Who Are All These Statues in the Capitol?

Written by Matthew Zaremba

Brass statues line the halls of the capitol building. Obviously, these guys are important, but who are they? Figures like Andrew Jackson and David Crockett are recognizable, but names such as Sampson Keeble and Cordell Hull, not so much. 

We all know who Andrew Jackson was, AKA “Old Hickory,” and the seventh president of the United States. He hailed from Tennessee, and there is now a suburb outside of Nashville named in his likeness. Jackson was also an army general, leading his troops to victory in the Battle of New Orleans. He died in 1845.

David Crockett almost feels like a myth to Tennesseans, but he really was quite the Renaissance man. He earned himself the title “King of the Wild Frontier,” being a rough-hewn man of the wilderness, but he was also a Representative of TN in the US House of Representatives, as well as a soldier who fought and died at the Alamo. 

Now, let’s put some focus on the lesser-known busts. Sampson W. Keeble was a politician and businessman and was the first black man to ever be elected to the Tennessee legislature. He served one term in the House on the House Military Affairs Committee and the Immigration Committee from 1873 to 1875. He would then be elected as a magistrate in his home of Davidson County.  Keeble was considered a dedicated republican party member by his colleagues and is still respected today. 

I’m sure that every delegate at YIG knows the name Cordell Hull, being that it’s the name of our main playing grounds. For a long time, I actually thought it was Cordell Hall and not someone’s actual name. Mr. Cordell Hull was born in 1871 in Olympus, TN. Hull started his career serving in the TN House of Reps. After serving in the House, President Franklin D. Roosevelt named Hull Secretary of State. To this day, Hull has been the longest-serving Secretary of State in US history, having served eleven years in the position. Hull played a big part in establishing the United Nations and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize by the Norwegian Nobel Committee for these efforts. The Cordell Hull Building was built and dedicated to Mr. Hull in 1954. Hull passed one year later, in 1955. 

A few other statues are scattered throughout the building, representing the likenesses of Andrew Johnson and James K. Polk and a few others of Andrew Jackson.