Also removed from the monument's base was a 133-year-old copper time capsule containing artifacts and ephemera related to the Confederacy. The stone sentinels that dot our landscape serve as artifacts of the past, providing us with a visual sign of where we may still go. The issue rose to prominence again in 2017 after an Aug. 12 white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, turned violent and deadly. How? NPR Morning Edition, For Stanton, All Women Were Not Created Equal, npr.org, July 13, 2011, 46. [1] [2] [3] [4], The issue rose to prominence again in 2017 after an Aug. 12 white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, turned violent and deadly. ProCon.org. We shouldn't shy from the fact that many of these men were slave owners, but we should also be able to judge each case individually. I dont. These monuments are controversial because they are seen by some as honoring the Confederacy and its pro-slavery and white supremacist policies and by others as historical markers of the nations history. And I also grew up hearing stories from my family or reading in archives the terrible things those men did to my people.. SINHA: I've been against it all along. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Richard Allen Greene, King Leopold II Statues Are Being Removed in Belgium. They didnt like having black classmates because they had racist hearts. So now we've moved into a different phase. What that signals is a shift in power.. Those who disagree with the beliefs upheld by the statues should work to understand the history these monuments represent, rather than trying to simply remove them and the history from sight. I think what you see with the Lee monument and this new time capsule is a good example of how we can handle that. The Onion looks at the pros and cons of removing historical statues. Anti-racist protesters want to remove statues that were erected at the peak of Jim Crow segregation in the United States and at the peak of colonial expansion. And while it is true that many of the Virginian Founding Fathers - Washington, Jefferson, Madison - all owned slaves, we put up their statues not to commemorate their slave holding but for different reasons. Stephen E. Ambrose, Founding Fathers and Slaveholders, smithsonianmag.com, Nov. 2002, 43. With most American figures, certainly most presidents, you will find many reasons to actually criticize them and criticize their record, even our heroes. Here in Washington, D.C., last night, protesters in Lafayette Square right by the White House tried to take down a statue of President Andrew Jackson. New Orleans a city of many nations America's largest slave market Despite its relatively small price tag, it is still worth considering, especially when compared to the total cost of the Civil War and its aftermath. Research reveals the long-term impact following the destruction of the Greenwood District, Harvard experts talk about how to turn the moments energy into lasting change, Harvard faculty recommend the writers and subjects that promote context and understanding, Ash Center panel puts defining moment of Floyd killing into context of fight for social justice, Biomolecular archaeology reveals a fuller picture of the nomadic Xiongnu. A statue of Lord Charles Colston was erected in Britain more than 60 years before slavery was abolished there. The rally protested the proposed removal of statues of Confederate Army Generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. No one puts a monument up to Washington or Jefferson to promote slavery. Nellie Peyton, As the Men of Stone Fall, Who Should Rise up and Take Their Place?, news.trust.org, July 2, 2020, 33. Confederate monuments, in our society, are an artifact from an era gone wrong. Following the white nationalist rally in Virginia on August 12, 2017, it was back in the news. It does not disqualify him that he selected a husband for his daughter rather than allowing her to select one for herself. The shooter was said to have glorified the Confederate South, posing in Facebook photos with the Battle Flag of the Northern Virginia Army (also known now as the Confederate flag, though it never represented the Confederate States) and touring historical Confederate locations before the shooting. GORDON-REED: This moment feels different because theres been a great awakening in the country about police-on-citizen violence. ", ProCon.org. 2. Annie Grayer and Clare Foran, "Statue Honoring Mary McLeod Bethune Unveiled in Statuary Hall in US Capitol,". UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTER: When do we want it? Gino Spocchia, Christopher Columbus Statue Torn Down, Set on Fire and Tossed in Lake by Anti-Racism Protesters in Virginia, independent.co.uk, June 10, 2020, 9. The significance of a Civil War memorial varies from group to group, and there is always an urgent need for history to be told. [44] Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and the white suffragists purposefully excluded black women. Were trying to let the government know were not going to wait any longer for our freedom to happen. [19] Celebrations of Columbus have long been criticized due to his colonization and genocide of Indigenous people, as well as the false narrative that he discovered America when he never set foot on North America. Slavery is represented in statues by people who distort history and commemorate individuals who perpetuated it. GREENE: But what about historical figures with complicated, often racist histories who were also Union generals or former presidents? As goes the South, so goes the nation: Tennessees HIV cuts are a warning for marginalized populations, Florida, Oklahoma double down on the death penalty we need nationwide abolition now, Supreme Court to consider overruling Chevron doctrine, Tucker Carlson, on leaked video, derides Fox streaming service, Al Franken blasts Supreme Court: Its illegitimate, Senate rankings: Here are the 5 seats most likely to flip, Human brains show larger-than-life activity at moment of death. What do you think? Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Monuments of Hope, Memorials to a Poisoned Past, britannica.com, May 25, 2018, 23. These figures were not commonly known to be ridden by equestrians. To the best of our knowledge, no resistance is shown in 1895 in the Neapolitan pieza de mrmol; all hecha pedazos must be resisted. All rights reserved. There is one major distraction when it comes to removing statues that detracts from the larger issue at hand: the notion that removing a statue is an act of historical cleansing. but They Should Remain., washingtonpost.com, Aug. 18, 2017, 39. MANISHA SINHA: It always astonished me as a Civil War historian to see statues commemorating Confederate generals and politicians who had literally committed treason against this country in order to uphold human bondage. Charisse L'Pree, Racial and Gender Exclusion from Media Affects Novel Group Identity; An Experimental Investigation of Symbolic Annihilation, sites.google.com/site/charisselpree2 (accessed July 8, 2020), 29. Managing Editor Sarah Fling, The Formerly Enslaved Household of the Grant Family, whitehousehistory.org, Apr. Q: Are there any monuments that, even though they send a message most agree is now outdated or harmful, should still be kept as a kind of reminder of what not to do, or what we have overcome? ONLY FOR REPUBLICANS. The Recycling Economic Information (REI) Report found that, in a single year, recycling and reuse activities in the United States accounted for 757,000 jobs, $36.6 billion in wages and $6.7 billion in tax revenues. So these statues, I think, need to be contextualized historically. Pros. These men who are depicted as heroes fought for the institution of slavery. Ive been studying the impact of Black Lives Matter on statues and memorials around the world for the past few months. Should historic statues be taken down? However, preservationism remains the dominant outlook of the sector. And dont forgetthe Confederacy lost. Today progressives vandalize statues of Columbus and Lee, allegedly because of actions motivated by racism. A black resident of Richmond, Virginia, Tommye Finley, remarked of the citys Monument Avenue, which is home to five Confederate statues, When I first moved here from Mississippi, I thought these statues were ridiculous. [31], In Louisville, a statue of Confederate soldier John Breckinridge Castleman was removed. GREENE: You said something interesting. On the other hand, others argue that they are offensive and should be removed. Several years have passed since the debate over the removal of Confederate statues began. And then he went on, in fact, to defeat the Confederacy, which was extremely important in the destruction of slavery. I certainly understand the emotion the passion particularly if government officials have turned a blind eye to previous petitions from the community. Kehinde Wiley, Instagram.com, June 4, 2020, 34. How do we know if statues are supposed to tell the story of our ancestors? Gordon-Reed is a professor of history and the Charles Warren Professor of American Legal History at Harvard Law School. So to me, if statues are performing this work of showing us what we most value as a society, once our values change, no, we shouldnt keep them. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. This is why they put them up in the first place; to affirm the centrality of white supremacy to Southern culture. [1], Because the statues were intended to promote white supremacy, Richard Rose, President of Atlantas NAACP, argues, You cant contextualize racism or compromise on racism. He states that the contextualization plaques added to Atlantas Confederate statues establish that racism is valid. [24], The statues still appeal to white supremacists, as demonstrated by the 2017 rally to defend the Lee and Jackson statues in Virginia and in Dylan Roofs 2015 pre-massacre tour of plantations and a Confederate museum. GORDON-REED: I would say there are other places for that on battlefields and cemeteries. Since the statues and properties are not intrinsically bad, we do not remove and destroy them. [48] Or should those also be destroyed? Protesters for. The Paseo del Cambio, which is located on the opposite side of the street, has been the site of a number of busts. His disreputable actions reflected attitudes and practices common to his society. Does this moment, and these efforts feel different to you? https://www.britannica.com/story/pro-and-con-historic-statue-removal-in-the-united-states, According to theSouthern Poverty Law Center. A copy of the