Pros And Cons Of Confederate Statues

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.

Faced by recent protests and events, memorials and monuments remembering Robert E. Lee and the Confederacy should be removed from public areas because they were not originally built to honor them, but rather to convey the message of white supremacy and continuing slavery, and into museums or archives. Most statues were built in the early 1900’s, during a time of racial segregation and the implementation of the Jim Crow laws. It is no coincidence that most of these statues were built during this time, when whites felt and were indeed superior to blacks. The message was clear that they wanted to maintain white supremacy and subjugate blacks. Eric Zorn writes that southerners built these statues as “middle fingers to those who battled segregation

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”.

In the article “I Detest Our Confederate Monuments. But They Should Remain”, by Lawrence Kuznar, an anthropologist writes about the Confederate Monuments and why they should remain. Kuznar believes by removing the monuments, it makes no difference. Regardless of whether history is favorable or not, the monuments exist in places that are designed to celebrate their subjects. These statues and monuments have no place in town squares, city parks or any other public place beyond battlefields, private property or out of view from the public.

Symbols such as statutes are one of the most iconic remembrances of the past. Yet, it is questionable as to how proud society is of the past to remember statutes used to represent hatred. Due to the growing race related tensions in the United States, many have called for the removal of the statue of all representations of the confederacy. For example, the Statue of Confederate General, Robert E. Lee is one of the few statues that were taken down in recent months. General Robert E. Lee was remembered as a pivotal player during the Civil War, leading the confederate army. Though the Civil War ended with the end of slavery, it was not a war the United States was proud of. Many of the ancestors of those who fought in the war have had mixed feelings

For the past few months there has been lots of controversy of wither or not the Confederate Flag should be taken down. The removal of the Confederate Flag had been brought up again because a man by the name of Dylan Roof had shot and killed 9 innocent people who were attending Bible study at the Emanuel AME in Charleston, South Carolina, Wednesday June 17, 2015. People all over the United States have been arguing over this topic, no one can agree on wither or not we should take down the flag. In my opinion the flag and any other historical monument that relates to the Civil War should be left alone.

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

“Why We Should Keep the Confederate Monuments Right Where They Are” by John Daniel Davidson contains many assumptions throughout his work. One of the first assumptions made in the article is that all readers hold the value that racism is a negative. This concept may apply to many individuals, but the presence of white supremacy still exists in modern day society. Another assumption is made that people view monuments as a source of honor to a bunch of racists who fought to preserve slavery. As discovered in the prescribed reading, I found that some audiences view statues as a reminder to not repeat past mistakes and to reflect on historical events rather than an honorary element celebrating racist generals.

Confederate monuments show us what we did wrong and why we should never do it again(Landrieu).They signify a time we are not proud of. How ever,it is good to know about our history because history can repeat itself. If your in public you may see someone insulting someone because of the color of their skin, by the clothes they wear, and for their religious beliefs. Those people are also examples of what we shouldn't do because it is very wrong. So if people can be examples then so can the confederate monuments. So they should stay up.

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

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.

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

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