Premium Essay

The Confederate Flag

Submitted By
Words 1399
Pages 6
In the United States of America during the period of the Civil War, the flag of the South called the Confederate flag was a representation of a culture that the south was trying to preserve. After the war ended, with the south losing, the flag began to take on a controversial meaning due to the connection it had to slavery. The connection the Confederate flag had towards slavery in the past is why using it today, as a southern heritage symbol is controversial. Due to the nature of the meaning of the confederate flag and it connection to slavery during the civil war, its meaning becomes blurred when when it flies anywhere except a museum dedicated to the civil war. When it is displayed elsewhere, it begins to represent a reminder and celebration …show more content…
The racism that is attached to the flag continues to divide people because it is standing for African Americans being inferior to whites. In the online news article it states that the flag is “viewed by many people as racist because of its ties to the South at the time of slavery”. In another source Mama and the Confederate Flag Wallace Best states, “It has come to represent a history of black oppression, racial division, and the myth of white superiority.” Several board members of the Delaware country fair supported the flag that is being described in the article as being a “racially divisive symbol”. The NAACP is mentioned in a source petitioning against the Confederate flags in Georgia and Mississippi, they cited that the symbols were, “offensive symbols of racism and segregation.” If the Confederate flag is viewed by, many and it stated in many sources as being a flag that divides people because it is racist, then it is hard for a flag that so many people state being a hateful symbol to represent anything but. The racism that the flag represents and divides the people with, also relates to the idea of the flag being about southern …show more content…
In the article from the Telegraph, the KKK are rallying against the taking down of the Confederate flag in South Carolina. In the article it states, “Some from the white supremacist group waved a flag with a swastika. KKK members chanted and shouted at an onlooking crowd, but made no speeches.” The fact that the KKK is protesting against getting rid of the Confederate flag and using swastika flags to make that point, proves that the flag is a horrible divisive symbol because it is universally known that the swastika is a symbol of the holocaust that killed millions because they were Jewish. The white supremacy groups connects to the last point on the flags meaning, which is

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Essay On Confederate Flag

...Confederate Flag Issues There has been a lot of controversy over whether the Confederate Flag should be allowed to be flown or if it should be taken down and banned. I think it should be allowed because everyone has their own opinions of what the Confederate flag represents. Nobody is going to have the same opinions about everything. The most important thing is the Confederate Flag doesn’t represent slavery its represents a status as a memorial to the Confederate soldier. There were several flags of the Confederate States of America used since 1861-1865. The first official flag of the Confederacy, called the "Stars and Bars," was flown from March 5, 1861, to May 26, 1863 (Coski 1). What is now often called "The Confederate Flag" or "The Confederate Battle Flag”. It is also called the "rebel", "Southern Cross, or "Dixie" flag, and is often incorrectly referred to as the "Stars and Bars" the actual "Stars and Bars" is the First National Flag, which used an entirely different design (Coski 1). The First Amendment and the history of its interpretation of the United States has what comes closest to absolute protection of free speech of any country. Many...

Words: 760 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Confederate Flag Controversy Essay

...Recently, the Confederate Flag has been the center of a major controversy that has spanned the entire United States. Many writers, when speaking on the subject of the Confederate Flag, now use words like “racism,” “controversy,” and “a symbol of hate.” Other writers, like John M. Coski, use words like “cultural property” and “a very practical banner.” The Confederate Flag that we know today was actually not the official flag of the Confederacy. Instead, the “Stars and Bars,” as it was nicknamed during the Civil War era, was actually the battle flag. The design was adopted by the Confederate Congress in March 1861 because of its resemblance to the American Flag. So how did this Civil War era banner spark so much controversy within the American...

Words: 1807 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Confederate Flag Research Paper

...The Confederate flag has been one the most controversial and divisive symbol in American history. Recently, in the wake of the Charleston church shooting, the country has been in an uproar over the confederate flag. The shooting sparked discussion on whether the flag is hateful or represents the south’s history. Numerous people wanted the removal of the Confederate flag from the South Carolina state house. Many people believe that the confederate flag represents southern pride and southern history, but in the mind of many others the flag represents slavery and the years and years of the oppression of African-Americans and other minorities. One of the reasons the confederate represents represents hate is that many hate-groups use it. Today, more than 500 extremist groups use the Confederate flag as one of their symbols, but the most known hate group that uses this flag is the KKK. The Ku Klux Klan’s predominant goal is to establish white supremacy in the south. Most of the KKK hate crimes target African-Americans, multiracial families, and interracial couples. The KKK also torched black churches and lynched mostly African-American people, or people that went against their beliefs....

