Nebraska is one of only three U.S. states that has voted to “change out” its original pair of statues of famous people in the National Statuary Hall Collection in the U.S. Capitol Building.
The collection was established in 1864 to feature two statues from each state. In 2000, the U.S. Congress relaxed the rules to allow states to “substitute in” alternative statues.
Nebraska’s state legislature took advantage of the opening to “retire” both of its original statues – William Jennings Bryan and Julius Sterling Morton. Both of these gentlemen had represented Nebraska in Statuary Hall since 1937.
Bryan
yielded his spot to Chief Standing Bear of the Ponca Tribe of Native Americans,
while Morton stepped aside to enable author Willa Sibert Cather to have a turn.
William
Jennings Bryan settled in the capital city of Lincoln, Neb., and served two
terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. Bryan was trained as a lawyer and
became a dominant force in the Democrat Party, running three times as its
candidate for U.S. president.
Bryan
lost twice to Republican William McKinley in 1896 and 1900, and he lost again
to Republican William Taft in 1908. President Woodrow Wilson selected Bryan to
serve as his Secretary of State following the 1912 presidential election.
Throughout
his political career, Bryan was a highly effective orator known for his
powerful, articulate and dramatic speaking style. Bryan’s speeches especially
resonated with farmers and laborers, earning him the nickname as “The Great
Commoner,” which reflected his ability to champion the cause of the working
class.
J. Sterling Morton was 22 when he moved to the Nebraska Territory in 1854 from Michigan and purchased 160 acres at Nebraska City. (The community is located on the Missouri River, about 45 miles south of Omaha.) Morton became the editor of the Nebraska City News.
He was appointed Secretary of the Nebraska Territory by President James Buchanan in 1858 and was Acting Governor for a brief period. (Nebraska became a state in 1867.)
On
his property, Morton indulged his fascination with trees, planting many rare
varieties and heirloom apple trees. Morton sought to instruct people in the
modern techniques of farming and forestry. He became well known in Nebraska for
his political, agricultural and literary activities and was appointed as U.S.
Secretary of Agriculture by President Cleveland in 1893.
Morton is credited with helping change that department into a coordinated service to farmers, and he supported Cleveland in setting up national forest reservations. Morton is known nationally as the founder of Arbor Day.
Rudulph
Evans of Front Royal, Va., sculpted both of the original Bryan and Morton statues. (Evans
designed the statue of Thomas Jefferson inside the Jefferson Memorial in
Washington. At the time the memorial was inaugurated, in 1943, due to material
shortages during World War II, the statue was of plaster patinated to resemble
bronze; the finished bronze was cast four years later.)
So, where are they now? The William Jennings Bryan statue is located at the Nebraska National Guard Museum in Seward, Neb., located about 25 miles west of Lincoln.
The
statue of J. Sterling Morton is inside the Morton-James Public Library in
Nebraska City. The building was gifted by Morton Salt business tycoon Joy
Morton (son of J. Sterling). Vantine James served as a library board member for
38 years.
The other two states who have subbed-in two replacement statues at the U.S. Capitol are Arkansas and Kansas.
Newcomers from Arkansas are civil rights leader Daisy Bates and famed country music artist Johnny Cash. They have replaced James Paul Clarke and Uriah Milton Rose.
U.M. Rose was a brilliant lawyer and judge in Arkansas.
Kansas is now represented by Amelia Earhart and Dwight D. Eisenhower, as successors to John James Ingalls and George Washington Glick.
John Ingalls was a U.S. Senator from Kansas.
George Glick was the ninth governor of Kansas.
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