History National Statue Garden: Make Your Picks!

[Husky_Khan]

Related to Trump's trolltastic idea of creating a National Statue Garden for various American icons, this thread is for everyones own ideas of what statues to place in a National Statue Park of their country of origin or residence/citizenship. So not just Americans can play!

The only guideline I suppose is.... an upper limit of sixty statues and they should be fairly strongly linked or connected or otherwise related to your countries heritage or history, preferably via some manner of citizenship or the like.

I found an easy way of thinking up lists like these is dividing the sixty statues required into categories of ten or twelve or fifteen or the like, with specific categories for political figures, military figures, cultural icons, celebrities, inventors, businesspeople etc etc.

So throw up your lists and the reasons why!

 

[Hlaalu Agent]

As a non-American, something that occurs to me, why not have a section honouring your greatest enemies? Or rivals? Men that though they stood against your country, are still held in the greatest esteem by them? In addition to the regular park of course.

 

[Husky_Khan]

As a non-American, something that occurs to me, why not have a section honouring your greatest enemies? Or rivals? Men that though they stood against your country, are still held in the greatest esteem by them? In addition to the regular park of course.

If that's the criteria you want, that's totally legit I feel.

 

[Hlaalu Agent]

If that's the criteria you want, that's totally legit I feel.

Well, it just seems to be that it would be a nice add-on, to further set the message in stone about honouring American values.

 

[Husky_Khan]

I decided to divide it into five general categories.

Military & Explorers:
Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben
George Rogers Clark
John Mosby
George Marshall
Tiny Broadwick
Edward Cohota
Charles Lindbergh
Chuck Yeager
Alfred Thayer Mahan
William T. Sherman
John Glenn
Benjamin O. Davis Jr

Statesmen:
Ely Parker
George F. Kennan
Henry Clay
Sam Houston
John Jay
Elihu Root
John Marshall
John C. Calhoun
Daniel Webster
Arthur Vandenburg
Thurgood Marshall
John Rawls

Cultural Icons:
Jim Thorpe
Charlton Heston
Lou Thesz
John Steinbeck
Jack Johnson
DW Griffith
Roberto Clemente
Ted Williams
Mark Twain
Orson Welles
Frank Capra
Miles Davis

Activists:
Chief Standing Bear
Dolly Madison
Frederick Douglass
Billy Graham
William F. Buckley
George Meany
WEB DuBois
Ida B. Wells
Eleanor Roosevelt
Frances Willard
Hector P. Garcia
Henry Thoreau

Scientists, Investors, Businessmen:
Booker T. Washington
Norman Borlaug
John Dewey
Jonas Salk
Carl Sagan
Wright Brothers (And their sister Katharine)
John Dewey
Milton Friedman
Alexander Graham Bell
John Browning
Milton Hershey
John Kenneth Galbraith

I decided to make it somewhat diverse and representative but I also excluded all of the US Presidents and famous people who seem pretty well known (Martin Luther King Jr, Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson, Muhammad Ali, Thomas Edison, John Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, Amelia Earhart and a fair number of others) so while they deserve to be here obviously, there's still others that require more recognition. Sorry Susan B. Anthony. Also if they were still alive or just like died yesterday or whatever, I discounted them from the list.

As a non-American, something that occurs to me, why not have a section honouring your greatest enemies? Or rivals? Men that though they stood against your country, are still held in the greatest esteem by them? In addition to the regular park of course.

If I was to add another Dozen in this category... mostly going off the top of my head though I had to look up names for some of these folks.

1. Robert E. Lee (American Civil War)
2. Emilio Aguinaldo (Filipino-American War)
3. Tecumseh (pre-1850's Indian Wars)
4. Geronimo (Indian Wars Era)
5. Hans Speidel (World War Two) Rommels Chief of Staff and later NATO Commander
6. Vasily Arkhipov (Cold War) Helped avert the K-19 Meltdown AND Prevented the Launch of Nuclear Torpedos in the Cuban Missile Crisis
7. Tadamichi Kuribayashi (World War Two)
8. Benedict Arnold (American Revolution) Dude did win the Battle of Saratoga
9. Quanah Parker (Indian Wars Era)
10. Joseph Wheeler (American Civil War) Later became a US General Again
11. James Longstreet (American Civil War)
12. Johannes Steinhoff (World War Two)

 

[Abhorsen]

I wouldn't include Benedict Arnold, as his disloyalty isn't something we want to honor. It's mostly just straight hate with him.

