Dr. Samuel B. Hoff is a George Washington Distinguished Professor Emeritus and an internship director at Delaware State University. As chair of the Dover Human Relations Commission and thereafter, he led the successful movement for a slavery apology by the state of Delaware.
Memo to the Delaware General Assembly:
Senate Concurrent Resolution 65 is pending action. The resolution requests that the state of Delaware, the city of Dover and Kent County Levy Court work with the city of Wilmington to bring a statue of Caesar Rodney on horseback — originally erected in the northern city and now in storage — to a suitable location in Dover or the surrounding area.
Both the timing of the request and the potential new location of the statue are appropriate: The move is meant to be part of the state’s semiquincentennial celebrations around July Fourth next year, and the new site would be in the same county where Caesar Rodney was born, grew up, made his mark in Delaware politics and cemented his place in American history.
Of course, there will be detractors here, but the educational, cultural and symbolic importance of the proposal should outweigh any negativity.
First, whether the equestrian statue of Caesar Rodney ends up on The Green or at Legislative Hall in Dover or elsewhere in Kent County, it deserves recognition, not a tarp covering it somewhere in a Wilmington warehouse. It is assumed that Mayor John Carney and Wilmington City Council possess the authority to release the statue to whomever wants it, and if so, they should gift it and stop hiding a significant historical treasure.
Second, the state has already granted funds for the events surrounding July Fourth of 2026, so adequate resources already exist to transport and reposition the monument, if needed.
Third, bringing the statue to the Dover area will educate all citizens, not just our youth, about Caesar Rodney’s critical role in Delaware history and in the American founding period. His service included posts in all three branches of Colonial/state government: In the executive area, he was sheriff of Kent County, major general of the Delaware Militia and president of Delaware. In the judicial area, he held positions from justice of the peace to judge in the lower courts to associate justice of the Supreme Court. Finally, he was a member of the Delaware General Assembly, in addition to serving in the Continental Congress and later as a member of Congress in the Articles of Confederation. While most people are familiar with the story of Caesar Rodney’s 18-hour, 70-mile horse ride to Philadelphia through a thunderstorm to break the Delaware tie on the vote for independence in July 1776, few remember that he was defeated for a seat in the Delaware General Assembly in the ensuing election due to backing the Declaration of Independence.
Fourth, while Caesar Rodney’s legacy — like that of other American leaders of the period — included supporting slavery, he should be credited for manumitting some workers in his will and planning to free others in the future. Delaware has confronted its painful slavery past: Next Feb. 10 marks 10 years since the General Assembly passed a resolution, subsequently signed by then-Gov. Jack Markell, to apologize for permitting slavery and its vestiges. Instead of being regarded as divisive, the statue should be viewed as a critical link between July Fourth and Juneteenth, for the latter could not be celebrated without the former being declared.
Finally, the list of co-sponsors for SCR 65 shows only Republican backing at this point. What are Democrats in the legislature waiting for? If opposing this, why not call for the removal of the George Washington monument on Dover’s Green? Let’s end the partisan divide and stop looking to wokewash our past. We need to both teach and learn at the same time, which is not possible if one side refuses to listen.
This is the second serious consideration of the resolution, as the idea was first broached three years ago. Just as Delaware did the right thing and ratified the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments to the Constitution on second tries, let there be no need for a third attempt here. Send the Caesar Rodney equestrian statue to Dover. Make his legacy shine again. Bring him home.
Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.
