Introduction
White racist campaigners protested in Charlottesville, Virginia, on August 21st, 2017, against the removal of a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. On the same day, James Field, a white supremacist, drove his car into a crowd of protestors, killing one and injuring many. However, the statue was not removed but covered with tarps for about half a year. Following the same path, other cities began getting rid of Confederate statues from public display. Eleven states desired to preserve the slavery institution that enabled succession. These events have created philosophical debates about whether the Confederate statues should be removed from the public eye. Today, whether to remove or retain the figures is a controversial heated argument amongst Americans. This paper explores both sides of the debate involving keeping the statues and drawing them.
History of Confederate statues and the Current Affairs
Although the Civil War ended over a century ago, the legacy of the conflict lives on in public monuments and memorials to the Confederacy, veterans, and its leaders in the United States. These statues were not created for clearly racist reasons. In the United States, there is a minimum of 1728 public confederate symbols; over 110 monuments were put down in the wake of recent ferocious incidents committed by white supremacists (Foner 1). Among the existing confederate symbols include 780 monuments that honor some aspects of the Confederacy, 103 schools including three colleges, 80 localities, and ten military bases named in honor of Confederate leaders (Foner 3). Though some were dedicated after the Civil War ended in 1865, the majority were dedicated during one of two periods: the first, from the early 1900s to the 1920s, and the second, from the 1950s to the 1960s (Foner 3). Interestingly, since technological advancements enabled companies to mass-produce statues at a low cost, statues were frequently the monument of choice.
Bronze sculptures used to be very expensive, costing thousands of dollars. This was prohibitively expensive for small towns with minimal financial capital. In comparison, Monumental Bronze’s mass-produced zinc sculptures were available for as little as $450 (Foner). Some of these sculptures, on the other hand, were owned by private individuals. Even though some people regard the monuments as hateful, others believe in the Lost Cause narrative promoted by organizations such as the Sons of Confederate Veterans and the United Daughters of the Confederacy. They put the statues on public property and paid for their upkeep with public funds. The ideological and cultural divides between those who see confederate statues as symbols of hate with those who see them as memorials to heroic people fighting. Free of racial hatred is part of a larger culture war between urban communities. The cultural and ideological divide helps to contextualize the recent surge in local efforts to remove these statues.
Keeping the Confederate Statues
For three factors, some academics argue that Confederate monuments should not be labeled racist: subjective opinion, first amendment rights, and teleological reasoning. This view is for those who appreciate the real significance of statues. According to Clinton et al., for the most part, these monuments are erected to honor the men who struggled to maintain the Union, rather than the racial, and ideological views that their leaders sought to defend. This point is reinforced by using Aristotle’s political theory of justice as philosophical evidence for teleological reasoning. Individuals must determine the meaning or intent of the social activity to be treated fairly. Telos is proud of their generals’ bravery, sacrifice, and leadership, not the racists they support. Scholars also support the retention of the Confederate statues by arguing that they are covered by the first amendment’s freedom of speech clause. According to the law, Confederate laws express the freedom of expression guaranteed by the US constitution and are not excluded from public property.
Other scholars support the statues by citing Bishop Ellison Capers’ monumental dedication terms, stating that public monuments are known symbols of worthy heritage. These academics support confederate monuments for various reasons, including memorializing confederate deaths and proving the Confederate cause (Clinton et al.). Furthermore, destroying these sculptures would result in their historical significance being lost. Some opponents argue that removing the Confederate statues is a terrible idea because free people must protect their heritage. Overall, it will assist people in gaining a better understanding of their true identity and how they should live. Many academics believe that works of art may have intrinsic value for historical or artistic reasons. Nevertheless, in Charlottesville’s case, both the media and the political activists called for the destruction of the confederate statues across the United States. The move by the critics against removing the statues is bad since the community must not honor those who are racist and supported the slave trade.
Furthermore, some preservationists suggest that we should preserve the Confederate monuments to commemorate the heroic achievements of the people they revere without honoring their morally brave qualities. For example, the statue of Thomas Jefferson might be viewed as an honor for such accomplishments as the key author of the Declaration of Independence, except for honoring him for being a spiteful slaveholder. Correspondingly, these statues are outstanding and beautiful art pieces. Critics argue that despite the dark past the statues are linked to, their beauty captures the human physique (Clinton et al.). Furthermore, opponents say that removing these monuments would remove their movements and figures from public view and the collective minds of individuals. Therefore, there are various aspects that people have presented to show why statues are important and the reason why they should not be removed.
Removing the Confederate Statues
The Confederate monuments should be taken down because they reflect terrorism and violent actions committed by the Confederacy and white sovereignty against certain group members. Mayor Mitch Landrieu demolished three of the city’s Confederate monuments for these reasons, as they endorsed white supremacy and the Union (Appelbaum 3). He said that statues were just as much a part of aggression as a cross on a person’s lawn and that they were built to send a clear message to those who walked in their shadows about who was still in control. These monuments are also used to pay tribute to the perpetrators of these atrocities. On the other side, Lexington’s mayor responded to Charlottesville’s removal of the memorial by relocating it from the courthouse lawn to a public park (Reif). As the monument was transferred, Lee was labeled the greatest man ever lived.
Furthermore, Lee was referred to as the moral greatness of the Old South. Some critics argued that it was wrong because Lee committed terrorist acts against the slaves. The statues of the Confederacy should be demolished or removed because they depict the terrorism that the slaves faced and how the monuments glorify the deeds. Slavery was endorsed by people like Robert Lee, who preferred the Confederacy over the Union. It is open that the statues of these individuals who encouraged slavery were erected to honor their slaveholding. Therefore, it is not just to support the preservation of the confederate statues because eventually, these statues indicate keeping the historical figures who did frequent wrongs supporting slavery. Furthermore, statues of Confederate monuments incite racial tensions by motivating one side to resist for the sake of certainty, resulting in a hostile climate. According to Helo (5), erecting monuments and buildings that marginalize African American societies while conveying thoughts of racial power through centuries. For example, discriminating and dishonest versions of the past in solid material form. As a result, people have argued that these Confederate monuments must be removed. Therefore, these issues show that government should remove the statues.
Conclusion
In conclusion, whether to remove or retain the confederate statues has been a heated conversation amongst the Americans. The history of confederate statues traces back to the end of the civil war almost a hundred years ago. Today, America has many public confederate symbols with several of the monuments removed. Even though some people regard the monuments as hateful, others believe in the Lost Cause narrative promoted by organizations such as the Sons of Confederate Veterans and the United Daughters of the Confederacy. Some people support keeping the statues since it might erase the history of American culture. Other critics disagree with retaining them since they believe it honors individuals who helped slavery. Therefore, there are various issues regarding the removal and keeping of the confederate statues.
Works Cited
Appelbaum, Yoni. “Take the Statues Down.” The Atlantic, 2017, pp. 1-7. Web.
Clinton, Catherine, et al. Confederate Statues and Memorialization. U of Georgia P, 2019. Web.
Foner, Eric. “Confederate Statues and ‘Our’ History.” New York Times, 2017, pp. 1-3. Web.
Helo, Ari. “Bidding Farewell to Confederate Statues: Landscape, Politics, and American History.” American Studies in Scandinavia, vol. 52, no. 1, 2020, pp. 1-17. Web.
Reif, Andreas Wolfgang. Righting an Injustice or American Taliban? The Removal of Confederate Statues. 2018. Southern New Hampshire U, PhD. Web.