Slaveholder Douglas' Statue To Be Removed From Capitol Lawn
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) -- Illinois officials have approved removing a statue of 19th century politician Stephen A. Douglas from the front of the state Capitol.
The board of the Office of the Architect of the Capitol voted Wednesday to remove a statue of the senator and a statue of early settler Pierre Menard because both profited from slavery.
The action came after House Speaker Michael Madigan said in July that Douglas should not be so honored because he profited from his wife's slave-operated Mississippi plantation. Douglas' career was intertwined with that of Abraham Lincoln, who beat him in the race for president in 1860.
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