The Confederate Battle Flag: Heritage or Hate Essay Example
Xxxxx Xxxxxxx
Zzzzzzz Zzzzzzzz
English 102
September 12, 2012
The Confederate Battle Flag: Heritage or Hate The Confederate Battle flag is one of the most recognized symbols in the United States. It is not always a welcome symbol in today’s society. Take for instance the state of South Carolina having to remove it from its statehouse on April 12, 2000. The reason it is not always welcome is because people often misinterpret its true meaning. It is not a symbol of hatred but, a symbol of southern pride and honor. The pride and honor of all the men and women who carried it the flag into battle fighting for what they believed in, Southern independence. The reason that people think that the Confederate flag is a racist symbol is because they associate it with slavery. They associate it with slavery because we are taught at a very young age that the American Civil War also known as (The War Against the Rebellion, The War Between the States, and in the south it is simply known as The War for Southern Independence) a was fought to free the slaves. To say that the Confederate Battle Flag is racist is like saying everyone who fought for the south in the Civil War was racist, which is not true. The American Civil War was not even fought over slavery. On April 27, 1979 a black newspaper writer wrote this about the Confederate Flag. “The two greatest lies ever perpetrated by history [are] that the South instigated the war and that it was fought by the North for the purpose of freeing slaves.” (Douglas) To understand our reasoning about the Confederate Flag not being a racist symbol you yourself must truly understand the reason the American Civil War was fought. The issues that started the war had been growing ever since the United States declared its independence from Britain in 1776. The number one reason southern people say the war started was unfair taxes. The second reason was for state rights. The life styles and economies of the North and the South were
Zzzzzzz Zzzzzzzz
English 102
September 12, 2012
The Confederate Battle Flag: Heritage or Hate The Confederate Battle flag is one of the most recognized symbols in the United States. It is not always a welcome symbol in today’s society. Take for instance the state of South Carolina having to remove it from its statehouse on April 12, 2000. The reason it is not always welcome is because people often misinterpret its true meaning. It is not a symbol of hatred but, a symbol of southern pride and honor. The pride and honor of all the men and women who carried it the flag into battle fighting for what they believed in, Southern independence. The reason that people think that the Confederate flag is a racist symbol is because they associate it with slavery. They associate it with slavery because we are taught at a very young age that the American Civil War also known as (The War Against the Rebellion, The War Between the States, and in the south it is simply known as The War for Southern Independence) a was fought to free the slaves. To say that the Confederate Battle Flag is racist is like saying everyone who fought for the south in the Civil War was racist, which is not true. The American Civil War was not even fought over slavery. On April 27, 1979 a black newspaper writer wrote this about the Confederate Flag. “The two greatest lies ever perpetrated by history [are] that the South instigated the war and that it was fought by the North for the purpose of freeing slaves.” (Douglas) To understand our reasoning about the Confederate Flag not being a racist symbol you yourself must truly understand the reason the American Civil War was fought. The issues that started the war had been growing ever since the United States declared its independence from Britain in 1776. The number one reason southern people say the war started was unfair taxes. The second reason was for state rights. The life styles and economies of the North and the South were