Words: 475 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Civil War: The Confederate Flag

...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...

Words: 1234 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Confederate Flag - Dylann Roof

... 2015 The Confederate Flag On June 17, a man named Dylann Roof was part of a crime scene. He shot and killed nine black church members in Charleston, SC, and injured 3 more. This young man was a white supremacist who took action against what he thought were the enemy. He was a known white supremacist among his peers. He would go on rants about the shooting of Trayvon Martin and the Baltimore protests that occurred earlier this year. His rants stated that “blacks were taking over the world” and that he told planned to kill people. He had a lot of pictures with the confederate flag in them, and he stated his support of racial segregation in the United States. Roof also had a website that was registered to him. On this website he had pictures of himself posing in front of a confederate battle flag holding a handgun, along with “a nearly 2,500-word manifesto in which the author criticized blacks as being inferior while lamenting the cowardice of white flight” (Robles para 3). Dylann Roof used the confederate flag as a symbol for white supremacy. He used the image in multiple places, including his website and on his car's license plates. This usage of the confederate flag shows how it could easily be used in hate crimes, and it is known to be a popular image among white supremacist groups. Valley Forge flag Co. is a business that produces and sells flags. This company has a huge presence in the United States with 4 locations and 300 employees. “It's American flags have been with...

Words: 1324 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Confederate Flag Research Paper

...Is the Confederate Flag a modern day symbol of Southern culture or a symbol representing Racial injustice the violation of a right or rights of another? This is actually a question that comes up quite often, people want to know what the confederate flag stands for. Many people think different reasons that the confederate flag is still flown, in this paper i’m going to tell you why I think that the flag Is a sign Racial Injustice the violation of a right or rights of another. Some the reasons I will talk about are, What the Confederate Flag stud for during the civil war, why the flag represents racial injustice, what it means today. What did the confederate flag stand for during the civil war? The confederate flag was a symbol of the 11 states that seceded from the united states in 1861. They wanted a flag to represent their states before and after the civil war. “The confederate states seceded from the union to preserve slavery and political liberty for whites” according to, History.com Staff. “Confederate States of America.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2009, www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/confederate-states-of-america. During the civil war and the creation of the confederate flag it stud for what the South believed which was racial injustice the violation of a right or rights of another. That's what the confederate flag stud for during the civil war....

Words: 393 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Confederate Flag Speech

...There have been many symbols of hatred, segregation, and supremacy throughout the history of the U.S. These symbols have caused great pain while breaking the spirits of African-Americans. They have stopped and held down the upliftment of many African-American men and women. As outdated as these symbols seem to be they are still very relevant in today’s society. One of these symbols in particular is the confederate flag. The confederate flag is a symbol that has promoted segregation, racism and white supremacy for many years; Therefore, its image should be banned and considered to a federal offense when individuals exhibit it in any fashion. Some southerners see the confederate flag as a symbol of heritage and pride for the south. Others...

Words: 1636 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Confederate Flag Essay

...enslaved Black Americans—or for the Confederates of the South, the fight against it. Today, the interpretation of the Confederate Flag has become one of the nation’s biggest controversy. This flag assumes emotional significance for soldiers’ families and their descendants. Yet, for many Americans, the Confederate battle flag is an unmistakable symbol of slavery and oppression. For this reason I believe that it is justification to have the Confederate Flag removed from all public buildings. To better understand this reasoning, we will talk about the misuses of the Stars and Bars, how the flag offends citizens, and finally why the flag should...

