The recent debate over whether the Confederate monuments should stay or go has been recently front and center in the media, and the divide is very clear. Some people believe that the monuments are a tribute to our nation’s past and those who gave their lives during the war, while others believe that they are a sore reminder of the struggles that the American people had to endure to become what we are today. While there is validity to both sides of this issue, given the recent conversation surrounding movements such as Black Lives Matter, it is clear that the statues no longer symbolize what they did in the past. However, some even feel that these controversies distract from larger issues and have been created as a way to “cover for the failures of the leadership class.” (Carlson). At the same time that it is only fair that the descendants of fallen soldiers should be allowed to properly remember their ancestors, the monuments now send a message of hate and discrimination to those opposed to them. In the same light, it is also important that the citizens of The United States of America are able to reflect on the past in order to learn from it, and correct past wrongs. By looking at the different ways in which Americans have remembered the Civil War, from the immediate post-war period to the present, we can better understand both the southern whites’ emotional ties to the Confederate monuments and the African-Americans’ criticisms of what these symbols represent. Additionally, Cooper and Knotts note the complexity of these perceptions, stating that the “support for the Confederate flag is not simply about racial attitudes, but a more complex phenomenon where region and race exert important influences.” Yet, lessons of the Civil War should continue to be taught in schools and our homes, because education plays an “instrumental role in imprinting socially appropriate behaviors and attitudes.” (Tsesis). And although it is crucial to be aware of the dark legacy evoked by these monuments, they should only be preserved in museums.

The history of the Civil War is long and complicated, but nonetheless, it is an important topic to teach to children today because education is a tool which has the power to teach right from wrong. In 1861, the North and the South went to war over state rights and most importantly, the issue of slavery. The North sought to abolish this system and unite the states, while the South argued that the institution of slavery was crucial to the nation’s success. The war officially began “after 11 states seceded from the United States in the early months of 1861 in an attempt to form a separate nation” (Beetham). The war was long, and there were many casualties on both sides. Over 2,100,000 Union soldiers and 1,000,000 Confederate soldiers were sent to battle, with over 350,000 Union soldiers and 250,000 lost along the way (“The Civil War: Facts, Events & Information”). Battles broke out all across the country, and many resources were needed to sustain them. Places like the Eastern Theater, Western Theater, Trans-Mississippi, Gulf Coast, and Sioux Uprising marked significant battles throughout the war (The Civil War: Facts, Events & Information). Battles were lost and won by both sides over the four years from 1861 to 1865, but the North continued to prevail. After some time, it became clear that the “Confederate soldiers fought a Northern army equipped with superior resources and increasingly comfortable with the notion that the abolition of slavery would be an outcome of Union victory” (Beetham). In the end the North was victorious, and they put into motion what they fought for all along; a truly United States of America and the destruction of the institution of slavery. Even though they won the war and the states were united, there was still an unspoken separation that remained in the minds of those for and against slavery.

The recovery after the war was about more than just repairing the physical damage; many people lost close friends and family members dear to them. The intricate statues they built served as a reminder of the war and those who fought in it, and “that connection is clearly visible in the long history of Confederate soldier monuments, erected to honor the men of the ranks who gave their lives for the Confederacy” (Beetham). Interestingly enough, some of the monuments were not put up directly after the war, but years later by the families of veterans. When they passed, it was “their daughters, [the] United Daughters of the Confederacy, [who] took main responsibility for making sure that they were not forgotten” (Ayers). To the Southerners who installed these monuments, the institution of slavery and its discriminatory ways were not what was on their minds. Their side of the story tells how the soldiers fought bravely against the government when they tried to deny the states the rights that they deserved, and that when they lost, they did so respectfully (Ayers). To this day, some still stand by this notion and continue to fight for the monuments to stay. Many that support the preservation of confederate monuments often cite the phrase “Heritage, Not Hate.” For Lois Marlow and the United Daughters of the Confederacy in Reidsville, North Carolina, the relocation of the monument in their town to the Greenview Cemetery was an important tribute to their ancestors (Battaglia). Battaglia states, “it is our hope Triumphant will stand guard forever, protecting the graves of nearby soldiers and continue to serve as a reminder of the gallant men who left us with this rich sense of history and of valor, and with a renewed appreciation of our Confederate heritage.” Sharing similar sentiments, Gilbert Fischer, an Army veteran, proudly displays Confederate flags on his front lawn. (Constable). A neighbor of Fischer summed up his motivations, shared by many others on this side of the debate, with the following statement: "His whole family was in the military, and he flies the flags to honor them.” (Constable.) Although these monuments are of grand significance to those connected to the war by their ancestors, such as Marlow and Fischer, the culture of today’s society has given them a different meaning. An explanation for the disconnect between generations may be that  “older residents may be more aware of the meanings attached to Confederate symbols and the symbols may have greater salience for those individuals who lived through the civil rights movement.” (Cooper). Looking into these differences, the motivations for support as well as reasons for opposition can be observed.

