Written by Grace Canlas
Hillsdale College is committed to defending liberty by raising up educated citizens. The Liberty Walk seeks to cultivate informed patriotism, protecting freedom for the future generations of America. In a time when the nation’s history is subjected to ever-increasing attacks from distorted and dishonest narratives, the Liberty Walk stands as a reminder of America’s true heritage. The Hillsdale College Liberty Walk is a way to remember and honor the great leaders who have come before us and paved the way for freedom. This is part three of a three-part Liberty Walk series exploring the statues around Hillsdale’s campus. This third article features three distinguished figures of the Free World: Winston Churchill, Ronald Reagan, and Margaret Thatcher.
Who: Winston Churchill
Location: Main lobby of the Grewcock Student Union
Sculptor: Heather Tritchka, ’98
Date of Dedication: October 15, 2004
Funded by the B.D. and Jane E. McIntyre Foundation
Wearing a three-piece suit and a warm smile, Winston Churchill stands peacefully at a mahogany desk gifted to him by his children. He called this sturdy standing-desk his “factory,” the place where he produced his literary wonders. With his quick wit, sharp tongue, and hard work, Churchill arose as a remarkable orator and writer. His wisdom, courage, and devotion made him an inspiring statesman. Despite facing traumatic wars and unprecedented tyrannies, Winston Churchill led Britain and the West to peace. Churchill leaves us a legacy of extraordinary valor and prudence in pursuit of freedom.
“The greatest tie of all is language.…Words are the only things that last for ever. The most tremendous monuments or prodigies of engineering crumble under the hand of Time. The Pyramids moulder, the bridges rust, the canals fill up, grass covers the railway track; but words spoken two or three thousand years ago remain with us now, not as mere relics of the past, but with all their pristine vital force.”
Winston Churchill
News of the World
May 15, 1938
Who: Ronald Reagan
Location: East entrance of Plaster Auditorium (Temporarily relocated to the John Anthony Halter Shooting Sports Education Center due to construction)
Sculptor: Hillsdale Associate Professor of Art Anthony Frudakis
Date of Dedication: October 7, 2011
A gift to the students, faculty, and staff from [former] Hillsdale College Board of Trustees Chairman William J. Brodbeck, ’66 and his wife, Janet Piwonka Brodbeck, ’67.
Displaying his elegant yet easygoing nature, Ronald Reagan leans gracefully against a White House colonnade. Before becoming the 40th President of the United States, Reagan was invited to Hillsdale College in November 1977 where he presented a speech titled “Whatever Happened to Free Enterprise?” Ronald Reagan was a memorable orator both domestically and internationally. He was a great advocate of the free market and self-government in both word and action. Reagan stands as a contemporary champion of America’s founding principles of freedom and republicanism. He reminds us of the value of self-government and the civic duty that is required to maintain it.
“From time to time, we have been tempted to believe that society has become too complex to be managed by self-rule, that government by an elite group is superior to government for, by, and of the people. But if no one among us is capable of governing himself, then who among us has the capacity to govern someone else?”
Ronald Reagan
Inaugural Address
January 20, 1981
Who: Margaret Thatcher
Location: North entrance of Strosacker Science Center
Sculptor: Bruce Wolfe, American sculptor, 1941-2022
Date of Dedication: May 9, 2008
Funded by the Patricia A. and William E. LaMothe Foundation
With pensive reflection and dignified confidence, Margaret Thatcher sits across from her good friend Ronald Reagan. Hillsdale College’s statue of Margaret Thatcher is the first and only statue of the former British prime minister in North America. On November 10, 1994, Thatcher visited the College and delivered a speech titled “The Moral Foundations of Society.” Margaret Thatcher’s steadfast gaze reminds us of her fierce and unapologetic defense of both political and economic freedom. She leaves a legacy that champions limited government and rule of law, the necessary components for liberty.
“The new world of freedom into which the dazzled Socialists have stumbled is not new to us. What to them is uncharted territory is to us familiar and well loved ground. For Britain has returned to those basic truths and principles which made her great—personal liberty, private property and the rule of law, on which democratic freedoms everywhere are based. Ours is a creed which travels and endures. Its truths are written in the human heart.”
Margaret Thatcher
Speech to Conservative Party Conference
October 12, 1990
Winston Churchill, Ronald Reagan, and Margaret Thatcher represent the American values of prudence, duty, and liberty. Hillsdale College seeks to honor their legacies and defend the freedoms they sacrificed so much to secure, not only for themselves, but also for us.
Grace Canlas, ’27, is a prospective English major and military history and strategy minor. When not studying in the library, she can be found practicing martial arts or laughing with her family and friends.
Published in July 2024
