Explore the History of this artwork.
The statue was dedicated on January 8, 1853, the 38th anniversary of the Battle of New Orleans, with procession from Judiciary Square followed by an address delivered by Senator Stephen A. Douglas to a crowd of 20,000 people, including President Fillmore, Major General Winfield Scott, members of his cabinet and of Congress, the monument committee, and the sculptor. Cannons from the US Army fired a salute. Mills reputedly quelled concerns about the stability of the statue by throwing himself against the raised front legs of the horse at the dedication: it did not move.  
Over time, the landscaping of the square has been simplified, and statues of figures from the American Revolutionary War have been added, one in each corner of the square, first a statue of the eponymous Lafayette after whom the square is named erected in the south east corner in 1891, and then, working clockwise, a statue of Rochambeau in 1902, and then in 1910 statues of Von Steuben and Kościuszko. The view from the White House is now framed by the bronze Navy Yard Urns, cast in the Washington Navy Yard and based on the ancient Medici Vase, each mounted on a marble plinth.   
The statue of Jackson faced a bronze statue of Thomas Jefferson that had been installed on the White House North Lawn in 1847, until Jefferson's statue was returned to the Capitol in 1874. There have been proposals, particularly in the early 20th century, to move Jackson's statue and swap it with Mill's 1860 equestrian statue of George Washington in Washington Circle, to reunite Washington with the other the Revolutionary War generals in Lafayette Square, and give the statue of Andrew Jackson more space, but these proposals have been resisted on the grounds of the historical importance of the statue of Andrew Jackson and the desire to keep it in its original location. A crowd unsuccessfully attempted to topple the statue on June 22, 2020, during the George Floyd protests. Former U.S. Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell, a Native American, defended the monument, advocating for it to remain and called for the addition of plaques to explain the complicated history of Jackson. Several days later, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) charged four men with destruction of federal property for allegedly trying to bring down the statue. The Justice Department alleged that a video showed one of the men breaking off and destroying the wheels of the cannons located at the base of the statue as well as pulling on ropes when trying to bring down the statue. The Justice Department also alleged that a man videotaped trying to topple the Jackson statue had, a few days earlier, participated in the destruction of the 1901 Albert Pike Memorial statue near Washington's Judiciary Square.The statute was vandalized with the words "Expect Us" on Indigenous Peoples' Day (also Columbus day), Monday, October 11, 2021. Protestors had been chanting "respect us or expect us" in response to protesting the Line 3 pipeline in Minnesota that runs through lands owned by Indigenous tribes who are concerned that the pipeline could spill and ruin the land they use to farm.
Judiciary Square Lafayette Square Stephen A. Douglas Navy Yard Urns Medici Vase equestrian statue of George Washington Albert Pike Memorial Von Steuben Washington Navy Yard equestrian statue Lafayette President Fillmore United States Indigenous Peoples' Day Andrew Jackson White House American Revolutionary War Line 3 pipeline Rochambeau Ben Nighthorse Campbell North Lawn United States Department of Justice Thomas Jefferson Columbus day Battle of New Orleans Kościuszko statue of Thomas Jefferson George Floyd protests New Orleans Winfield Scott Washington Circle