Now the monuments hold a new meaning and are representative of the racist ways of our ancestors. Even though they are meaningful to some, allowing them to remain in such public places when they have such a negative connotation is offensive toward those whose relatives suffered in the past. Therefore, it is important to note that one of the main reasons why the Civil War broke out in the first place was because the South did not want to give up slavery. This system was cruel, unfair, and frankly inhumane to the innocent people who suffered simply because of their skin color. The Black Lives Matter movement that has developed in recent years can be paralleled to the previous fight that African-Americans fought for their own basic human rights. Just as “the victims of extrajudicial lynching during the Jim Crow Era, today's victims of police and vigilante violence are killed or wounded without trial and subjected to racially motivated judgment” (Beetham). But, some such as Tucker Carlson, feel that the monuments do not effect everyone in our nation, going as far as to call the outrage over their presence a “manufactured crisis.” However, the new generation has seen the connection with the monuments and current racial tensions, and many of those behind the movement have not been afraid to show their opposition to them. Some have even engaged in physical violence, and this “recent spate of vandalism directed at [the] Confederate monuments in the wake of racially motivated violence against black Americans reveals the unavoidable connection with racial oppression that has always been a part of Confederate memory” (Beetham). In recent months, many unarmed and innocent black men, women, and children have lost their lives due to these racially motivated attacks, and to them, nowhere is safe. They can’t do things as simple as driving to the supermarket or taking a walk without the fear that they may be stopped and questioned, even if they really have not done anything wrong. It is hard to imagine this fear, seeing as it is something that not everyone experiences, but it is not possible to imagine how they feel every time they encounter a confederate statue. 

For today’s American citizens, these monuments represent a horrific past, and having them up only gives those that still support them a reason to continue this unspeakable discrimination. It is impossible to deny that the motivations behind the Civil War were not just for the South, so allowing the monuments to remain does nothing but delay progress and perpetuate prejudice. In fact, some statues were installed around the time of the civil rights movement, years after the original monuments were built (Parks). Obviously, these were not to commemorate soldiers, but were instead meant to send a message of power from white supremacists. To those whose ancestors were crushed under that power, doing nothing about the monuments is unfair and unjust. The dialogue surrounding the monuments has clearly and greatly changed over the years, and although completely destroying them would make it easier to cut the nation’s ties to such beliefs, it also discounts the history of families who lost loved ones in the war.

