Most understand that America was built largely on the backs of African slaves and that a civil war was fought over the right of white people to own slaves. This war began when the southern states decided to secede from the rest of the United States in order to keep their slaves; these formed their own country, the Confederate States of America, and created two flags of their own. This is one of the darker parts of American history that many would like to gloss over. The end of the civil war led to both the abolishment of slavery, and the end of the Confederacy as the involved states returned to the union. At the time the war ended, the flags of the Confederacy were mostly retired, but some of the men who had fought for the Confederacy refused …show more content…
In an interview with NPR, two Iowa residents stated that they see the flag as such and that they identify with the plight of the Confederacy. The perceived “plight” here being that the rights of the southern states were being threatened by the federal government and they had to fight for their independence from that tyranny (NPR 2017). These two men belong to a far more dangerous part of the confederate flag holding population, a part that denies the idea that the secession that lead to the Civil War based in the loss of slaves rather than any other “infringement” of the south’s rights. By dismissing this aspect of the flag’s history and making the white people the into the victims, people like the interviewees can empathize guiltlessly with the flag’s creators. This is a dangerous mindset because it relies on a rewriting of history akin to Holocaust denial. People who did not face the evils of slavery, and its long lasting after effects, absolve the Confederacy of guilt because they need to feel validated as victims. This willing ignorance of the history behind symbols reflects negatively on those that choose it, proving that they are more interested in feeling victimized than in they are in bettering the country. In this they also reveal just how truly similar they are to the Confederacy, to free the Confederacy of guilt they ignore voices and legacies of those who suffered at its
In the article, “Still a Racist Nation; America Bigotry on Full Display at KKK Rally in South Carolina,” Max Blau a writer from Columbia, South Carolina, Illustrates the removal of the Confederate flag from the South Carolina’s statehouse grounds. He supports this claim by first drawing the readers in with a hook. In this case he gives you a look into the thoughts of a Ku Klux Klan member. He then explains the story of when and why the Confederate flag was removed. After, he gathers quotes from both the white supremacists and the black activists groups.
The history of the confederate flag is simple and straightforward, the flag represents the confederate side of the war. another name for the confederate flag as many of you my know is Stars and Bars. The confederate flag was adopted in 1861 it is a symbol of the stars and stripes. I think that since we live in a free country people should be allowed to do what they want with this flag.
The Confederates are more of criminals because of their history. At Brown university, Roberto A. Ferdman asked about the Confederate flag to Matthew Gurtel a professor in African and American studies in the civil war aftermath. When Gurtel was asked "what drives the mentality that has angered so many people. Why do people embrace the Confederate flag?" he replied and then said in his opinion "but I also think that people invoke the flag because they want to endorse on some level, even secretly or subconsciously, the very rational for the Confederacy.
Many maintain that the flag was cemented as a symbol of racism during the Civil Rights era, during which “Political displays of the battle flag of Dixie (the historical nickname for the states that seceded from the Union) only really resurfaced when that racial order was challenged by northern liberals.” But the flag of the Confederacy could not become a symbol of anything by that time-- the Confederacy was dead, and anything it came to mean afterwards was the result of its original meanings and uses being distorted by individual racists whose acts it could not, and certainly would not, endorse. Even today the flags of many modern nations are adopted for the use of racist groups: the Pan-African flag was adopted by the New Black Panthers, the British flag adopted by the National Front, and the ghgjgjh flag adopted by the dfghfhgf. These modern nations have the ability to disavow any and all extremist groups associated with their flag. Dead nations have no such privileges.
Heritage or Hatred: The Confederate Battle Flag There is a lot of attention and opinion surrounding what we know now as the Confederate flag. Until recently the outcry of support and opposition to the flag has always been there with events bringing it back to the forefront. After the horrific events at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina on June 17th, 2015 the support and opposition surrounding the flag reemerged. The argument again became main stream on whether the confederate flag represents racism or heritage.
A lot of people may not advocate the removal of the confederate monuments, but the problem is, they aren't opposed to it either. To people, the confederate soldier statues and monuments represent people protecting slavery. But confederate soldier statues and monuments represent individuals, soldiers fighting for
The Confederate Flag should not be able to fly anymore because it stands for racism and slavery, the flag displayed today never was the flag, and that flags are strong symbols. Many people, even today, display the Confederate flag. But why? And what does the flag even stand for?
And while the confederate flag itself doesn't represent slavery, it does represent a time when slavery was tolerated, but since it no longer is, why is the flag still waving? Not to mention
Jenkins, Jack. " How The Charleston Shooting Is Linked To The Confederate Flag, According To A South Carolinian. " Think Progress. N.p., 19 June 2015. Web.
Recently a hot topic in the news is the confederate flag and the controversy surrounding it. The news making a big deal out of the confederate flag being removed from South Carolina’s statehouse makes it seem like southerners are still living in the Revolutionary war. The confederate flag is simply a historical memento for many southern states. The anger that was raised in many southerners was not because they “hate black people,” but because the flag meant something to them and their history. The article, “Confederate Flag Removed from Statehouse Grounds” portrays the pride that many South Carolinians felt from the Confederate flag being flown.
“A lot of people think that the union went to war with the confederacy to end slavery, but they were just trying to preserve the nation from falling apart into different sections” (Pruitt).The main reason why people don't like the confederate flag is because use of racism they see in the confederate flag. it did not start as a racist symbol people made or thought of it in that way. “Some racists display the confederate flag as well as the christian cross and the american flag should these be qualifies as racist as well” ("The New York Times Company"). Most racism ideas come from people who hear or see people killing blacks like the South Carolina church shooting in 2015 where Dylann Roof killed nine black worshipers, or if they just don't understand the history behind the civil war and the flag itself.
Did the victors that bled and died demand the removal and complete ban of their vanquished foe’s symbols and memorials, NO!. I think those of us who did not pay the price they did can learn from that example, unless some new progressive generation comes along and thinks it knows better than those who fought and died there, and rewrites the history, primarily TO MAKE THEMSELVES FEEL BETTER. "The Confederates
Many believe the flag needs to be placed in the Confederate Veterans Memorial. They think the flag brings racist rallying, conflict to civil rights, and hostility to black Americans. Therefore, believing the flag only brings the association with racial violence. Debating over this Confederate flag has many people
There was a politically correct remembrance of the Confederacy in that men felt so strongly about their beliefs they were willing to wage war and die for them, many felt that should be honored. My own understanding of the South’s passion with the Civil War is much like Tony Horwitz, In that the War is so intriguing and interesting because it involves the country I live in and the beliefs that are so passionately felt to this day. Born and raised in California I believed racism to be dead and the surprise I received moving to the panhandle of Texas was discomforting. The Civil War has a unique way of luring
This loyalty was a significant characteristic of Southern Nationalism. The flag of the Confederacy was also another symbol of Southern Nationalism. “The Confederate government quickly became for the South, the successor to the federal government at Washington. A flag, the “ Stars and Bars,” was adopted for the new republic after a study by a committee that concluded that keeping the United States “Stars and Stripes” would be impractical and unpatriotic.” Southerners feared that white supremacy was in danger and feared slave rebellions.