Confederate Battle Flag Research Paper

In America the confederate flag is often known as a symbol of slavery and abuse. Daniel Barkley argued a completely different argument in this text. He stated the confederate flag was removed from South Carolina’s State Capitol because African Americans began to make this their “black power flag”.

In the past couple of year, there has been a controversial battle over the flying of the Confederate Flag on government buildings. The controversy has really started to stir up in the southern states such as South Carolina, Mississippi, and Georgia. On January 30, 2001, the state of Georgia changed its flag, removing the large Confederate battle cross from the 1956 design and replacing it with the state seal of Georgia. Now, the state of Mississippi is the only state that fearlessly displays the Southern Cross in its state flag. Though several Southerners see the Confederate Flag as a symbol of southern pride and heritage, many others see the flag as a dishonorable reminder of slavery and segregation in the south. Although this flag is under great controversy in the southern states, there is no reason why this flag should not be flown from government buildings because it isn’t demoralizing African Americans in the symbolization of slavery, segregation and domination although it is used by many hate groups across the united states they too need a history lesson because the confederate flag only started as a battle flag that some blacks fought under and held with pride.

The Confederate flag has now become a hot issue for South Carolina, which is the last state to have the original Confederate flag still flying on its Statehouse. What got the State’s attention was the economic boycott of South Carolina that was announced on January 1992 by the NAACP to pressure the State to remove the Confederate flag off of its Statehouse in Columbia. The NAACP’s removal request is based on the fact that they, the anti-flag groups, claim that the meaning of the Confederate flag is one of hate and discrimination. On the other hand, there are other groups that believe differently whom are called the pro-flag groups. They claim that the Confederate flag is a sign of heritage

The Confederate Battle flag is one of the most recognized symbols in the United States. It is not always a welcome symbol in today’s society. Take for instance the state of South Carolina having to remove it from its statehouse on April 12, 2000. The reason it is not always welcome is because people often misinterpret its true meaning. It is not a symbol of hatred but, a symbol of southern pride and honor. The pride and honor of all the men and women who carried it the flag into battle fighting for what they believed in, Southern independence.

The confederate flag is also a symbol of hate. The people who fought under the confederate flag fought to keep slavery. The flag had been used in the 1950’s and after as a symbol of opposing the civil war movement. The confederate flag has been adopted as a symbol of members of the white supremacist and KKK movement. .

“Countless white supremacy groups, use the flag often, and the 21-year-old white man who confessed Friday to killing nine black people at a historic church in Charleston, S.C, rocked the “rebel flag” on his license plate and took numerous pictures with the controversial flag.” Belton, Danielle. “Southern pride or Jim Crow’s death rattle? Everything you need to know about the confederate flag”. 23 June, 2015. Web. 30 August, 2015. Jim Crow laws were state laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. For decades, the confederate flag was scampered during remembrances of the war and then for the most part was packed and out away. It was still a novelty until 1948. But, that was the year it went from Civil War indelible to political football, when he raised the wrath of pro-segregation Southern Democrats, also known as “Dixiecrats”. With the advancement to end the Jim Crow Laws, the flag got more and more popular among the segregation set, and was being used into many southern state flags and began to be flown alongside South Carolina’s state flag. A signal phrase that introduces quoting or paraphrasing.

During the end of 1861 the Confederate battle emblem had become increasingly common on Civil War battlefields. Although, it is important to note that the battle flag was never the official flag of the CSA (Webster and Leib). The flag that finally represented the Confederacy on land and sea was the national flag and it was this flag which the people of Civil War days as well as later knew. While creating the flag everyone in the south wanted a say in what the flag was going to look like. The widespread feeling, was to have the flag look very similar to the stars and stripes flag of the union but different (Coulter). The committee that created the Confederate flag came to the decision that the flag would be called “Stars and Bars”. The flag was described as “shall consist of a red field with a white space extending horizontally through the center, and equal in width to one-third the width of the flag. The red space above and below to be of the same width as the white. The union blue extending down through the white space and stopping at the lower red space. In the center of the union a circle of white stars corresponding in number with the States in the Confederacy” (Coulter). Growing up in the south I can personally say I agree with Coulter that the Battle flag is the more commonly known. The supporting side believes that the flag is