While removing the monuments may offer a possible resolution, there are alternative compromises, such as altering the discussion and ideology behind them. When it really comes down to it, the confederate monuments are just stones. What they represent, however, is subject to change as it already has throughout the years. If their purposes have ranged from commemorating important veterans of the Civil War to signifying an era of oppression, then what would stop the people from redefining the monuments once again? Some think that if the monuments remain, then they could actually help to fix the issue of prejudice.  Lawrence A. Kuznar makes a point that the citizens of this country “should let them stand and use them to remind ourselves of what we are and are not, the cost our forebears paid for our freedom and to educate our children.” Such a response to this divisive issue assumes that the presence of the monuments could even unite the people further than they would be if the monuments were simply destroyed. Putting the decision to redefine the meaning of them in the hands of the people has the potential to unify them, since it would be their obligation to do so as a whole effort. Kuznar even goes as far as to say that “destroying monuments takes a page out of the playbook of mobs across the centuries, lowering one’s self to that moral plane.” By this, he means to suggest that today’s society needs to embrace the truth of the past and learn from it, rather than attempt to eradicate and forget about it. But unfortunately, this responsibility is a lot to handle because deep-seated racism is not just something that can be fixed overnight. It would take an immense amount of time to correct the positive perception of the monuments, and truthfully, not everyone would want to let go of the notion that the monuments symbolize oppression and discrimination. Additionally, there will be some people who will always believe in the traditional and conservative way these issues are talked about in the South, and that is merely a product of their upbringing. But as explored by Cooper and Knotts, many of these stereotypical ideas are derived from “the attitudes of only white southerners.” In order to have an unbiased perspective on these issues,  “both white and black opinion from across the country” must be considered.  (Cooper). Ayers states, “so, can the monuments speak to us? Yes, they can. But you have to be very careful about recognizing the story that they tell,” which speaks volumes about how hard it would truly be to effect a change in mentality. Although the concept is simple enough, the reality of it would be far too much to ask of the people, which is why a compromise needs to be made.

Museums are amazing places. They exhibit everything from scientific knowledge to historical facts to art and culture: which is why they would be the perfect locations for the confederate monuments to be moved to. Transferring these monuments to museums would allow those whose family members were lost in the war to continue honoring them, while still preserving the history that is so crucial for the people to remember. Allowing them to remain intact also opens up the opportunity to learn from the past. It gives the people the chance to recognize that what happened is in the past, and that by educating themselves and their children, they are helping to ensure that circumstances like those of the Civil War times will not resurface in the future. Accompanying the monuments with truthful descriptions of the reasons why certain ones were erected also supports learning and change, which is what this country sorely needs (Knight). This is also true when it comes to moving the monuments to other remote locations such as Civil War cemeteries. This way, they remain intact and are placed near the graves of those on both sides who fought and gave their lives in battle. In general, relocating them would satisfy both those for and against them by removing them from pubic areas where they have the ability to offend, while still satisfying the requests of the families who have lost loved ones.

The mere presence of the monuments in public areas is offensive to those who endured unfair treatment in the past, as well as in the present. Showcasing a more radical idea, some call for the removal of confederate monuments because they are unconstitutional. As pointed out by Tsesis, “The Thirteenth Amendment prohibits all relics of servitude, including state sponsored displays meant to laud a breakaway republic which idealized and waged war to perpetuate black slavery.” Seeing is believing, and “the visibility of memorials in public space shapes the way viewers remember and interpret the past,” which means that just by having the memorials in plain sight, people are reminded daily of their hardships (Beetham). If the monuments are to remain, it is only fair to those against them that they be moved to more remote areas, so that they are not a constant indication of the hideous past. As put by Tsesis, the Confederate Flag “symbolizes a government whose ideology included the commitment to maintain a stratified society where only whites enjoyed freedom's bounties.” It is one thing to remember and gain knowledge from the history of the monuments, but “confederate memorials have long dominated Southern civic spaces with a version of history that denies the experiences of many American citizens” (Beetham). The removal and assignment of the monuments to a new home is particularly important now more than ever.

With rising tensions and injustice in the political world, the confederate monuments only spark more unnecessary controversy when unity is what society needs to be focusing on. It is impossible to move forward and prosper as one nation if respect is lacking, and it is only respectful to others that the confederate monuments are relocated. Moving these monuments to more remote locations, such as museums and graveyards, would be a relatively quick and fair resolution to the debate over whether they should stay up or not. Additionally, it would satisfy the requests of both those in favor of and against them, since they would still exist but would be out of the public eye. Having them preserved in museums also promotes the education of the youth on the history and legacy of the Civil War. It is important for the people of today’s society to remember the past and learn from it, but it is also our obligation to be respectful of each other’s struggles, and to do what we can in order to move past these previous conflicts to come together as one nation. 
