Lukeman's statues of Davis and George were presented and unveiled on June 2, 1931 in a ceremony held in Statuary Hall in the United States Capitol.

In both the 1884 speech and the passage from his book, Davis was unrepentant for Secession and promoted the Confederacy as a heroic and justified Lost Cause.

Senator Harrison in his speech stated that Jefferson Davis was "entitled" to his place in Statuary Hall, "fixed in the history of a great and reunited country" alongside "his comrades – [Robert E.] Lee, [Wade] Hampton, [Joseph] Wheeler, [Alexander H] Stephens, [Edmund] Kirby Smith and James Z. George" in addition to "[Henry] Clay, [Daniel] Webster, [Lewis] Cass and [John C.] Calhoun."

Without apology for the part she played in that tragic drama which divided the sections and tore the nation asunder [Mississippi] has realized the sensitive character of the national situation and believed that in the passing of years the scars of strife and the wounds of conflict would heal and the time would come when the tolerant spirit of the reunited people would concede to the people of both sections a conscientious discharge of duty as they saw it under the Constitution and the principles of our government.

"[6] In a response to the Davis Statue's unveiling, The Daily News published an editorial criticizing Mississippi for choosing "as her favorite son the slavery leader" Davis, "the leader of the cause which sought to split up the United States," a cause that was "based on the most barbarous cruel and vicious institution ever invented – human slavery."

"[7] In a letter to the editor published in The Burlington Free Press, W. W. Jeffords commented on the unveiling of the Jefferson Davis statue writing that "when we stop and consider that [Jefferson Davis] was an arch-traitor and unrepentant all of his life subsequent to the close of the Civil War and refused to avail himself of the privilege of the general Amnesty Act ... it seems almost incredible that his lifeless image should have been admitted to the National Capitol.

Speeches were commonly given at the birthday celebration in Statuary Hall by members of the Confederate groups as well as public figures such as U.S.

These comments were condemned by the UDC president-general Mrs. John Wilcox who declared that Tansill's "allusions to Mr. Lincoln do not reflect our views.

"[12] In 1954, U.S. Representative Charles E. Bennet (D-FL) spoke at the wreath-laying celebration in Statuary Hall where he characterized Jefferson Davis as "one of the finest Americans we could possibly select for consideration."

"[13] The 1959 wreath-laying in Statuary Hall was preceded by the unveiling ceremony of a Jefferson Davis wax figure at the National Historic Wax Museum in Washington, D.C.[14] In 1978, U.S. President Jimmy Carter signed congressional legislation posthumously restoring United States citizenship to Jefferson Davis.

Mississippi resident Al Price also told The Clarion-Ledger that he petitioned Mississippi State Senator Lydia Chassaniol to replace the statues, as "Jefferson Davis and James Z. George conjure images of the secession, the Civil War, slavery and the terrible legacy of Jim Crow."

"[19] The aftermath of the Charlottesville Unite the Right Rally in August 2017 accelerated the removal of Confederate statues and monuments from many U.S. cities.

These images symbolize a time of racial discrimination and segregation that continues to haunt this country and many African-Americans who still to this day face racism and bigotry.

"[21] Former Mississippi Governor Ray Mabus also called for the same statues to be removed, saying that "They were put up to reestablish Jim Crow .

"[22] Legislation was introduced into both chambers of the United States Congress in September 2017 to remove all statues with ties to the Confederacy from the National Statuary Hall Collection.