Statue of Liberty was damaged in Valencia, so it was removed from the citys streets. They teach us, and it depends on us whether we practice what we learn. In particular, a lot of our civic buildings our courthouses, our state capitals, even our public squares and parks are in the neoclassical style. Police stopped these protesters, but statues are coming down around the U.S., yanked down or removed by local governments. The argument is that these statues glorify individuals who have harmed marginalized groups, and that they should be removed from public spaces. Plaques can describe the history of slavery and the Civil War, as well as the white supremacist legacy that led to the creation of such monuments. I was really dismayed to see the statue of Grant, especially, come down because Grant was never comfortable with owning that one slave that was given to him by his father-in-law. The ornaments do not represent the history of the world; rather, they represent what the past chose to celebrate and commemorate. GREENE: Has your view on all of this changed since George Floyd was killed and we've seen such anger on the streets and such a growing movement at this moment? Since Black Lives Matter protests began in response to Columbuss legacy, a number of statues of him have been removed. [14] [55], In June 2021, the US House of Representatives voted to remove all confederate statues and bust of Roger B. Taney (the US Supreme Court Chief Justice who wrote the Dred Scott decision) from the US Capitols Statuary Hall. It was an event that forced segregationists to come down rather than a single persons actions. Other examples are the decisions to name towns in New York State, Illinois, and Indiana after the Roman consul,Marcus Tullius Cicero. When we get into Confederate monuments specifically, again, they were purposely put up at times when Blacks were beginning to gain more rights as citizens, and very often, they were erected in public, civic spaces, often on courthouse lawns, specifically to let Black people know that even though, legally, they had more rights, those rights wouldnt be upheld there. 3. Over the last few years, we have seen an increase in the demolition of statues of heroes who, from one day to the next, appear to follow the exploits of the Egyptian Pharaohs. The principal legacy of Confederate statues is white supremacy and slavery. Conocie una fugacidad de las personas y conocie una inscripcin hablada de un poder. The US National Trust for Historic Preservation offers a point of contrast, having stated: 'We should always remember the past, but do not necessarily need to revere it'. Southern Poverty Law Center, Whose Heritage? Instructions for Pros / Cons Paper; Five (5) page essay (2) pages of "pro" and (2) pages of "cons . The Lee statue had been designated a historic monument, so people thought that would protect it from removal, but the governor of Virginia said, no, were taking it down. The states declared they had not been fighting to preserve slavery and, instead, fashioned a set of ideas and arguments that they were fighting to hold back the massive industrialization of America, they were trying to preserve rural agrarian civilization, according to David W. Blight, PhD, American History Professor at Yale University. In the end, the boycott was spearheaded by African Americans who boycotted the buses for the sake of civil rights. Catherine Thorbecke, Walmart donates $100K to replace Arkansas' Confederate-linked statues at the US Capitol, abcnew.go.com, July 7, 2020, 32. George Martin, Why Confederate Monuments Should Be Preserved and Honored, charlotteobserver.com, July 6, 2017, 38. They did, though, own slaves. Colleen Walsh, Must We Allow Symbols of Racism on Public Land?, harvard.edu, June 19, 2020, 44. The monument divided the African American community, exposing various political philosophies on how to deal with white supremacy. [39] [40] [41], However, Washington led the Continental Army to victory over the British, held together the country as the first President over two terms, resisted calls to become King of the country, and, in his will, freed his slaves upon his wifes death. Take away anything that smacks of the sort of imperialist legacy which clearly that statue embodies. Who Jefferson Davis was. The architect Daniel Burnham was a leader in the movement; he went on to do the McMillan Plan for the National Mall in D.C. Both Washington and Jefferson were critical to the formation of the country and to the shaping of it in its early years No one puts a monument up to Washington or Jefferson to promote slavery I think on these two, Washington and Jefferson, in particular, you take the bitter with sweet. Consider how you felt about the issue before reading this article. Jason Hanna and Ralph Ellis, "Charlottesville Removes Two Confederate Statues as Onlookers Cheer," cnn.com, July 10, 2021, 55. These battles have a strong historical context, as they were influenced by a very Venezuelan tradition: Bolivarian political historicism. [20] [21] These statues, like their Confederate counterparts, serve a revisionist purpose, allowing people to maintain a racist ideology. Theres nothing to memorialize there, except a history of white supremacy and treason. She won the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award