Those are the real threats to history. Consider how you felt about the issue before reading this article. In several cities, these tributes have been vandalized or torn down by protestors or removed by public officials. There is a plaque next to the Peace Monument in Atlanta, Georgia, that states, This monument should no longer serve as a memorial for white Brotherhood. Remove Confederate statues from public places based on the pros and cons. These loans are available for those with a credit score of at least 500. The United States was far from perfect, but the values of the Confederacy, open and unrepentant white supremacy and total disregard for the humanity of black people, to the extent they still exist, have produced tragedy and discord. Some people argue that these statues are a reminder of the countrys history and should be left in place, while others believe that they are a symbol of oppression and should be removed. These men who are depicted as heroes fought for the institution of slavery. They represent the establishments value system at any given time, regardless of the circumstances. Removing statues is a slippery slope that could lead to the brash removal of monuments to any slightly problematic person. [4], As Karen Cox, PhD, Historian of the American South at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, concludes, The state is giving the stamp of approval to these Lost Cause ideas, and the money is a symbol of that approval. Yet, this is not the first time . NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. 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. The U.S. Recycling System | US EPA These figures were not commonly known to be ridden by equestrians. GREENE: Historian Manisha Sinha is the author of "The Slave's Cause: A History Of Abolition.". Because civil rights groups have grown in prominence, the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) dedicated a monument to Shepherd, a so-called faithful slave. Like, FDR, after all, was responsible for the internment of Japanese American citizens. It has also been suggested that statues shouldn't be removed but new plaques could be added which explain why the person is controversial, for example reflecting both the good and bad things. When activists deface statues, ultimately what theyre doing is forcing the citys hand so that they either have to put money into restoration, which doubles down on whatever message that monument is sending, or they can just remove it. As for museums, people I know who work in museums tear their hair out about this suggestion, that somehow, were going to ship all these Confederate monuments off to the lucky museum that has to find a place to put them. But the traditional standard does help minimize political manipulation of history. First, virtually everyone acts in ways consistent with contemporaneous social normsnorms of which later generations may disapprove. Consider the idea of placing the removed statues in museums with the American Alliance of Museums. Should we not honor the contributions of Washington, Jefferson, and Grant to the United States because they owned slaves, as did many men of their standing at the time, even though they struggled with the institution? Explore the Southern Poverty Law Centers Whose Heritage: Public Symbols of the Confederacy resource, which promotes the removal of confederate statues. GAZETTE: What about the slippery slope argument? They harbored cultural bias. Taneys bust was replaced with one of Thurgood Marshall. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Pros And Cons Of Removing Confederate Statues. When were talking about the Lee statue, its a really good example of what can happen when there is disagreement in the community about what its values are. Even more importantly, however, erasing monuments of once-revered figures upsets an unspoken but long-prevailing consensus governing our decisions of whom to commemorate. Rebecca Klar, Arthur Ashe Statue on Richmond's Monument Avenue Tagged with White Lives Matter Graffiti, thehill.com, June 17, 2020, 50. Opponents said, well, if you're going to take down Jefferson Davis, the next day you're going to take down George Washington. They teach us, and it depends on us whether we practice what we learn. The consensus renders the commemoration process more meaningful and less political than it otherwise would be. In some cases, moreover, politics induces decision makers to ignore the traditional standards. Politics, national security, and occasional nerdery. Monuments of people statuary I think come out of a tradition of imitation. For many years people have been arguing whether certain controversial monuments, such as statues, should be destroyed or removed. The Removal of All Confederate Statues, Flags, Symbols in America; The topic should be a controversial social issue. Confederate Monuments: What Should Replace Them? | Time ProCon.org is the institutional or organization author for all ProCon.org pages. They can be used as a teaching tool to help educate people about different periods in our past. During the globalBlack Lives Matterprotests in the summer of 2020, calls to take down the statues were met with citizens not only actively damaging or removing statues of Confederate figures, but targeting statues of slave-holdingFounding Fathers in general, as well as historic monuments to Abraham Lincoln and abolitionists such as Frederick Douglass. 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. ], [Editors Note: The MLA citation style requires double spacing within entries. Though they may represent history, the history that they represent is done in . Argumentative Essay: Should Monuments Be Removed? | ipl.org If your thoughts have not changed, list two to three ways your better understanding of the other side of the issue now helps you better argue your position. The reason for that was a movement called City Beautiful. The statues do not cause racism and could be used to fight racism if put into historical context. Lawrence A. Kuznar, PhD, Professor of Anthropology at Indiana UniversityPurdue University Fort Wayne, stated that removing Confederate statues is a whitewashing of our history that destroys our ability to remember inconvenient truths from our past. A: Thats such a complex issue. 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 Capitol's Statuary Hall. 