Confederate Monuments
Despite the fact that the Confederacy lost the Civil War, monuments that glorify its leaders and generals are still up in the United States, mainly in former Confederate states. The argument is, should these monuments be removed from public places?
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, the rise of Confederate monuments in the United States didn’t occur right after the Civil War. After the Civil War, the Southern states were at their weakest and it took many years to recover from the aftermath. Due to the fact that they lost, they had to rebuild with new laws implemented by the North. To say the least, they were powerless. As time progressed, the South slowly began to rebuild, and with the rise of the KKK and Jim Crow Laws, many White Southerners began to feel empowered. This newfound empowerment resulted in most Confederate monuments being …show more content…
put up from 1900-1920. Recently, these monuments have been causing controversy because of the racially charged history behind them. With worsening racial tensions in the United States due to police brutality, Black Lives Matter protests, and White Nationalist rallies, there has been more of a push to have these monuments removed from public spaces.
We shouldn’t erase history.
The Civil War was, and still is, one of the most important events in American history. The Southern States wanted to split from the Union because they believed that the Northern States were placing unfair laws and restrictions on them. Due to this, many Southern States succeeded from the Union, and they fired the first shots that began the Civil War. In Sophia A. Nelson’s article “Opinion: Don’t Take Down Confederate Monuments. Here’s Why”, she argues that these statues should be kept up for historical and educational purposes because, “We do not learn when we run from our wrongs. We learn when we face them.” (Nelson). Removing the monuments is similar to erasing a painful part of history that must be remembered, because as the saying goes, “Those who don’t know their history are bound to repeat it.” These monuments will help the public understand and learn the history of the Civil War, and how much it shaped our country. If we choose to get rid of the monuments, it would seem as if we are running away from our history instead of facing it and acknowledging that we were wrong in the
past.
These statues commemorate Southern culture and history. The Civil War wasn’t that long ago, and many people alive today are direct descendants of Confederate soldiers and generals. Many of these people feel a strong connection to it and are proud of their heritage. They believe that their ancestors fought for their rights (Confederacy), and they don’t want their family history to be erased and forgotten because some people are offended by certain statues and monuments.
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, the rise of Confederate monuments in the United States didn’t occur right after the Civil War. After the Civil War, the Southern states were at their weakest and it took many years to recover from the aftermath. Due to the fact that they lost, they had to rebuild with new laws implemented by the North. To say the least, they were powerless. As time progressed, the South slowly began to rebuild, and with the rise of the KKK and Jim Crow Laws, many White Southerners began to feel empowered. This newfound empowerment resulted in most Confederate monuments being …show more content…
put up from 1900-1920. Recently, these monuments have been causing controversy because of the racially charged history behind them. With worsening racial tensions in the United States due to police brutality, Black Lives Matter protests, and White Nationalist rallies, there has been more of a push to have these monuments removed from public spaces.
We shouldn’t erase history.
The Civil War was, and still is, one of the most important events in American history. The Southern States wanted to split from the Union because they believed that the Northern States were placing unfair laws and restrictions on them. Due to this, many Southern States succeeded from the Union, and they fired the first shots that began the Civil War. In Sophia A. Nelson’s article “Opinion: Don’t Take Down Confederate Monuments. Here’s Why”, she argues that these statues should be kept up for historical and educational purposes because, “We do not learn when we run from our wrongs. We learn when we face them.” (Nelson). Removing the monuments is similar to erasing a painful part of history that must be remembered, because as the saying goes, “Those who don’t know their history are bound to repeat it.” These monuments will help the public understand and learn the history of the Civil War, and how much it shaped our country. If we choose to get rid of the monuments, it would seem as if we are running away from our history instead of facing it and acknowledging that we were wrong in the
past.
These statues commemorate Southern culture and history. The Civil War wasn’t that long ago, and many people alive today are direct descendants of Confederate soldiers and generals. Many of these people feel a strong connection to it and are proud of their heritage. They believe that their ancestors fought for their rights (Confederacy), and they don’t want their family history to be erased and forgotten because some people are offended by certain statues and monuments.