for her explosive 2008 work, The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family.. GORDON-REED: No. Cicero was a great orator, an outstanding lawyer, a spokesman for balanced government, and the single person most responsible for transmitting the Greek philosophical tradition to Western Europe. Chicago, Illinois 60654 USA, Natalie Leppard The Confederate statues were put up when they were put up [not just after the war but largely during periods of Civil Rights tension in the 20th century], to send a message about white supremacy, and to sentimentalize people who had actively fought to preserve the system of slavery. Copyright 2020 NPR. Theres a reason Christians in Rome didnt topple all the pagan statues and buildings in the city, or raze the Colosseum. [36], Each Confederate monument is a reminder not only of the Civil War and the end of slavery, but the assertion of the federal governments dominance over states rights, as well as the persistence of systemic racism. A similar scenario unfolded in 1918 in France, when the imperios took advantage of the French Revolution to gain power. The record has been filed by the gobernantes, but the response has not yet been made. The SPLC reported at least 160 monuments were removed in 2020 after George Floyds death, more than the prior four years combined At last count, about 704 Confederate monuments remained on public land. There was the thought that these immigrants needed to be turned into productive workers, and that concern is where a lot of our public spaces come from. To access extended pro and con arguments, sources, discussion questions, and ways to take action on the issue of whether historic statues should be taken down in the United States, go to ProCon.org. The removal of Confederate statues is a painful reminder of the countrys racist past and present. There are lots of terrible. Federal judge rules Pennsylvania school district must allow After School Satan Facebook privacy settlement: Who is eligible for a payment? The history of the United States is multi-layered, complicated, and ever-evolving. It is not acceptable to state that statues represent history if they do not represent the roles and responsibilities they serve. During the 1970s, a reformulated version of the Tariff Act of 1930 was enacted, which allowed the venezolano to dispensa a Cristbal Col*n. This reaccin is made up of two components: the poblacin fluctu and the condena a la indiferencia. They are also a reminder of the sacrifices made by those who fought for the Confederacy and a symbol of Southern heritage. They were on the wrong side of history. Juan De Anda, Why Representation Matters Now, mediapost.com, April 21, 2020, 28. Mount Vernon, Slavery, mountvernon.org (accessed July 7, 2020), 40. Thus, George Washington is memorialized in statues and place names, although he held slaves. In fact, even Robert E. Lee opposed Confederate statues. The people who hated having black classmates at their school didn't hate us because there were statues of Robert E. Lee or George Washington (our nation's first President and a slave owner) on. [25], Further, Americans pay to have Confederate statues and the associated values on display. Politics, national security, and occasional nerdery. Ashlie D. Stevens, As Confederate Monuments Come down, What Should Replace Them?, salon.com, June 17, 2020, 27. The Avalon Project, A Declaration of the Immediate Causes which Induce and Justify the Secession of the State of Mississippi from the Federal Union., avalon.law.yale.edu (accessed July 8, 2020), 17. Each of Trafalgar Squares four plinths will house four statues of Horatio Nelson. Some jurisdictions have placed explanatory plaques beside Confederate monuments to teach a more complete history of the Confederacy. In recent years, there has been a growing debate over whether or not political statues should be in public spaces. There are far more dangerous threats to history. One claim for not removing certain statues of people who have committed egregious acts is that we should not treat people of another time as if they were second-rate citizens. All rights reserved. Following the murder of George Floyd, I think we started to see a broader recognition of how statues in civic spaces can exclude certain people. ProCon.org is the institutional or organization author for all ProCon.org pages. They are a part of our cultural heritage. The Revolucin Bolivariana, which took place on October 12, 2002, is made up of a number of planteamientos. Their statues pay homage to hate, not heritage. Is there a higher moral cause that supersedes the law? Like, FDR, after all, was responsible for the internment of Japanese American citizens. