 The statue in 2020 | |
| Location | Talmadge Plaza,Atlanta, Georgia 33°44′58″N84°23′22″W / 33.74934°N 84.38955°W /33.74934; -84.38955 |
|---|---|
| Designer | Joseph Klein |
| Height | 12 feet (3.7 m) |
| Dedicated date | December 4, 1932 |
| Dedicated to | Thomas E. Watson |
Thestatue of Thomas E. Watson is a public monument located near theGeorgia State Capitol inAtlanta, Georgia. Dedicated in 1932, the statue honors Georgian politicianThomas E. Watson, who served terms in theUnited States Congress as both aRepresentative andSenator in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Originally located on the steps of the capitol building, the statue was removed from this location in 2013 and relocated to a nearbyplaza.
Thomas E. Watson was a Georgian politician. Born September 5, 1856,[1] he initially rose to prominence as an advocate againstlynching and a proponent for expanding suffrage toAfrican Americans.[2] Early in his political career, he served in theGeorgia General Assembly and as aU.S. Representative from Georgia.[2] In the1908 United States presidential election, he ran as a candidate for thePeople's Party,[2] by which time he had changed his positions and had become an ardent supporter ofwhite supremacy and espousedanti-Semitic andanti-Catholic sentiment.[3] His anti-Semitic writings contributed to public sentiment that lead to the lynching ofLeo Frank in 1915.[1][2][4] He was later elected to theUnited States Senate in 1920,[2] but died shortly into his term on September 26, 1922.[1]
On August 21, 1925, the Georgia General Assembly passed a resolution calling for the erection of a monument honoring Watson on the grounds of theGeorgia State Capitol.[1] The monument was designed by Joseph Klein, anAtlanta-based sculptor,[5] and dedicated on December 4, 1932.[1] The statue was originally located on the steps on the west side of the building.[6]
In October 2013,Georgia GovernorNathan Deal issued astate executive order ordering the statue to be removed from its position and relocated to aplaza near the capitol.[2][3] This move came during a majorrenovation project on the building's west steps, with the decision to permanently relocate the statue rather than temporarily removing it expected to save between $50,000 and $60,000.[6][7] The statue was removed from the capitol steps on November 29.[8] The move was supported by theAnti-Defamation League andcivil rights leaders,[9][6] while criticized by theSons of Confederate Veterans as "an attempt to rewrite or cover up … history."[7] Former Georgia GovernorRoy Barnes voiced his support for the removal, saying he wished he had done the same during his governorship, but that "I just never got around to it. I regret I didn't."[10]
Media related toThomas E. Watson statue (Georgia State Capitol) at Wikimedia Commons