Removal of Statues/Monuments associated
With Confederate Civil War figures
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”
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The KKK has been using the Confederate flag for YEARS. That’s right, the racist organization loves our president uses that symbol as their own. If the Confederate flag, statues, and the history behind them are constantly endorsed by all of these proven racists then how are they not racist symbols? Are all of the people who like the symbol just trying to deny their racism by loudly proclaiming that it isn’t a racist symbol? How am I supposed to believe that they don’t see it on any level when all of this evidence is so clearly present.
Instead of trying to defend and preserve something that was clearly one of our ugliest moments in history, we should demolish the statues. The statues serve as a reminder that slavery was once okay and that isn’t something people should have to think about when they enter a park or a college campus. It won’t erase the history of it or cause us to forget what happened in the past because we know what happened and it is strongly ingrained into us at this point. However, the removal of the statues and monuments would be a step forward for equality and peace which is what we
On January 1992 the NAACP put in affect a boycott on South Carolina to pressure the state to remove the Confederate flag off of its Statehouse in Columbia. The boycott is what initially brought life to this issue. 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 and should stay on South Carolina’s Statehouse. Anti-flag articles are more likely to be found published in well-known Liberal magazines, when credible pro-flag articles were hard
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
“‘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
The removal of Confederate monuments has been a controversial topic over the past few years. Many want to tear them down, others want to keep them up and some want them to be moved to museums. Although controversial, many still do not know why exactly people want these statues to tear down or be kept up. After reading and analyzing both Michele Bogart’s and The Guardian’s view on Confederate statues, I would say that Michele Bogart’s “In Defense of ‘Racist’ Monuments” article was the most persuasive. Right off the bat, Michele Bogart starts off with how the rise of white nationalism is causing officials around the country to remove memorials of Confederate soldiers, military leaders, and symbols of “the Lost Cause”. Bogart clearly states that not all civic statues represent white supremacy or racism, but that they are “the culmination of complex social and artistic engagement at the community level” (Bogart). She further explains how eliminating these statues is not going to help solve the problem of racism in the United States. Her purpose in this essay is to persuade the reader that civic monuments should be kept up as pieces of art, not as “symbols of hate”.
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.
First, removing all these statues and monuments cost a lot of money and take a long time. For example, The cost to remove all the monuments and statues in New Orleans could cost $600,000. Thats a lot of money for one city to pay for, and that money could be used for more important things. Another reason I feel that we should keep these statues and monuments because it’s a part of our history. Yes, the Confederacy did believe in slavery, but it isn’t about honoring slavery. It’s about understanding that this is what we once were as a nation. Keeping this symbolizes how far we’ve come as a country and how much we’ve progressed. Taking these monuments down would be in a way an attempt to erase our
In light of the recent Confederate statue debate, a Rasmussen poll released Monday found that 50% of likely voters agreed with President Trump’s tweet that it is “[s]ad to see the history and culture of our great country being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments.”
The Confederate States of America, also known as the confederacy was a group of 11 Southern states that seceded from the Union in 1860. The desire to preserve the institution of slavery was motivation for secession and primary cause of the American Civil War. A confederate statue was often put in place of honor Confederate leaders, soldiers or states. Statues started to appear in 1900, as the states enacted Jim Crow laws to disenfranchise African Americans and segregated society. Statues also came up between the 1950s and 1960s as a backlash against the civil rights movement. The removal of statues would result in debt and a burden to taxpayers. As of today, there are about 1,503 Confederate symbols across the country. This ranges from schools,
One of the biggest controversies of the summer that I saw on the news and heard about was the taking down of the confederate flag. Many called for the removal of the confederate flag on many of the state buildings that were public, even top retail stores such as Wal-Mart and Amazon pulled images of the confederate flag from their stores and websites. However, in my opinion yes the confederate flag should be taken down from public state buildings but the flag should not be taken down from Civil War related museums or other things such as that. The flag has a very strong history behind it, and in this world today I feel like people would rather be politically correct on issues rather than teaching the actual history behind things such as the
Confederate States of America, the name adopted by the federation of 11 slave holding Southern states of the United States that seceded from the Union and were arrayed against the national government during the American Civil War.
If you study the history of any country, it is bound to have uncomfortable topics that the people of that country would rather not think about. This includes the United States; The US is not lacking in uncomfortable topics in its history. If you look at any part if the nation’s history there will be dark sides. However, for many people in the united states they would just rather avoid the blemishes and look at the positive’s and the people such as the founding fathers as if they were perfect. The confederacy is a major part of history and heritage in the south and now many cities are taking down confederate statues because instead of having them there showing figures from a major event in the history of this country, they are too ashamed
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.