Michael DeGroote, age 12, of Mundelein, I11., for his question:     

WHAT IS THE STATUE ON THE U.S. CAPITOL BUILDING?

The Capitol building, with its splendid dome, stands on the top of Capitol Hill, dominating the view of Washington D.C. From the street below, you can see that there is a statue way up there on top of the dome  though you need more than normal vision to tell what it is.

Some people say that it is an Indian, no doubt because it wears a headdress of feathers. But this is not so. The figure atop the Capitol dome is the Statue of Freedom, represented as a woman bearing a sword and a shield. She wears a headdress of eagle feathers  and her total height is 19 ½ feet.