Thomas Jefferson Statue – New York City, New York

 

Reinterpretation/Recontextualization Framework. Explore definitions here. 

Introduction

City Hall Park sits in lower Manhattan in a neighborhood called The Civic Center bordered by Tribeca to the west, Chinatown to the north, and the Financial District to the south.

The Tweed Courthouse, named after Boss Tweed, leader of the corrupt Tammany Hall political machine, sits at Chambers Street along the northeast side of the park.

Behind the Tweed Courthouse in the middle of City Hall Park is New York City Hall, housing the Mayor’s Office and the City Council Chambers. The tree-lined paths of City Hall Park strike a contrast with the surrounding government buildings. Inside the park, people sit on benches reading, eating, and resting. The paths that wind between the Tweed Courthouse and City Hall see a steady flow of people using the park as a cut-through. 

During the summer, the City Hall building is nearly hidden by numerous trees from outside the park. For those who do not know the area, only the gates and fences that prevent access to City Hall give a clue that something important is there. Security guards protect the entrances to the grounds of City Hall inside the park.

Members of the public can access City Hall to observe Council sessions or attend tours led by the building historian. The City Council Chambers are on the second floor of the building. This room is where City Council holds committee meetings and votes on legislation. This room was also the location of the New York Thomas Jefferson statue from 1919 to 2021, when it was relocated to the New-York Historical Society. At the time of its removal, New York City had seen widespread Black Lives Matter protests as a response to the murder of George Floyd. In 2021, a new City Council took office that was the most diverse in the city’s history, with more than half of seats held by women and more people of color than any other Council (Hogan and Cruz, 2021).

Section 1: Historical Context 

Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was the third president of the United States, in office from 1801 to 1809, and one of the authors of the United States’ Declaration of Independence. Much of the scholarship and debate around Jefferson tackles the issue of his apparent contradictions. He owned a profitable plantation, Monticello, and 607 enslaved people during his lifetime (Wilkinson, 2019). He also wrote about concepts believed to be foundational to US democracy, including equality, individual freedom, freedom of speech, and freedom of religion. 

These contradictions informed debates around the removal of the statue of Jefferson in the New York City Hall. Jefferson’s stance on religious freedom (he is credited with the first known usage of the phrase “separation of church and state”) is also important in understanding the debates around the statue. 

Jefferson as founding father plays a crucial role in narratives that tie the United States and American identity to ideals of democracy, equality, and freedom. The lionization of Jefferson as foundational for US democracy and the reality of his role as enslaver present a conundrum for Black Americans involved in politics. What does it mean to work toward equality and various freedoms within a political system that attributes its power to someone who owned enslaved people? 

Section 2: Creation and Location of the Statue 

The statue of Thomas Jefferson in New York City was donated to the city in 1834 by Uriah P. Levy. Levy was an officer in the US Navy, a real estate investor, and one of the most successful Jewish Americans of his time. Levy had faced ongoing anti-Semitism while in the navy (Leepson, 2002) and considered Jefferson’s support for religious liberty of crucial importance to the lives of Jewish Americans (Sarna, 2021). 

In 1833, Levy commissioned prominent French monument maker Jean David d’Angers to create a statue of Jefferson (Leepson, 2002). D’Angers’s final product was a bronze statue that was sent to Washington, DC, and now stands in the Capitol building rotunda. The statue in New York City is the painted plaster mold that was used to create the bronze statue.

The archival record on the locations of the statue is incomplete. However, historian Mary Beth Betts has produced a timeline using letters and photographs that trace the movement of the statue (New-York Historical Society, 2020). The first location of the statue at City Hall was most likely the Governor’s Room, where it remained until at least 1905. Because the Governor’s Room was used for receiving visitors and for formal receptions, the statue was seen by important visitors to City Hall. 

Starting in 1905, the Governor’s Room underwent a series of renovations that led to the statue’s removal and placement in different locations throughout the building. By 1909, the statue was in the rotunda. It remained there until 1915, when the city’s Art Commission (now the Public Design Commission) approved the statue’s removal to the basement of the building. 

Jefferson Levy, Uriah P. Levy’s nephew, wrote a letter asking that the statue be returned to its original location, the Governor’s Room. In July 1919, the Board of Aldermen passed a resolution in favor of Levy’s suggestion. However, by October 1919 the statue had been placed in what is now the City Council Chambers. A month later, the Art Commission approved the permanent location of the statue there. The statue remained in the Chambers until 2021, when it was relocated to the New-York Historical Society.