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. Its saying, We still have the upper hand. [23], Finley hit not only on the current psychological impact of the statues, but also on the intended historical impact. Perhaps that is precisely why the standard is flouted by those who want to politicize everything. The First Amendment protects everyones speech, not just the speech approved by the majority. They are not an accurate representation of our countrys diverse population. The greatest tragedy in the history of the United States was the loss of over a thousand lives as a result of the countrys wars. There is no path to a peaceful and prosperous country without challenging and rejecting that as a basis for our society. [32] [33], Of the calls to take down Confederate monuments, President Donald Trump stated, This cruel campaign of censorship and exclusion violates everything we hold dear as Americans. Defend the existence of confederate statues as ways of honoring the past with the United Daughters of the Confederacy, an organization devoted to the memory of Confederate soldiers. Despite Nicole Douglas' team-leading 14th goal of the season, the Sun Devil soccer team was unable to claim its first Pac-12 victory of the season after falling to the Oregon State Beavers, 2-1 on Thursday night. While the debate whetherConfederatestatues should be taken down has been gaining momentum for years, the issue gained widespread attention after the June 17, 2015, mass shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. Like, what do you see is at stake here if the number of statues being removed really broadens? Q: Why is the removal of statues such a fraught topic? Jeff Kelly Lowenstein, Martin Luther King Jr., Women, and the Possibility of Growth, chicagoreporter.com, Jan. 18, 2019, 48. Question: Why do we have monuments and memorials? The statue in this state refers to the state constitution or an act of the legislature or initiative or referendum. It is not possible to have them live in a single location at the same time. The fact that pro-Confederate sentiments have become unpopular is. Several years have passed since the debate over the removal of Confederate statues began. Who Abraham Lincoln was. While he hoped the next generation would abolish slavery, he wrote in 1820 that maintaining the institution of slavery was like holding a wolf by the ear, and we can neither hold him, nor safely let him go. [40], Grant came from an abolitionist family, freed the one slave he owned in 1859, supported black enlisted Army men, led the Union Army in the Civil War to abolish slavery, and was endorsed by Frederick Douglass for president. Since this fundamentally conflicts with American values and ideas, they should be removed. You said that moving to statues like George Washington and the Founding Fathers is going from one extreme to another extreme. Last week, protesters swarmed the statue, trying to topple it with two small ropes (seemingly impossible to anyone who has seen the massive monument up close). Valerie Strauss, Christopher Columbus: 3 Things You Think He Did That He Didnt, washingtonpost.com, Oct. 14, 2013, 22. History will still be taught. By removing them, we can censor, whitewash, and potentially forget about the history. What are your thoughts on a separate museum for such statues? David Greene talks to Manisha Sinha, professor of American history at the University of Connecticut, about the recent toppling of non-Confederate statues like those of George Washington. Iconoclasm is not new; its been going on for thousands of years in different circumstances, Lamp said. There are statues being targeted of people like Ulysses S. Grant, of people like President George Washington, who were not involved in the Confederacy. That, my friends, is what we must work toward eradicating. [50], Ellis Cose, Senior Fellow at the ACLU, states that the statues should remain, with plaques and other material in place that point out that these men were traitors, not American heroes, and that their ugly legacy haunts us still. procon@eb.com, 2023 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. They are usually constructed to commemorate momentous events or important figures in history. The bus will arrive in Che Guevaras honor. Of those who support the idea in the latest poll, 84% . GREENE: Oh, so actually edit the arrangement of the statues. [10] [11] [12], Washington, Jefferson, and Grant had undeniable ties to slavery. The statues are a painful reminder of past and present institutionalized racism in the United States. Stupendous vision, energy, competence, and couragedistinguished Christopher Columbus from others of his generation. According to theSouthern Poverty Law Center(SPLC), 59 Confederate statues and nine markers or plaques were removed from public land in 19 US states between June 17, 2015 and July 6, 2020. The campaigns demise was both sad and pathetic. 3. Heres a List., nytimes.com, Aug. 28, 2017, 6. We see this in the National Statuary Hall Collection in the U.S. Capitol. And that was simply not correct. By writing to US national senators and representatives, you can advocate for the position and policies you believe in. From a religious/Christian. Defunding the humanities, cutting history classes and departments. He was also an abolitionist, though a hypocritical and pragmatic one who understood the country would not give up slavery so easily. The main duty is not to hide the bitter parts. The Confederate statues have no redeeming qualities to them, but other statues certainly do. Photograph: Schalk van Zuydam/AP A similar story can be told in the southern states of the US. The statue was defaced, there was a lot of graffiti that dealt with defunding the police, and there are some incredibly powerful images that were taken during that time, some of which are going into the new time capsule.
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