Persuasive Essay On Confederate Monuments

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.

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

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

Thesis Statement: Three reasons why Confederate monuments or flags should be removed are they lie to themselves (white supremacists) by honoring the hero, even though they know they did wrong, The Nazi flag and the Confederate battle flag were designed by groups that rejected the founding American creed of the Declaration of Independence, that “all men are created equal, and It was a flag flown by a few regiments in the Civil War but widely popularized later by the Ku Klux Klan.

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”.

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

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

Attention Grabber: Due to the recent events that took place in Charlottesville, North Carolina, the discussion on whether or not the Confederate monuments and symbolism should be removed has come about. In this speech, I will give you some more information on the benefits and disadvantages to both removing and keeping the statues and flags.

Like DeRosa, Sophia A. Nelson, author of E Pluribus ONE: Reclaiming Our Founders ' Vision for a United America, believes that confederate monuments should be kept on display throughout the nation. As an African American woman with ancestors who were enslaved in the South, Nelson makes an argument that attempting to erase a part of history is deadly to our own being. While she deeply understands the reasons behind removing Confederate statues, she believes that the First Amendment would be under attack. As she states:

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

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:

The Confederate Monuments that are standing are a symbol of our great nations life. These monuments being taken down is solving nothing and doing nothing but causing madness between the American people. These monuments should stay to give people knowledge and teach them of what our state once was and still is. The Monuments of the Confederate soldiers that are scattered across the United States are symbols of freedom in our country. People are declaring that the monuments be taken down or moved because they are “racist.” Simply removing monuments and moving them so they are out of sight is not new. The Inca Empire of South America removed icons of conquered peoples’ gods and held them hostage in a temple in the Incan capital of Cuzco. In our time, the post-Soviet Russian government removed many statues of Lenin and others, which are now in Muzeon Arts Park in Moscow.The thoughts of most American people today are mostly racist thoughts when the conversation of Confederate monuments start up. 70% of the American people think that the Confederate monuments are racist and should be taken down. The people that know it is not racism, should take a stand and fight for our freedom once more.

Monuments, are how we as people can relive the past and be able to put ourselves at that time period. For Americans the 9/11 memorial puts us in the gravity and it gives us the impact of what that disaster did but, it also shows a sense of beauty with how the water falls into the spot where once stood a tall and powerful building. Monuments, have the aura that has a sense of empathy and shows more emotion than words ever could, the Holocaust museum gives a solid reminder of what genocide really is. Monuments and memorials should be based on the size location and what it is actually standing for it should be for someone who has been influential or it should be something of war or tragedy. We as Americans don’t pay attention to local cemeteries but when they see the Arlington cemetery or Vietnam memorial or even the WWII memorial people understand what death is really like and are more appreciative of those people who fought for the United States. Monuments and Memorials are not to remember those who fought for slavery, who have committed genocide, or any acts of treason and terrorism there should be no reason to make a statue that symbolizes something that a culture and a nation does not stand for anymore. Therefore, a Monument should consider the location, size, and why the monument is built along with the emotional aura that goes along with it.

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.