Section 3: The Process of Removal

3.1. Calls for Removal 

In 2001, City Council Member Charles Barron recommended that the Thomas Jefferson statue be removed and destroyed (Cascone, 2021). While removal of the statue did not gain widespread support at that time, the political moment was quite different two decades later. In 2020, Speaker of the City Council, Corey Johnson, and the Co-Chairs of the Council’s Black, Latino, and Asian Caucus sent a letter to New York Mayor Bill de Blasio stating that the statue standing in City Hall was “inappropriate and serves as a constant reminder of the injustices that have plagued communities of color since the inception of our country” (Johnson et al., 2020). The letter was sent to Mayor Bill de Blasio on June 18, 2020, in hopes that it would gain the mayor’s support while the issue was taken to the Public Design Commission. 

A day after the letter was sent, the mayor announced the creation of the Racial Justice and Reconciliation Commission. The overall goal of the commission was to “understand the effects of structural and institutional racism in New York City” (NYC Office of the Mayor, 2020). One of the commission’s specific responsibilities was to decide on questions of public monuments, including the City Hall Jefferson statue. The RRC recommended removal of the statue and forwarded the issue to the Public Design Commission. 

3.2. The Public Design Commission 

The Public Design Commission (PDC) is a New York City agency that oversees decisions on architecture and design, including art and monuments, on city property. It consists of 11 unpaid members appointed by and reporting to the mayor. Membership comprises experts in architecture, public space, museums, and art, in addition to three lay people. The mayor is also a member. PDC members vote on proposals submitted by city agencies—usually with little need for extended discussion or public involvement. 

Once the RRC recommended removal of the statue, the issue was placed on the PDC agenda for the October 18, 2021, meeting. The proposal to relocate the statue to the New-York Historical Society (NYHS) developed after conversations between City Council members and the NYHS.

3.3. Media Attention 

Historians concerned with the decreasing protection of public space and art in New York City learned about the PDC meeting to vote on the location of the statue. Alarmed at the lack of public input on removal, they contacted the New York Post to publicize the upcoming decision. A letter signed by 17 historians was sent to PDC President Signe Nielsen asking that the statue not be moved from City Hall to a private institution. Other media outlets, including The New York Times, began to report on the question of removal, and politicians began commenting on the issue. 

3.4. The PDC Hearing 

As a result of increased public attention, the PDC moved discussion of the Jefferson statue from its October 18, 2021, meeting agenda to its public hearing agenda. The PDC provided an online sign-up process for attendees to make comments. Most of the comments supported leaving the statue in the building. At the public hearing, PDC members voted to remove the statue by January 1, 2022. 

However, approval of the NYHS proposal was delayed because of two concerns raised by PDC members: first, that members of the public would not be able to access the statue free of charge; and second, that the public had not had enough time to review the proposal. The NYHS proposal was placed on the November 18, 2021, PDC meeting agenda, and the PDC voted to approve relocation at the NYHS. The Thomas Jefferson statue was shipped to the NYHS on November 21, 2021 (Smart, 2021).

Section 4: Proposals and Reactions

4.1. Removal from City Hall and Relocation to the NYHS

The proposal put forth by members of the City Council called for the Thomas Jefferson statue to be loaned to the NYHS for 10 years, with reevaluation at the end of that period. Expertise in historical interpretation and the handling of works of art was central to the plan. Proponents of the relocation argued that it would allow both preservation of the statue and appropriate contextualization in New York City history. The statue would be used to “invite discussion around a very difficult topic in American history” (NYC Design, 2021a). 

Advocates for removal noted Jefferson’s reliance on enslavement for his livelihood and his stated belief in the inferiority of Black people. They also pointed to the sexual relationship between Jefferson and Sally Hemings, a 16-year-old girl enslaved by Jefferson (Gordon-Reed, 1997)—a relationship of structural violence in which an enslaved child did not have the ability to give or refuse consent. 

4.2. Relocation to the Governor’s Room 

A counterproposal developed by the 17 historians mentioned above advocated the relocation and recontextualization of the statue in the Governor’s Room in City Hall. There visitors would learn about multiple aspects of Jefferson’s life and influence on US history, including both his status as owner of enslaved people and his influence on democratic ideals. The historians voiced concerns about the decreasing support in New York City for public space and art, pointing out that the NYHS proposal would mean moving public art to a private institution. Speakers also stated that the Governor’s Room, containing many other works of art belonging to the city, would be the fittest location. Finally, supporters raised the issue of the need to protect democratic ideals (embodied in the statue) given the increasing normalization of authoritarianism.