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. The Day of the Race has been condemned by social science as a result of its extreme racism, including the Nazism of World War II. 1. Jackson was a slave owner. An FHA loan is a mortgage insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). This time also coincided with the creation of many Confederate monuments, though they were coming from a different set of concerns. Arguments For And Against Removing Confederate Statues - Ranker Q: How do we decide what stays and what goes? Citizens have the right to express themselves in ways that respect their personal beliefs by creating statues and holding controversial opinions. 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. 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. Many in that group argue the monuments represent Southern heritage. PRO AND CON: Should Confederate monuments be removed? Answer: We have to distinguish what kind of monuments were talking about. Ashlie D. Stevens, As Confederate Monuments Come down, What Should Replace Them?, salon.com, June 17, 2020, 27. GORDON-REED: I would say there are other places for that on battlefields and cemeteries. GAZETTE:As a law professor, what is your view on people unilaterally deciding to pull down statues they find offensive after officials often enjoined by laws or judicial rulings barring such action decline to do so? The ornaments do not represent the history of the world; rather, they represent what the past chose to celebrate and commemorate. GREENE: But is there an argument that removing these statues could help further the fight for racial equality in our country? NPR Morning Edition, For Stanton, All Women Were Not Created Equal, npr.org, July 13, 2011, 46. Colleen Walsh, Must We Allow Symbols of Racism on Public Land?, harvard.edu, June 19, 2020, 44. Richard Allen Greene, King Leopold II Statues Are Being Removed in Belgium. Who Frederick Douglass was. The argument is that these statues glorify individuals who have harmed marginalized groups, and that they should be removed from public spaces. Chan School of Public Health celebrates opening of $25M Thich Nhat Hanh Center for research, approaches to mindfulness, Women who suppressed emotions had less diverse microbiomes in study that also found specific bacterial link to happiness, Tenn. lawmaker Justin Pearson, Parkland survivor David Hogg 23 talk about tighter gun control, GOP attempts to restrict voting rights, importance of local politics, Dangers involved in rise of neurotechnology that allows for tracking of thoughts, feelings examined at webinar, 2023 The President and Fellows of Harvard College. They put up monuments to T.J. because of the Declaration of Independence, which every group has used to make their place in American society. Venezuelas mezcla is characterized by a lack of eclecticism, as well as a widespread, general sense of izquierda. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. In the United States, Confederate generals were overthrown or voted out. Adolph Hitler gets none, although he was kind to dogs. [14] [17]. You said that moving to statues like George Washington and the Founding Fathers is going from one extreme to another extreme. Last modified on July 14, 2022. 746 Words3 Pages. Debate around the removal of memorials and monuments that honor people and ideas whose messages and causes are considered offensive to certain marginalized groups has been a hot-button issue of late in the national conversation. Other examples are the decisions to name towns in New York State, Illinois, and Indiana after the Roman consul,Marcus Tullius Cicero. GAZETTE: In recent years, many have called for the removal of monuments honoring Confederate officials and other controversial figures, such as Christopher Columbus, with mixed results. Do the statues represent or misrepresent the countrys history? Mridas Avenida de los Insignes, the Paseo de los Insignes, and the Coln derribado de Caracas were all parts of the Ch Guevaras visit to the United States. The fact that a particular vice prevailed in a persons place and time becomes an excuse for stripping recognition from people whose lives contradict the propaganda of those in power. A petition in Tennessee gained 22,736 signatures (and counting as of July 8, 2020) to replace all Confederate statues in the state, including the statue of Confederate Army General and KKK Grand Wizard Nathan Bedford Forrest that stands in the states capitol building, with statues of Dolly Parton. Explain your answer with examples and reasoning. Among the items included in a new time capsule that will take its place is a copy of Diazs Pulitzer Prize-winning Postcolonial Love Poem., When my old basketball coach Wendy Larry texted me to tell me the Virginia governor's office was trying to reach me, I had no idea what they might want. No one puts a monument up to Washington or Jefferson to promote slavery. SINHA: I've been against it all along. The video of the officer with his knee on George Floyds neck was so extreme. 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. [44] Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and the white suffragists purposefully excluded black women. A statue of Josphine de Beauharnais, who married Napoleon and became his first wife, was ripped down in Martinique. The principal legacy of Confederate statues is white supremacy and slavery. Politics plays a role in answering close questions. emma.greguska@asu.edu. [35]. The definition of a statue includes a work of art that represents something as well. History is almost never the sole motivator for the construction of schools. When a king dies, his or her statue is also taken down, as are those of their ancestors. Dessi Gomez, Hello, Dolly? A high-profile decision to tear down a famous bronze figure of Robert E. Lee in Richmond, Va., was halted by a court challenge, which was extended indefinitely on Thursday. There are many other people who could be represented by statues who would better represent the historical progress and diversity of the country. Aishvarya Kavi, Activists Push for Removal of Statue of Freed Slave Kneeling Before Lincoln, nytimes.com, June 27, 2020, 20. These loans are designed to help low and moderate-income borrowers obtain affordable financing.