New York’s City Council is taking their campaign against statues and monuments to a new level. After removing the statue of Thomas Jefferson from City Hall, they now want to remove all statues of George Washington and Christopher Columbus.
It begs the question, will the city of Washington and the district be the next to succumb to this movement?
The council’s objective is to rid the city of any monuments that honor individuals who owned slaves or profited from slavery. This also includes anyone connected to “systematic crimes against indigenous people or other crimes against humanity.”
Interestingly, there is no consideration of balancing these sins and crimes against the accomplishments and virtues of those being honored.
George Washington did benefit from slavery, although he freed his own slaves after his death. However, his contributions to the nation have had a lasting impact and changed America for the better.
The United States of America might not exist today if it weren’t for General Washington. He advocated for equal rights for individuals of all religious backgrounds, as evidenced by his letters to various religious leaders.
In a letter to the Jews of Newport, RI, he wrote, “The citizens of the United States of America have a right to applaud themselves for having given to mankind examples of an enlarged and liberal policy: a policy worthy of imitation. All possess alike liberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship.” This historic letter marked the first time a nation’s leader proclaimed equal rights for its Jewish citizens.
When evaluating America’s first president, his good deeds should certainly be taken into account.
On the other hand, there are figures like Malcolm X, who energized African-American citizens but had a long history of antisemitism. Should streets honoring him be renamed?
Establishing a single standard for evaluating monuments and street names would be a challenging task, but an important one.
For instance, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who has an island named after him, accomplished many positive things. However, his failures were significant and costly. He maintained racial segregation in the armed forces while African Americans fought for democracy. He also restricted Jewish immigration, making it difficult for Jewish refugees to enter the country during the Holocaust.
History is filled with complexities. Thomas Jefferson’s views on slavery were complex, and Abraham Lincoln had complicated views on the rights of African Americans. Woodrow Wilson was known for his pursuit of peace but was also a virulent racist.
One of the City Council’s proposed alternatives is adding “explanatory plaques” to monuments, detailing both the misdeeds and the accomplishments of the historical figures. As long as these explanations are historically accurate, fair, and nuanced, it could be a viable solution.
However, the concern lies with radical individuals who seek to shape the narrative in accordance with their ideological agendas. It is also important to recognize that academic historians can sometimes distort history to promote their own agendas.
Perhaps a better approach would be to provide websites near the monuments where conflicting views can be shared and debated. Let the marketplace of ideas determine the legacies of historical figures.
After all, even the explorer our continent is named after, Christopher Columbus, has a complex legacy.
The City Council should focus on uniting New Yorkers and Americans around pressing issues such as crime, fentanyl abuse, immigration, and the economy instead of getting caught up in divisive issues from the past.
Alan Dershowitz is a professor emeritus at Harvard Law School. Andrew Stein served as New York City Council president from 1986-1994.
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