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Civil War: The Confederate Flag

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The Confederate Flag was adopted by the Confederate States of America around February of 1861 to serve as the official flag of their movement towards the expansion of utilizing enslaved African people forced into America through the slave trade. “We know, as Confederates knew, that their dream of independence and liberty was based on a social and economic foundation of black labor” (Binnington 4) The south had their ‘black labor’ for years; however, soon this did change. The March after the Confederate States succession, Abraham Lincoln was elected president and, though stating he would not try to end the use of slaves, he ran on a platform that was against the expansion of slavery. Ultimately, this led to the Civil War between the anti-slavery …show more content…
Through reviewing the history of the flag it is apparent the flag was created on a platform of racism. As Charles Waggoner wrote, “The Confederate Flag is symbolic speech, as a message is conveyed to the viewer.” (2) The hate crimes associated with this flag allow us to infer the message this flag is meant to convey is a negative one that is likely against equality. Not only that, but the Confederate Flag condones racial hatred just by its presence which is alarming because these flags are still sold and used throughout the country. Overall, these aspects of the Confederacy lead to the conclusion that the Confederate flag engenders a sense of white southern nationalism and hostility towards African Americans; For many African Americans, the flag is a sign that racism has yet to come to an …show more content…
The Civil War lasted four years killing over 600,000 soldiers in combat and demolishing much of the south's infrastructure. This, in return, led to the downfall of the Confederacy and the abolishment of slavery throughout all of America. From 1865 till around 1990 African Americans continued to struggle for their rights, but treatment was getting better. Slowly whites and blacks were allowed to sit in the same bus area, go to the same schools, drink from the same water fountains. African Americans began creating lives in America by getting jobs and staying educated, things they could only dream to do under the southern slavery movement. As decades after the Civil war passed, the idea of enslaved African Americans became frowned upon, and the idea of civil rights and equality grew as a strong notion through what seemed like the majority of the American

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