On scientists/military, I'd add Admiral Grace Hopper, who invented the idea of programming languages that use human words, and the compiler. It sounds obvious, but it wasn't then, and the impact was huge. Other than that, it's a great list.

 

[Knowledgeispower]

On scientists/military, I'd add Admiral Grace Hopper, who invented the idea of programming languages that use human words, and the compiler. It sounds obvious, but it wasn't then, and the impact was huge. Other than that, it's a great list.

As I recall the USN already has a Burke named after her

 

[Husky_Khan]

I wouldn't include Benedict Arnold, as his disloyalty isn't something we want to honor. It's mostly just straight hate with him.

Yeah unlike the rest of the list, those twelve non-Americans were off the top of my head. I actually don't have any idea how cool any of the British were in the American Revolution or War of 1812 as people. Like maybe Cornwallis... but how much of that was just Hollywood history... and the other Revolutionary War Generals of Britain just kinda seemed blah to me. And definitely not putting Tarleton up there.

The only Brit that actually came to mind was William Pitt the Elder, but I dunno, I was very military and adversarial focused.

 

[Doomsought]

Booker T. Washington

Now that is just asking BLM to burn down the garden.

Also, I'd like activists to be banned from the list.

 

[Lanmandragon]

As a non-American, something that occurs to me, why not have a section honouring your greatest enemies? Or rivals? Men that though they stood against your country, are still held in the greatest esteem by them? In addition to the regular park of course.

We already do that over here hence "Apache" attack choppers.
I'd like to see a statue of Chesty Puller dude was pretty cool. Plus outside of military and the like he's not well known.

 

[Knowledgeispower]

We already do that over here hence "Apache" attack choppers.

Or the Blackhawk and Chinook choppers. In fact as I recall the majority of the Army's helicopter throughout its history of having them have been named after Native American peoples and tribes. Plus a fair few states are also named after what the Native Americans called them. For example Utah

 

[Abhorsen]

Also, I'd like activists to be banned from the list.

I'd disagree. Many great Americans were those who stuck up for what was right when it was unpopular. Fredrick Douglass is a great example. So is MLK. I'd honestly have a couple for every group. A few black rights advocates, one or two LGBT advocates, one or two women's right advocates, one or two gun rights advocates (though I don't know who I'd canonize yet), and so on.

 

[Husky_Khan]

We already do that over here hence "Apache" attack choppers.
I'd like to see a statue of Chesty Puller dude was pretty cool. Plus outside of military and the like he's not well known.

Sixty statues... divide it by the five armed service branches.

Have fun with the Coast Guard.

Now that is just asking BLM to burn down the garden.

The statues will be imbued with the mystical ability to come to life, Tomb Raider style, as soon as those capabilities are made possible.

Also, I'd like activists to be banned from the list.

That's just how I divided it. I'd like to see other peoples visions on things including how they'd potentially categorize the statues or even if they'd bother to do it and just make a list. It was a challenge as is, I had decided early to eschew all Presidents and anyone still living but then I realized I wanted it to be more interesting, so I just excluded all of the very famous people who I think a commoner would know of... and what they did.

But yeah, if you want to make an activist free list, that's fine.

one or two gun rights advocates (though I don't know who I'd canonize yet), and so on.

Well I did sneak in Ida B. Wells for the a threefer. Women, Blacks AND Gun Rights. Because the Winchester made them all equal!

The tricky thing about Gun Rights is that it was a thing early on, then it was a thing following the 1968 Gun Control Act. Prior to that, the NRA was basically a firearms hobbyist organization. It didn't really engage in Gun Rights advocacy until the 1977 "Cincinnati Revolution" where they shifted into adding gun rights advocacy to their platform. And Charlton Heston, AFAIK is the only NRA type that has any real 'Great American' prominence from that era of Gun Rights.

 

[Lanmandragon]

I'd disagree. Many great Americans were those who stuck up for what was right when it was unpopular. Fredrick Douglass is a great example. So is MLK. I'd honestly have a couple for every group. A few black rights advocates, one or two LGBT advocates, one or two women's right advocates, one or two gun rights advocates (though I don't know who I'd canonize yet), and so on.

Who would you pick for gays?

 

[Valiran]

Robert Smalls, who decided that stealing a transport ship to get his crew's families out of the Confederacy wasn't enough and continued to fight for the U.S. Navy until the war ended, at which point he became a congressman.

Norman Borlaug, whose work in agriculture is credited with saving as many as one billion lives from the horrors of starvation.

