Confederate Statues In 'Monumental Battle'

Imagine walking through a town plaza and suddenly spotting a bust depicting Adolf Hitler, or a statue of a Nazi Swastika. A passerby may stare in horror upon its recognition, and wonder why a symbol of such hatred and violence is displayed prominently in a town. These statues would incite an uproar and immediate demands to remove such offensive monuments. Thankfully, such a situation would never arise in modern America; however, a similar plight is unfolding across the country concerning the removal of Confederate statues. Confederate statues should not be displayed in public areas because they are reminders of a time when racial violence went unpunished, they are honoring people who wanted to keep other

No matter what a person’s race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation is, everyone should enjoy equality. In the speech Speech Upon the Removal of Confederate Monuments by Mitch Landrieu, the Mayor of New Orleans, the removal of the Confederate monuments in New Orleans is discussed. The speech emphasises the fact that the Confederacy was wrong pertaining to their treatment of African Americans, and instead of teaching history, the Confederate monuments convey an image of inequality and violence. Mitch Landrieu argues for the deconstruction of historic Confederate monuments through his allusions to past historic events to contrast the modern shift of equality, so he can call the people to action to deconstruct the monuments. Through the

“‘A great nation does not hide its history, it faces its flaws and corrects them.”’ George W. Bush spoke these words at the grand opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture (Nelson). He said this in hopes of keeping monuments reflecting slavery and segregation standing so people today could learn from mistakes in the past. Most monuments dealing with the topic of slavery are Confederate monuments, but they are causing controversy over their true meaning. Some people believe Confederate monuments are about southern pride, but many think they are symbols of racism (Ingraham). The debate over these monuments has caused violent protests like in Charlottesville, Virginia, where a Robert E. Lee statue was removed. Although Confederate monuments anger many people because of the history behind them, they provide lessons that can be taught to help end racism and make a better country. Confederate monuments and statues need to stay to preserve the history of the United States so it is not repeated, but the meaning to them should be altered to show segregation is immoral.

On the other Side of the argument, John Daniel Davidson author of “Why We Should Keep The Confederate Monuments Right Where They Are” and editor in chief of the online publication The Federalist, argues that Confederate statues such as General Jackson and Confederate war heroes should be kept where they are. In making this claim the author asserts that the public knows the history of the United States and should be able to conclude that these monuments don't represent what they would have represented during the Civil War. Rather, in present day American society they represent how the U.S. was able to make a dramatic change and turn away from slavery. Davidson begins his article with asserting, “They say we shouldn’t honor a bunch of racists

Confederate Monuments have been a hot topic of debate through the years of whether they should stay or go. Throughout history the idea of removing the Confederate Monuments has been perceived as the best possible solution citing that they had a sense of evilness and could flare up racial emotions. While a strong point could be made for the removal of Confederate Monuments, the Confederate monuments should stay in public places because they honor timeless virtues, they could be used as figures to reflect upon our nation’s past and they could be used to educate future generations.

Confederate statues depict anti-abolitionists as heroes and very honorable men, therefore they should be removed. These men who are depicted as heroes fought for the institution of slavery. These statues not only glorify anti-abolitionists but they remind people of the strong racism of the time. Many people fight for the removal of these statues for the sole reason that they “serve as constant reminders of institutional racism, segregation and

A recent hot-button subject in the media has been what to do with Confederate monuments in the South. After the removal of a statue honoring Robert E. Lee, a general in the Confederate Army considered by many to be a hero for the part he played in the American Civil War, a clear divide has formed over whether it was the right thing to do. Some agree with this choice, calling the statues remnants from a time of racial oppression in the United States. Others are outraged, considering it desecration of their proud history. Still others don't understand either side of the issue, and see it as a pointless feud. It is imperative to understand that to many people, these are more than just statues. Whether their impression is positive or negative, this issue goes beyond physical monuments.

