Nelson Mandel The Importance Of Confederate Symbols

Another issue with the statues are the actual subjects monumentalized. Notable people that are commemorated with having models of themselves publicly displayed are usually figures that the people of America are proud of, like Abraham Lincoln or Harriet Tubman. Confederate statues, however, are the exception; for they are monuments that represent the institutionalization of racism. “Our public spaces should not glorify historical policies of hatred and racism,” argues Kevin Kamenetz, executive and president of the Maryland Association of Counties (Eversley 2017). That single phrase perfectly sums up what people across the country are attempting to convey, and expresses the main issue that many have with these statues. No person who fought for the right to keep humans as property is deserving of modern honor.

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”.

The war was the North against the South. They were fighting over state’s rights and whether or not the South should have them. The South preferred a non-federal government. Being run by the government means that they have no say in legislation, nor any privacy. The Confederate Flag was used to represent the South in this war and is a piece of vital history. Many places are banning the flag because it is considered to be racist by many people. I encountered an experience at the Sutherlin Mansion Museum in 2015 where I wanted to buy a Confederate Flag, but they couldn’t provide any because it was against the law. The cashier said that even if they did sell them, he would have to take me to the back where they were located because if on display, it may offend others. If I am at a Museum on the Civil War, this shouldn’t be offensive, or illegal. The flag is a piece of history. In the book “The Confederate Battle Flag: America's Most Embattled Emblem”, John M. Coski writes, “If we must eliminate all “reminders of slavery”, wrote another retired officer, “why not raze the James River plantations, delete all references to slavery in the history books, or ban Uncle Tom’s Cabin?”(277). People believe that the flag only symbolizes slavery and want the flag removed because they find it offensive. The flag is a big part of our country’s history and ancestry background. We have the right to believe what we want to believe, but shouldn’t

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

Many people see on the tv or the news that people have been vandalizing statues of confederate soldiers well they don’t show the opposing side of the story.many people do actually not know the size of the opposing side, according to a Marist poll, 62 percent of Americans voted in favor keeping the Confederate statues, while only 27 percent  wanted to take them down.The statutes can show the meaning of courage and bravery to fight for what you believe in.William Stage explained the knowledge of, “acknowledging and even respecting the general principle of the courage and beliefs of all men at arms.” This explains that you can at least admire that they kept by their beliefs.Another perspective: we can see other ideas of slavery like mt. rushmore like george washington even supported the belief of slavery.Mr. Stewart published in a newspaper:

A monument’s sole purpose is to commemorate something significant and celebrate it. Monuments are not merely historical reminders or ways to ensure that an event is not forgotten; they cast the person or event being portrayed as larger than life, victorious, something that should bring feelings of pride. But, Confederates are none of these things. Portraying men who were willing to die rather than give respect and basic human rights to African Americans as heroes deserving of commemoration is a shameful misrepresentation of American history. The history behind the statues, the ideas and hatred they represent, and the very reason for their construction is why Confederate monuments should be removed nationwide.

The battle about what to do with the Confederate monuments is not new. Unless we figure out how to honor infamous events in way that does not glorify them, we as a country will continue the long and complicated debate. There are many perspectives, but the four biggest are to leave them up, take them down, put them in museums, and learn more about them before making a permanent decision. Right now, the United States seems to be taking the side of forming a more educated decision, although some cities, like Charlottesville, have been making the decision of taking them down. The United States is a very undivided nation, which makes it difficult to come up with a solution, especially because it is impossible to make everyone happy.

As Winston Churchill stated, “The flags of the Confederate States of America were very important and a matter of great pride to those citizens living in the confederacy. They are also a matter of great pride for their descendants as part of their heritage and history,” but in present day, the American people are claiming the meaning of the confederate flag is hate and discrimination. In South Carolina, the confederate flag was taken down and placed in a museum after a heated debate stemming from a mass shooting of nine black churchgoers in a historical Charleston church during bible study. The shooter, Dylann Roof, was a white supremacist. A photograph of Roof emerged showing him holding a confederate flag which fueled the political flag debate. The confederate flag is at the center of the controversy over racism. Although, it was first created as an official flag of confederacy, the confederate flag has changed into what is now either a symbol of Southern heritage and pride or slavery and racism by Americans. It is time to put this flag in a museum to be honored by those it means something to and no longer stand as a reminder of the division our country once suffered, so we can move on as a nation, united.

Due to the timeless virtues of the men they portray whether its Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, or any other confederate war heroes, the Confederate Monuments should remain in public places. Their image is typically tarnished because they fought for the South, it’s hard for people

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.

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.

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

To help narrow this divide, the confederate flag and any other symbols with possible racist connotations should be removed from the public world as much as possible. The main argument that confederate flag supporters tend to have is the fact that the flag is a “symbol of heritage” for southerners. However, if one were to look at the history of the United States, one would realize that the Confederacy was formed in opposition to the abolition of the institution of slavery. The Confederates believed in a cause that they were willing to fight and possibly die for, and that cause was one of enslaving fellow humans. One has to look no farther than the declaration of secession by the confederate states, Mississippi’s declaration states

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

Confederate monuments should stay in public because taking them down goes against the Constitution. The First Amendment gives citizens of the United States the freedoms of speech, expression, worship, and other liberties. Creating and keeping up monuments falls under this because it is symbolic speech towards the Confederacy, the South, and their generals (Nelson). The only way speech is