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US Capitol’s Confederate statues prompt renewed debate

A statue of Alexander Hamilton Stephens is on display in Statuary Hall on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, June 24, 2015. The statue was given to the National Statuary Hall Collection by Georgia in 1927. Stephens was a dedicated statesman, an effective leader and a powerful orator but he renewed debate about symbols of the Confederacy in the wake of the horrific shooting at a black church in Charleston, South Carolina, raises new questions about whether he will. The move in South Carolina to remove the Confederate flag from the statehouse grounds is prompting members of Congress to take a new look at Confederate images that surround them every day, including statues of Stephens, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, Confederate President Jefferson Davis and a number of other Confederate leaders or fighters. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
A statue of Alexander Hamilton Stephens is on display in Statuary Hall on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, June 24, 2015. The statue was given to the National Statuary Hall Collection by Georgia in 1927. Stephens was a dedicated statesman, an effective leader and a powerful orator but he renewed debate about symbols of the Confederacy in the wake of the horrific shooting at a black church in Charleston, South Carolina, raises new questions about whether he will. The move in South Carolina to remove the Confederate flag from the statehouse grounds is prompting members of Congress to take a new look at Confederate images that surround them every day, including statues of Stephens, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, Confederate President Jefferson Davis and a number of other Confederate leaders or fighters. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) A statue of Alexander Hamilton Stephens is on display in Statuary Hall on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, June 24, 2015. The statue was given to the National Statuary Hall Collection by Georgia in 1927. Stephens was a dedicated statesman, an effective leader and a powerful orator but he renewed debate about symbols of the Confederacy in the wake of the horrific shooting at a black church in Charleston, South Carolina, raises new questions about whether he will. The move in South Carolina to remove the Confederate flag from the statehouse grounds is prompting members of Congress to take a new look at Confederate images that surround them every day, including statues of Stephens, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, Confederate President Jefferson Davis and a number of other Confederate leaders or fighters. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

By Associated Press 1 min read

WASHINGTON (AP) – The debate over the Confederate flag in South Carolina has prompted a new look at Confederate statues in the U.S. Capitol.

Around 10 of the figures in the National Statuary Hall Collection are of Confederate leaders or people who fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War.

Democratic Congressman John Lewis of Georgia says he wants at least one of those figures removed. He’s referring to a statue of Alexander H. Stephens, who was once governor of Georgia – and also vice president of the Confederacy.

But Republican Congressman Lynn Westmoreland of Georgia disagrees. He says Stephens did a lot of other good things, and that a statue of him doesn’t equate to the divisive symbolism of the Confederate flag.