hall... ...continue reading
News roundup: week ending June 11, 2010
June 16, 2010 by EVE · 1 Comment »
Make your mark in history: Only a week left to cast ballots for Edison statue at U.S. Capitol Vote now or never on Ohio’s choice to stand in Statuary Hall Historic Ohioans vying for spot in Statuary... ...continue reading
Voting closes this weekend for statue of influential Ohioan to be on display at U.S. Capitol
June 7, 2010 by EVE · Comments Off
Published on June 7, 2010 in the Cleveland Plain Dealer: COLUMBUS, Ohio – Voting closes Saturday to help decide which influential Ohioan will be memorialized as a statue and represent the state at the... ...continue reading
Read more posts in Ohio Statue Project in the News