Who best represents the story of Ohio?
Who’s life story best reflects the values and history modern-day Ohioans want to share with the world?

The National Statuary Collection Study Committee wants to send him or her to Washington… sort of.

The Study Committee – made up of six members of the Ohio General Assembly and several non-voting members – wants to hear from Ohioans about what person from Ohio’s history should be cast in bronze or marble and placed in the U.S. Capitol Building for generations of families and school children to see and learn from.

The Study Committee was formed following passage in 2006 of Senate Bill 277, sponsored by State Sen. Jeff Jacobson (R-Dayton), to replace the statue now in the U.S. Capitol of former Gov. William Allen, a 19th century politician who coined the pro-expansion political slogan “Fifty-Four/Forty or Fight!”

The two Ohio statues – the other is of President James A. Garfield – were placed in National Statuary Hall in 1886-87. The Ohio General Assembly decided that Allen’s pro-slavery position and outspoken criticism of President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War make him a poor representative for Ohio in the U.S. Capitol.

The Study Committee is charged with reviewing the lives of Ohio citizens who positively represent the state based on their talents, character, and contributions, according to Senate Bill 277. The Study Committee is to submit a report to the General Assembly of its recommendation of an individual who should replace Allen as one of Ohio's representatives in the National Statuary Collection in the U.S. Capitol.
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