Zachariah Chandler and Gerald Ford
The Michigan House acted prematurely in passing a resolution which would replace a statue in the US Capitol of Zachariah Chandler with one of Gerald Ford. The resolution passed in June by voice vote without undergoing a public hearing. The Michigan Senate should preserve the Chandler statue by shelving the proposal. President Ford's place in history is secure and tributes to him already exist in the Capitol, whereas removing Chandler's statue would erase an important part of Michigan's history.
In the US Capitol statuary hall collection, each state is allowed two statues depicting citizens of renown. The eclectic collection contains political figures, scientists, military leaders, social reformers, inventors, native leaders, and at least one entertainer (Will Rogers). Because Presidents are memorialized in so many other ways, most states have used their slots to focus on other aspects of their history. Hence, only four Presidents are depicted in the collection. Recent changes in Federal law now give state's the latitude to change their statuary hall representation. Kansas is the only state to have made a change to date, though resolutions proposing exchanges have been introduced in a handful of other states.
In 1848, Zachariah Chandler, a businessman and Mayor of Detroit became a hero of the anti-slavery movement when he paid a Federal court fine levied against several citizens of Marshall, Michigan for aiding fugitive slaves. The Marshall residents had jailed Kentucky slave catchers who were attempting to recapture an escaped slave, Adam Crosswhite and his family. The Crosswhites subsequently escaped to Canada, but the Kentuckians pursued their claim in court and were awarded a hefty judgment for the loss of their "property." Chandler, a member of the Whig party, gained statewide notoriety and was chosen as the Whig's gubernatorial nominee in 1852.
In 1854, the debate over slavery intensified when the US House and Senate passed, and President Franklin Pierce signed the Kansas-Nebraska Act, allowing new states to choose whether they would be slave or free. This idea of "popular sovereignty" had long been championed by Michigan's senior, US Senator, Lewis Cass, who saw it as a peaceable and fair way to resolve the slavery issue.
The reaction in Michigan was swift and dramatic, with Chandler and other anti-slavery leaders pointing out that the adoption of the Kansas-Nebraska Act opened the door for slavery to potentially spread northward. Chandler called for anti-slavery forces to work together in opposing the plan. Thus, the fusion movement involving anti-slavery Democrats, anti-slavery Whigs, and members of the Free Soil Party was born. The anti-slavery Whigs, led by Chandler, formed the largest contingent. The group met on July 6, 1854 in Jackson where they adopted a party platform, selected a slate of candidates for that fall's elections, and chose the name "Republican."
By 1856, the movement had spread to Illinois, where Abraham Lincoln, reprised Chandler's role by bringing Illinois' Whigs into the new party. By 1857, Republicans had captured the Michigan legislature and elected Chandler to replace Cass in the US Senate. Chandler represented Michigan in the U.S. Senate throughout the Civil War and later served as President Grant's Secretary of the Interior. He died in 1879 and rests in Elmwood Cemetery in Detroit.
Chandler played a pivotal role in determining the nation's future by helping to create the template by which Northern states would respond to the popular sovereignty movement. In crafting a new political party, Michigan's anti-slavery activists unified disparate forces and unleashed a series of events which would lead to the election of Lincoln as President and the succession of the South. Without Zachariah Chandler, there might never have been a Republican Party, a President Lincoln, or a President Ford.
Michigan was thoughtful and generous in its selection of Chandler for the statuary hall collection. In 1911, thirty two years after his death, the legislature appropriated $15,000 to commission and erect his statue. In contrast, the Ford proposal comes just a few months after his passing, and though the offer of private funding from the Ford Foundation for the statue is generous, it does not convey the sense of public support the Chandler statue merited.
Gerald Ford's place in history and in the Capitol is secure and would be unchanged by the addition of another statue. As a former president and vice-president, both Gerald Ford's portrait and bust already reside in the Capitol. He is memorialized by a presidential library, museum, foundation, federal building, airport, aircraft carrier, freeway, field house, amphitheater, conservation center, park, scholastic award, a University of Michigan athletic award, Boy Scout council, schools of public policy, jobs corp. center, etc. His image was recently placed on a U.S. postal stamp, and as part of a presidential series, in a few years his image will appear on a dollar coin. Gerald Ford will not be forgotten.
Michigan should not succumb to the temptation to hastily replace Zachariah Chandler's statue with one of Gerald Ford. Though Ford is more widely known today, Michigan's statuary hall representation should not be a popularity contest. The Senate should stop a well-intended measure, fueled by emotion so closely following Ford's passing, from obscuring an important piece of our state's story.