4.3. Status Quo 

There was also some support for keeping the statue in City Council Chambers. Supporters of the status quo noted Jefferson’s influence in developing a framework for US democracy, opining that it was Jefferson’s beliefs on equality that allowed people to realize enslavement was morally wrong. City Council Members Joe Borelli and Steven Matteo (Minority Leader) made statements to the media against removal (Kashiwagi, 2020).

Section 5: Framework – Recontextualization 

For the first six months of its loan, the Jefferson statue was placed in the first-floor Smith Gallery Lobby between the main public entrance and exit doors.

Following this, the statue was moved to the Patricia D. Klingenstein Library Reading Room, where it will be for the remainder of the loan. Whereas in the City Council Chambers the statue had been on a pedestal that raised it over session attendees, in the NYHS Reading Room the statue is on the floor. There are two signs at the foot of the statue. One explains the creation and relocation of the statue and the other directs museum visitors to scan a QR code to hear experts speak about the history of the statue, Thomas Jefferson, and Uriah Levy.

Section 6: Issues and Recommendations 

6.1. Elected Officials and Historical Trauma 

The Thomas Jefferson statue in New York City differs from many other memorials in that its longtime location in the City Council Chambers meant it was not widely visible. Many New Yorkers are unaware that City Council sessions are open to the public. It was this lack of visibility to a wider public that caused City Council members to initiate and pursue the removal process. Debates and proposals primarily involved public officials and scholars. Only a few members of the public with a particular interest in Jefferson took part.

Advocates for removal pointed out that City Council members were asked to do government business under the looming figure of someone who had both built wealth from enslaved labor and repeatedly described Black people as inferior. The case of the New York City Thomas Jefferson statue illustrates the need to consider the effects of monuments on public officials in addition to the wider public. 

Additionally, monuments in government buildings should be analyzed in terms of their effects on full inclusion in political life. When participants in historical atrocities are honored in government work sites, officeholders must decide whether to contend with the heroization of these figures on a regular basis or refrain from political work. This reinforces a two-tier system in which public servants from communities with historically limited political inclusion continue to lack access to political life.

6.2. Safety of Public Officials 

During the decision-making process related to the New York City Jefferson statue, at least one person involved received death threats. Threats of racialized violence in retaliation for Black people’s involvement in politics (or those seen as supporters) have a long history in the United States (Foner, 2014). Decision making around monuments needs to consider—and ensure—the safety of people working in government and the safety of their families. A culture of fear will have widening negative effects on full participation in public and political life.

6.3. Discourses Around Historical Atrocities 

One notable aspect of the debates around the Jefferson statue was the varied ways that groups supporting different proposals spoke about enslavement. During the PDC hearing the reality of enslavement was acknowledged by supporters of all proposals. However, the full scope and impacts of enslavement were only raised during arguments for full removal. This speaks to the normalization of enslavement in American society. Plans to deal with monuments might consider their role in deconstructing this normalization, which hides or glosses over the full scope of historical atrocities.

6.4. Coalition Building 

The context of the New York City Thomas Jefferson statue raises the important question of simultaneous erasure of histories. Jefferson’s history as owner of enslaved people sits alongside his history as proponent of religious liberty and advocate for inclusion of Jewish people in the United States. Both Black Americans and Jewish Americans contend with the effects of past and current atrocities. Responses to monuments need to reflect full understanding of the trauma, erasure, and exclusion of different groups. 

6.5. Representations of History

 Immovable and unchanging physical objects are not necessarily adequate modes of dealing with history. History involves multiple perspectives, positionalities, and changing understandings over time. Statues designed for permanency frame history as static and preclude multiple perspectives. Governments, artists, and advocates should reimagine the presentation and community processing of historical moments and figures.

6.6. Memorialization of Historical Figures 

The commemoration of historical figures should be critically questioned as a mode of remembering history. Narratives that position Jefferson as uniquely influential on American thought do not acknowledge the fact that an idea originates from multiple people, conversations, and contextual influences. Memorializing Jefferson as responsible for the concept of human equality relies on what are undoubtedly silences in the historical record (Trouillot, 2015) regarding the people and contexts that, together, built the concepts for which Jefferson is credited. 

6.7. Protection of Public Space and Public Access 

Decisions around representations of history should reflect current political and economic contexts. The increasing privatization of space documented in New York City closes off opportunities for full inclusion in public life as well as moments for community building (Smith and Low, 2013). Creation and maintenance of the commons provides opportunities to increase inclusion and forge new publics.

