Essay On The Confederacy

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

For people who oppose the removal of Confederate statues, history is said to be their biggest concern. Many believe that “Ultimately, removal of the monuments will, quite literally, erase an unsavory – but important – part of our nation’s history” (Brophy 2015). They fear that by removing these symbols, America would be disregarding a huge part of its past. Yet, history itself would not be destroyed, as the impact of the Civil War lives on; only the tokens of oppression would be removed.

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.

Thesis: As the debate continues on whether or not we should keep confederate monuments and symbols displayed publicly, it is important that we recognize both the benefits and downfalls of removing these symbols.

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

Hear the Northern thunders mutter! Northern flags in South’s winds flutter! To Arms, To Arms, To Arms in Dixie! Send them back your fierce defiance! Stamp upon the cursed alliance! To Arms, To Arms, To Arms in Dixie! Advance the flag of Dixie! Hurrah! Hurrah! For Dixie’s land we take our stand, And we live or die for Dixie! To Arms! To Arms! And conquer peace for Dixie! To Arms! To Arms! And conquer peace for Dixie! –Confederacy chant. Many people praise it, display it, and chant it, yet others view it with pure disgust. Once again, the Confederate or “Rebel Flag has been shoved onto the table of debate due to the raising of the flag in front of the South Carolina State House. So much debate has arose that President Obama was questioned where this flag should be placed? President Obama replied with a very considerate answer. His answer was, “In a museum.” But why would he want to take down the flag and retire it? Many have applauded him upon the issue, yet others are left confused as to why? Many people fly the Confederate Flag with pride and none of which are racist. In fact, the flag does not even represent

The Civil War continues to be a major talking point today -- a war that was fought over the extension of slavery. In 2017, a contentious conversation continues as the public debates the reasons of the Civil War, whether or not it was about slavery or states’ rights, and the ethics behind having massive monuments commemorating a time of our history that was so divisive. Symbols of the Confederacy, which includes the Confederate flag and monuments depicting leaders of the Confederacy, are seen to be racist and propaganda tools used by white supremacists. However, there are those who believe that these confederate symbols are misleading and leads to the false ideas that the South was patriotic and heroic during the Civil War. Through

However most of the confederate monuments were created after the war during the era of the Jim Crow laws (Parks, NPR), and well as during the civil rights movement during the 1950’s and 1960 (Parks, NPR). Those were times where African Americans were trying to gain rights to vote, or stop segregation. Those statues to the confederates were built during times when African Americans rights were being challenge and suppressed. Therefore these statues were built to honor the Jim Crow Era, as a sign against the rights of black Americans. If the statues had been to honer southern pride they would of be constructed during the war or after, and there are other ways for the south to show

some people look at the Confederate flag and only see hate. There are people in this world that use the Confederate flag as a racist symbol, that is why people think it stands for hate. In Indiana the whole controversy over racism is not a big deal because people look at the Confederate flag and realize that it is a part of history and so many people lost their lives fighting for the Confederate flag and everything it symbolizes. In states like South Carolina there are still huge fights and shootings between a black and white person. There are still KKK groups in some of the southern states People don't take the time to think about what the flag symbolizes, because when they see the flag they instantly assume hate That is not the case for many people, a lot of veterans and other people see the flag as a symbol of heritage and do not want it taken down. The people that want it taken down has probably had racial comments or gestures made towards them, not to mention there are some people that just jump on one side of the controversy because they do not know which side is the right side and they don't want to be hated for making the wrong decision. There are some people that don't care whether the flag stays up or gets

My closing thoughts on the Confederate Flag. I feel that the future of this debate, if there is one, depends highly upon how well we understand history. When I look at history and the intricate relationships that formed the Confederate flag and what it represented at that time, I cannot help but to synthesize a conclusion that symbolism is both a powerful yet potentially dangerous motivator, in this case good or bad, you decide. The simple thought of symbolism and its implications from a bygone era contemporaneous with the emergence of divergence among millions of Americans is as powerful today as it was when slavery began. This is another area where even I have to admit, I did not know the full truth, and slavery came about long before racism.

Before engaging in discourse regarding the Confederacy, it is important to understand what, exactly, it was about. The Confederate States of America were formed in 1861 as a way for the deep South to continue owning slaves, due in part to the fact that their agricultural industries depended on slave labor to operate. While they did stand for other things, the origin and primary goal of the Confederacy was to fight against those who wanted to abolish slavery. Because of this, Confederate memorabilia and monuments are fundamentally linked with slavery and racism, and this aspect must be remembered when discussing what to do with regards to Confederate monuments.

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

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

While Stars and Bars have long been associated by many with slavery, the latest campaign to remove Confederate emblems has extended beyond the flag to statues, memorials, parks and even school mascots. The debate over what symbolizes heritage and what stands for hate has never covered so much ground, as efforts to remove icons that have been part of the visual and cultural landscape of the South for decades are a foot at national, state, and local levels. In one Arkansas town, the school board voted unanimously Tuesday to ban the song "Dixie" for the next school year and phase out "Rebel," the school's mascot. "They are part of our history and not all of our history is dandelions and butterflies." - Mick Mulvaney, representative for South Carolina. In Maryland, Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz is trying to make a plan that would change the name of Baltimore's Robert E. Lee Park. A spokesman for Mayor Stephanie Rawlings, Blake told The Associated Press she supports the name change and is willing to work with the county to find an appropriate alternative name. Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers in Tennessee have called for a bust of Nathan Bedford Forrest, a Confederate general and early Ku Klux Klan leader, to be removed from an alcove outside the Senate chambers. The bust, with the words "Confederate States Army" engraved on it, has been at the state Capitol for decades. That bust is part of history, yes that guy may have been racist but that's how times was when slavery was around. It is a part of history so we can’t forget it or we might redo the whole situation over again.(“Debate over the confederate

Recently, quite a debate has emanated regarding the Confederate Flag. This debate has been taken from a simple ember to an all out wildfire, spreading across America, by events in recent months like the Charleston African-American church shooting and the subsequent removal of the flag from the South Caroline State Capitol. This debate has deep geographic ties from all the way back to the Civil War and what the flag stood for then and what the flag has stood for since. Each side of the debate has determined their position based on their collective memory of the flag. Whereas, one side of the argument sees the flying of the flag as a symbol of racism and hatred, the other sees the flying of the flag as preserving southern heritage with