Here's a short thread on the history of the U.S. Grant statue in San Francisco that was toppled last month.

The artist Rupert Schmid designed the Grant statue, but as it neared completion in 1896, a controversy arose over the use of inmates at the Folsom State Prison to build the granite base of the statue as a cost-cutting measure. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85066387/1896-05-13/ed-1/seq-8/

The hope was to have the statue unveiled by Memorial Day, but protest against the use of prison labor led to the base being fully rebuilt by the Granite Cutters Union of San Francisco. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85066387/1896-05-15/ed-1/seq-7/

The Grants oldest son Fred refused to comment on the controversy, but you almost get the impression that he was embarrassed by it. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85066387/1896-05-16/ed-1/seq-7/

In the end, the city of San Francisco ended up not even having a public dedication for the statue. It just went up without further comment. "It is not much of a bust, anyhow."

Thanks to @Peter_Porsche for finding this particular article in the Dec. 21st issue of the SF Call.

What's the takeaway here? I think there's a range of interpretations to be made. I do find it interesting, however, that the Grant family didn't seem to care for the statue and many people thought it was a poor way to honor Grant. END