Statue of The Republic by Daniel Chester French was unveiled in Chicago, IL in 1918. It is a smaller replica of a statue created for the World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893.
Following a series of national protests against police brutality and racism in policing in the summer of 2020, the Mayor of Chicago created a committee to evaluate monuments and statues across the city that had been a focal point of these protests. In February 2021, the Chicago Monuments Project released their report and selected Statue of The Republic as one of 41 monuments that warranted a public discussion because it promoted narratives of white supremacy, presented an over-simplified view of history, presented a demeaning characterization of American Indians, memorialized individuals with connections to racist acts (including slavery and genocide), or created tension between people who see value in these artworks and those who do not.
