Should We Take Away Confederate Monuments?

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

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”.

Many have their own views from their own experiences on the matter of the confederate statutes being taken down, the main argument among them being the meanings behind these memorials. The most vocal and main argument is that the confederate statues were put up originally as monuments so they should be taken down due to their disagreeable intent. The other main argument, but less popular one, is that they should stay up because they are honoring American “heroes”. However, a more reasonable side argues that, although, they were made as monuments they became memorials and we should preserve them in a way that’ll keep both sides happy and preserve the history behind them. This is the contextualized view, as discussed in Gary Shapiro’s “The Meaning

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.

After some consideration, I’ve narrowed down my possible topics for the persuasive research essay. I thoroughly enjoy reading and writing about history, and although both of these topics originate from historical events, they are still relevant in the world of today.

I believe that they should take every single last bit of the monuments down. We need to worry about both the good and the bad which would mean they should come down. There are various reasons why they need to be removed and I will share some of those reasons through this essay. The first reason is because according to paragraphs 1-4 in the article “Should Cities Be Allowed To Take Down Confederate Monuments” the people that the statues are honoring killed many officers and soldiers.

After the violence and attacks in Charlottesville, a debate is raging on whether or not to take down Robert E Lee and other confederate monuments or to leave them up. Those for taking down the confederate monuments argue that the monuments are equated with the slavery era and should therefore come down. Those on the other side say that the monuments represent southern pride and that they should stay up. The debate says is why not take down all monuments that supported slavery according to Washington and Jefferson. Taking down the confederate monuments is important today to prevent violensce from occurring from both the white nationalist leaders, such as the KKK and Nazi groups that are left, as well as the counter protesters.

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.

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.

The confederate era monuments in New Orleans have been a hot topic of debate. People on both sides feel passionately about whether these local historic landmarks should remain standing or be torn down because of the atrocities the men they honor committed well over one hundred years ago. Whether over racial or personal beliefs there are strong motives on either side. As of now the future of the cityscape lays in limbo. Will history prevail over emotion?

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