Words: 604 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Essay On Confederate Flag

...flying of the confederate flag as my topic for the Problem-Oriented comparative Analysis of Sources. After watching the news a couple of mouths back, and finding out that South Carolina was taking the confederate flag down because of people was offend by the false meaning of the flag. Now I know there are some people that fly the flag for the wrong reasons to show aggression toward other people, but my personal opinion on what the governor of South Carolina stated in an interview with CNN. She believes that the flag would help bring people together, but in retrospect it’s not going to bring people closer just because you took a flag down because you felt like it was racist or it was the cause of the tension between people. People are not going...

Words: 505 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Essay On Confederate Flag

...People all around would agree on one thing, the confederate flag is a controversial topic. I shall put it bluntly, the flag should be banned in public areas. Not only does the flag represent slavery for minorities, but it is also a sign of rebellion. The flag is used to strike fear into blacks, so that they move towns, or that they are too scared to leave their homes. I will explain these claims more in depth in the paragraphs yet to come. The flag was used by the Confederates during the American Civil War. It was very similar to the Union’s flag for a while, but they changed it to look like what it does today so the soldiers could recognize it. The Confederates believed in slavery, unlike the Union. So, whenever a minority saw the flag, they knew that there would be trouble. Now to present day, it is still being used to scare minorities. Groups like the KKK use it when they march to make the minorities remember...

Words: 459 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Confederate Flag Research Paper

...The Confederate flag is one of the most controversial figures of American culture. Some see it as a symbol of hate, but some see it as a symbol of pride and heritage. The debate about if it should be removed from public places as been going on for a long time. It’s all depends on what you think about it, but keep an open mind about this topic. Is the Confederate flag a flag of hate? A little history lesson; in the mid 19th century there was a large war on american soil. The Civil war was of the northern states ( California, Illinois, Connecticut, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Wisconsin, Rhode Island, and Vermont), and the southern states (South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee) in America. The southern states (Confederacy) where for slavery and they then broke of from the Northern States. They then adopted the flag, and later they lost the war and the north and the south were reunited and together in peace....

Words: 485 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Confederate Flag Research Paper

...The Confederate battle flag has a lot of issues surrounding it today. Some people think that it is a sign of racism, while others believe it to be a sign of their heritage. I believe that the confederate flag should not still fly today because it is used as a symbol of hate and racism as well as a symbol of white supremacy. Some people don’t have the general knowledge of the topic, so I will be covering that, as well as a case in texas regarding license plates with the flag on them, and its relation to the nazi flag. The confederate flag has become a symbol for many people about many different things. The meanings that this symbol holds is really in the “eye of the beholder” The viewer of the symbol can assign it to any meaning they want....

Words: 341 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Confederate Flag In The 19th Century

...The United States of America’s flag has true connotation for the country, yet in America many showcase the Confederated flag because it is a symbol of a heritage of history. Many people in southern states believe it represents their Southern background and dignity, however, others believe it demonstrates slavery and hardship. In the 19th century the southern states had less affiliation with the other states in the Union and the Confederate flag reminds many people that at one time the southern states were disloyal and disobedient nationalism. To many people the Confederate flag represents a depressing and hard time in the country when an emphasis of racism and slavery evolved. This divide between the states would not have ended unless the...

Words: 295 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Confederate Flag Research Paper

...interpret things. The confederate flag is a part of American history. The way the flag is interpreted is different for different people. For some it represents states freedom, natural rights, and heritage. The confederate flag should not have been taken down at the Elizabethtown fair. The Elizabethtown fair takes place in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania; at the fair this year two vendors were selling confederate flags. They were asked to stop selling the flags by fair security; both vendors stopped selling the flag. Firstly, banning the confederate flag is against the first amendment. “The First Amendment...

Words: 928 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Confederate Flag Research Paper

...Do Confederate Symbols Insite Racism? In recent months, there has been controversy concerning Confederate symbols. The Confederate flag has been one topic that was highly discussed. This flag does not represent racism. This flag is a tribute to all the soldiers that lost their lives fighting for what they believed in. After the Civil War, no one thought of the flag as being racist; although, the people that lived in the society that made and supported the flag were in fact racist. Despite this most everyone accepted the flag because it represented standing up for what you believe in, and the Confederacy, something that soldiers were willing to die for. Even though slavery is wrong, the South had their own opinions and they stuck to it. They were not willing to back down without a fight. People hang the...

Words: 688 - Pages: 3