The Confederate Flag’s meaning can be viewed in many different ways, in fact it already is. The flag has a lot of meaning behind it. Take the design for instance, a lot of the design portrays a lot of the flags meaning. If you take away all the color of the flag and just look at what is left. “There are 13 stars on the flag; these stars represent the 13 original colonies for when the U.S first began. Each one of these colonies had its own system of self government, until the start of the northern aggression. When the northern states began trying to swipe authority over the southern states which this was the main cause of the Civil War in 1861. The blue side ways X is actually lying on top of the stars and the stars are shining though it. The blue X is lying on the stars showing that the southern states no longer want to be a part of the Union.” (Coski, page 20) So basically, the flags message is to cross us out of the Union (us being the South). In my opinion, the rumors made up about the Confederate Flag were most assuredly made by the Northerners to get rid of the South’s flag. I also feel the Southerners should stand strong in keeping their heritage and legacy for their children. The Confederate Flag is something to be proud of as a Southern.

Despite popular belief the Confederate flag we know today was not the flag of the Confederacy during the civil war. There were quite a few flags before the “stars and bars” we know of today. The flag we see today was originally the battle flag of the Northern Virginia army, led by General Robert E. Lee. Before adopting the stars and bars as the official flag, the Confederacy used a flag with seven stars and three red and white stripes. Once the number of states in the Confederacy increased to thirteen and they used the same design with thirteen stars. As the war was coming to a close, the Virginia battle flag became more popular. The flag was added to a white and red flag but some thought that looked too much like a white flag of surrender so the leaders decided to take out the white and red stripes and white background, and simply made the flag the “stars and bars” we know of today. (AHO, Web.

Yes, it may represent Southerners fighting for what they believed in, but the Confederate flag is a symbol of the prejudice that was fought to be retained and spread throughout the United States. Jones claims that “Perceptions of the flag depend upon context. At a national cemetery or national battlefield, it is seen in the historical context of the American Civil War. ” (Jones). Heritage is hate. Our country’s past is the racism and slavery of Blacks. There is no separating the two. No matter the setting, the history is the same and the Confederate flag will still represent racism towards Blacks. I might be interpreted differently throughout the country, but the symbolism is still the same. There are so many ways to celebrate the heritage of the South and even with all the disputes over the use of the Confederate flag, people still continue to raise it pridefully; not because they are showing their pride in the South, but their pride in the prejudice of Blacks. To say that “the flag … has been seen as a symbol of a non-racist Southern spirit by millions of viewers internationally” (Jones) is simply false. No matter where you are in the country, the history is all the same: the South fought for slavery in the civil war. The Confederate Flag: a flag raised by Confederate soldiers fighting to keep Blacks from

Symbolism over substance is the idea that getting rid of the confederate flag will stop racism or change the past, but there is no substance to that, removing the flag won't end racism or change the history. This quote is an example of how the Confederate flag is not just a symbol, “The flag as we know it was born not as a symbol, but as a very practical banner. The commanders of the Confederate army in Virginia (then known as the army of the Potomac) sought a distinctive emblem as an alternative to confederacy's first national flag - the stars and bars – to serve as a battle flag,” (Coski, 2). This quote suggests that the flag isn't supposed to represent racism, it was just suppose to represent the Confederate army in battles. However, some may say that the Confederate flag is a symbol of racism but this is untrue.

No, Historically the confederate flag is an emblem of racial intolerance.Which is a beloved symbol for people like Dylann Roof who see the white race superior to all other.

The confederate battle flag is most likely familiar to the Southern Cross of what you know today. It was most often carried by confederacy troops. Which were the vast majority of forces under the confederacy. The stars on the battle flag represented the

The history of the Confederate flag all started with the Civil War. According to Thomas G. Clemens, the Confederate flag was initially authorized for units of the Confederate armed forces during the American Civil War. It was originally designed as a Confederate national flag by William Porcher Miles of South Carolina, rejected by the Confederate Congress, and then adopted by the Confederate army (Clemens, 2016). After the Civil War, the Confederate flag was used to represent Southern Heritage and honor while being in connection with white supremacy. During the mid-twentieth century, the Confederate flag began to show up everywhere in America and sadly through the efforts of the Ku Klux Klan, the flag became more tied to racial violence and intimidation (Clemens, 2016).

In the New York Times article, “Take Down the Confederate Flag, Symbol of Hatred”, Governor Nikki Haley has called to remove the confederate flag from the state capitol grounds. It has become a controversial topic in the past few weeks. Many people are calling for it to be removed since the incident at Charleston African Methodist Episcopal Church.