51 years after the ending of the Civil War, you’d think that conflicts regarding Confederacy would be over. However, Confederacy issues just continue to get worse. Many Americans still believe and honor Confederate ethics. While many Americans strongly oppose the Confederacy. They believe that the Confederacy is responsible for destroying families, taking lives, and causing the bloodiest war in American history. Those Americans feel like we shouldn’t honor Confederacy and don’t want monuments or statues representing Confederacy here. Especially after hate crimes like the attack on an predominant African American church in South Carolina. It’s easy to understand why these people feel this way, as slavery and discrimination shouldn’t be represented on the “Land

President Trump took to Twitter back in August to proclaim his dissatisfaction with the country. The topic was the removal of Confederate statues. He claimed that they are “beautiful monuments to our history and culture.” Well, it wouldn’t be the first time that he was wrong. The fact that president trump is blatantly endorsing a horribly racist part of our nation's history shows a lot about him as not only a person but as a president. Confederate statues and monuments need to be removed all throughout the USA because they are strongly linked to racism. People may argue that the flag and monuments aren’t about racism because “that isn’t what the war was about”

The Preservation of the Confederate Memory lives on through the Robert E. Lee memorial in Richmond. Many historians have written about the monument of Robert E. Lee and his importance to the preservation of Confederate Memory. But, recently a major debate surrounding the monument has spurred an argument between two groups. One group wants the monument to be removed or relocated from its original spot in Richmond V.A. This group believes that it is an offensive symbol in support of slavery. The other group fights to protect the monument and its location because of its importance to the southern heritage. However, trying to understand the significance of the monument requires one to look through the lenses of both groups.

One can make the same argument that the presence of Confederate monuments goes against who we are as a nation and people, without the attacks and the underhanded comparisons. One would only need to use the historical timeline of when the monuments to the Confederate heroes were approved and constructed, and compare that with the creation of known supremacist groups to see very clearly the correlation and the true motivation behind their construction. The author does make one salient point when comparing post WWII Germany to our present situation “The work we must do is the much harder work of engaging people of varying opinions and creating a new shared understanding of our history. The process must be constructive as well as destructive.” (Savage) This is a true statement and a very powerful one, unfortunately it gets lost and ultimately diminished by the use of the aforementioned tactics in the rest of the

Carolyn E. Holmes, journalist for the National Post, claims, “the future of their children was being threatened. They called for the protection of their heritage. And they charged that white people were being not just targeted, but victimized.” In other words, the future of humanity is being threatened by the removal of the statues because they will forget about the history of the Confederate and about their heritage, victimizing the white people. I do not agree with this claim, there are many other ways to teach about the Confederate, the civil war, and the history of the south. A writer for the New York Times , Holland Cotter, stated, “To the white nationalist protesters, Lee is a hero, his statue an emblem of a white dominance that is, in a steadily browning America, in decline.” In making this comment about the removal of General Lee’s monument, Holland believes that Lee is a hero because white dominance is on the decline and Lee was a hero for his efforts to save the dominance of the white race. I agree with the fact that lee appears as a hero to the white nationalist, however I do not agree with General Lee’s efforts to keep slavery alive in the United

In order for America to evolve with the history, the best option would be to keep the Confederate monuments in the eye of the public only if a supplemental plaque is added since this solution could work in the favor of most of the nation and will be able to satisfy their basic needs. White supremacists have not only spoken about unhesitantly hurting others for wanting to remove these Confederate monuments, but dozens of them have committed to unspeakable crimes of violence to preserve the meaning behind the statues. This is a very complex matter that can be mentally, physically, and economically fatal to the United States’ citizens and the future generations to come. Countless blood-soaked homicidal videos and pictures roam the world wide

Confederate statues have become a hot topic in today’s headlines. Whether it is a certain group sees the statues as a disgrace where others see them as a memorial to American history, it’s now a huge debate on who is on the correct side of the fence. This topic can be fairly difficult to understand the reasoning from either side, especially being that I am from Kentucky, a neutral state during the Civil War.

Imagine your children living in a world full of hatred, prejudice, and discrimination from their brothers and sisters of America. The ultimate reality where a minority man or woman can’t cross the street without feeling vulnerable or concerned of an issue occurring because of who they are. I am telling you this because if we let the Robert E. Lee statue remain standing, our world will become a dystopia of animosity and bigotry with the support of White Supremacists and Neo-Nazis. In the late 1800’s, President Lincoln wanted to abolish slavery all throughout the United States, however, the South believed that it was unconstitutional to eradicate slavery. Due to the disagreement about slavery between the Union and the Confederates, they began the American Civil War and endured the four years of combat casualties on both sides, until the Union won and slavery was completely abolished. Subsequently, many statues emerged in southern states honoring Confederate soldiers and leaders that fought against the Union in the Civil War, such as the Robert E. Lee monument. With rich history, like ours, we can see the evolution in our society and learn from our racial, degrading, and dishonorable actions that has affected one to several millions of Americans. Although the Robert E. Lee statue is a form of history, the statues need to be removed from the public property because of the true representation behind the monument and the pain in remembering our infamous racial past.