6.8. Government Processes 

The process of deciding on the status and location of the Thomas Jefferson statue was contentious and left all sides feeling frustrated and unheard. This was due in large part to the design of the public-engagement component of the governmental decision-making process. Public hearings are opportunities for presentation, not discussion. The inability of proponents of different proposals to interact with and question each other limits the possibility of a consensus outcome incorporating multiple perspectives. Instead, it frames the process as a contest of competing ideas in which only one perspective can determine the final product.

References

Cascone, S. (2021, November 16). After a Long Political Battle, a Statue of Thomas JeffersonHoused at New York’s City Hall Will Move to a History Museum. Artnet. Retrieved from https://news.artnet.com/art-world/thomas-jefferson-statue-headed-new-york-historicalsociety-2035662

Foner, E. (2014). Reconstruction: America’s Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877. Harper Collins.

Gordon-Reed, A. (1997). Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: An American Controversy. University Press of Virginia.

Hogan, G., and Cruz, D. (2021, July 7). The Next City Council Set to be Most Diverse, Progressive, and Hold First-Ever Female Majority. Gothamist. Retrieved from https://gothamist.com/news/next-city-council-set-be-most-diverse-progressive-and-holdfirst-ever-female-majority

Johnson, C., Rose, D., Barron, I., Adams, A., Miller, I.D. (2020, June 18). Letter to Mayor Bill de Blasio. Retrieved from https://council.nyc.gov/press/wp-content/uploads/sites/56/2020/06/Letter-to-Mayor-de-Blasio.pdf

Kashiwagi, S. (2020, June 19). Debi Rose and group of City Council Dems call on mayor to remove Thomas Jefferson statue from City Hall; Matteo, Borelli opposed. silive.com. Retrieved from https://www.silive.com/news/2020/06/debi-rose-and-group-of-city-council-dems-21call-on-mayor-to-remove-thomas-jefferson-statue-from-city-hall-matteo-borelliopposed.html

Leepson, M. (2002). Saving Monticello: The Levy Family’s Epic Quest to Rescue the Housethat Jefferson Built. Simon & Schuster.

New York City Council. (2020, June 18). Speaker Corey Johnson, Council Member Debi Rose, Council Member Inez Barron and Council Black, Latino, and Asian Caucus Co-Chairs Adrienne Adams and I. Daneek Miller Demand Removal of Thomas Jefferson Statue from City Hall [Press Release]. Retrieved July 15, 2023, from https://council.nyc.gov/press/2020/06/18/1992/

NYC DCAS Citywide Administrative Services. (n.d.). Tweed Courthouse. Retrieved August 3, 2023, from https://www.nyc.gov/site/dcas/business/dcasmanagedbuildings/tweedcourthouse.page

NYC Design. (2021a). Public Design Commission Public Meeting, Monday, October 18, 2021 [Live Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nr4IWCYATAg

NYC Design. (2021b). Public Design Commission Public Meeting, Monday, October 18, 2021 [Live video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nr4IWCYATAg

NYC Office of the Mayor. (2020). Mayor de Blasio Commemorates Juneteenth with New Racial Justice and Reconciliation Commission. Last modified June 19, 2020. Retrieved from https://www.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/452-20/mayor-de-blasio-commemoratesjuneteenth-new-racial-justice-reconciliation-commission

The New York Historical Society. (2020). Long-Term Loan of the statue of Thomas Jefferson (1833) by Pierre-Jean David from the City Council Chambers, City Hall to the New-York Historical Society. Retrieved July 15, 2023, from https://www.nyc.gov/assets/designcommission/downloads/pdf/11-15-2021-pres-DCASp-TJ.pdf 

Sarna, J. (2021, October 24). The Debate Over a Jefferson Statue Is Missing Some Surprising History. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/24/opinion/thomas-jefferson-statue-new-york.html.

Smart, S. (2021, November 24). A Statue of Thomas Jefferson is Removed from New York City Hall after 187 Years. CNN News. Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/24/us/thomasjefferson-statue-removed/index.html

Smith, N., and Low, S (eds). (2013). Introduction: The imperative of public space. In The Politics of Public Space. Routledge.

Trouillot, M. R. (2015). Silencing the Past: Power and the Production of History. Beacon Press.

Wilkinson, A.B. (2019). Slave Life at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. American Quarterly, 71 (1), 247-264.