Desmond Doss, who earned the Medal of Honor for all the lives he saved, lowering anywhere from 50-100 men down a cliff and was only stopped after stepping on a grenade to save his nearby comrades.

 

[Abhorsen]

Who would you pick for gays?

Honestly, that's a hard one.I'd probably put Harvey Milk here as the easy one. Maybe Craig Rodwell? (He might have started the Stonewall riots).


Bayard Rustin belongs under activist, but IDK if he qualifies as a activist for gay causes. He was one of the leaders of the Black Civil Rights movement, being one of the main influences of non-violence and integrationism among it. He protected the property of Japanese who were interred during World War 2, pulled a Rosa Parks before Rosa Parks, and more. He was a major promoter of integrationism in the Black Civil Rights movement as well. Although a communist earlier in his life and a socialist throughout, he also transitioned into being strongly anti-communist and anti-Soviet later on, during the cold war, eventually being praised by Ronald Reagan.

As for gay rights, he was out as being gay in the 40s. The 40s. Being out was definitely a political act back then. But he didn't do that much activism in response to gay rights, so he was more of an activist that was gay, than a gay activist.


The issue with gay rights is that some of the people who made the biggest contributions did so because they were already famous and came out (see: Ellen DeGeneres). That required a lot of bravery, and nearly killed her career, but it was just one act. But then that one act did a lot for gay rights (I've posted before about how gay liberation had different problems than other civil rights movements. For us, a family friendly famous person coming out was what we needed. This doesn't really translate to other movements).

 

[Lanmandragon]

Honestly, that's a hard one.I'd probably put Harvey Milk here as the easy one. Maybe Craig Rodwell? (He might have started the Stonewall riots).


Bayard Rustin belongs under activist, but IDK if he qualifies as a activist for gay causes. He was one of the leaders of the Black Civil Rights movement, being one of the main influences of non-violence and integrationism among it. He protected the property of Japanese who were interred during World War 2, pulled a Rosa Parks before Rosa Parks, and more. He was a major promoter of integrationism in the Black Civil Rights movement as well. Although a communist earlier in his life and a socialist throughout, he also transitioned into being strongly anti-communist and anti-Soviet later on, during the cold war, eventually being praised by Ronald Reagan.

As for gay rights, he was out as being gay in the 40s. The 40s. Being out was definitely a political act back then. But he didn't do that much activism in response to gay rights, so he was more of an activist that was gay, than a gay activist.


The issue with gay rights is that some of the people who made the biggest contributions did so because they were already famous and came out (see: Ellen DeGeneres). That required a lot of bravery, and nearly killed her career, but it was just one act. But then that one act did a lot for gay rights (I've posted before about how gay liberation had different problems than other civil rights movements. For us, a family friendly famous person coming out was what we needed. This doesn't really translate to other movements).

Pretty sure Von Steuben was gay which while not an activist. He was still certainly an American icon.

 

[Abhorsen]

Pretty sure Von Steuben was gay which while not an activist. He was still certainly an American icon.

Oh, definitely (that's where I got my sig from). Also for people who happen to be gay that I'd include for other reasons I'd add Sally Ride. Also, there are a bunch of entertainers that qualify as well.

Sadly, though, the one gay President is also the worst president we ever had: Buchanan. He was likely gay, but also just an awful president, so let's ignore him please.

 

[Knowledgeispower]

Actually as related to Harvey Milk the USN is planning on naming an oiler after him. Although I suspect that they would rather name the members of the John Lewis class oilers after the traditional naming scheme of rivers instead of civil rights leaders but that's one Obama era decision Trump hasn't changed and probably won't. Mind you since the USN is planning on procuring at least 18 of the things and only the first 6 names have been announced its entirely possible that much like the Henry J. Kaiser class that they're replacing the later ships of the class might be named after rivers

 

[Abhorsen]

Actually as related to Harvey Milk the USN is planning on naming an oiler after him. Although I suspect that they would rather name the members of the John Lewis class oilers after the traditional naming scheme of rivers instead of civil rights leaders but that's one Obama era decision Trump hasn't changed and probably won't. Mind you since the USN is planning on procuring at least 18 of the things and only the first 6 names have been announced its entirely possible that much like the Henry J. Kaiser class that they're replacing the later ships of the class might be named after rivers

I mean, honoring people instead of rivers seems fine to me. It's a slap against the iconoclasm of the left, where nobody is good enough for them.