No other conflict has brought as much bloodshed, trauma, and division to the United States of America than the American Civil War. While other wars that Americans have fought in may have been fought on larger scales, with grander armies and greater resources, none compare to the lasting effects of the Civil War which continue to plague the Nation to this day. Approximately 618,000 Americans lost their lives between the years of 1861 and 1865. States, cities, and families turned on one another in a desperate struggle; a struggle which was to continue to divide the Nation long after the last guns had been fired. A cessation to the violence which had surrounded the Nation for years did little to calm the hearts of those who had survived it. …show more content…
The Confederate Monument stands at an impressive 32-feet in height, topped with a larger-than life figure of a woman, meant to represent the spirit of the South. In her left hand she holds a laurel wreath crown, the ancient symbol for peace. In her right hand she holds a pruning hook on a plow stock, echoing the agricultural heritage of the Southern people. She stands atop four cinerary urns, each engraved with a year. Each year represents the years of the Civil War. The four sides of the Monument offer scenes depicting Confederate Soldiers in a variety of situations. They are seen answering the call from Minerva, the Goddess of War and Wisdom; depicted as attempting to hold up a women symbolized as the Mother of the South. The Confederate Soldiers are shown as they depart for war, from the young man leaving his sweetheart, to the father leaving his babe in the arms of his African-American nurse. This particular scene is important in understanding one of, if not the primary reason for the Monument’s creation as claimed by opponents of the Confederate Monument and the …show more content…
To this day, there are still many who try to fight the monuments meaning, and stop the annual laying of the wreath at the memorial. While this is a tradition that has been ongoing since the unveiling, some feel that it is keeping the South alive, which is fueling the neo-Confederate movement. The date that the wreath was laid has since moved from June 4 to Memorial Day itself. Even with the change, no President has missed a year of honoring the monument, and the meaning behind it. One of the most recent and highly publicized controversies surrounding the Confederate Monument can be found in a letter written to President Barack Obama in May of 2009. In this letter, scholars urged that the White House not send a wreath to honor the Confederate Monument, which is a longstanding tradition of the President to honor all of the monuments within Arlington Cemetery annually. The letter
On March 4th, 1921, Congress approved the commissioning of a tomb of an unknown soldier of World War 1, this soldier will be buried in the new Memorial Amphitheater (“The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier”). On Memorial day 1921, U.S. Army Sgt. Edward F. Younger, was selected to select from four caskets for the Tomb of the Unknown(“The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier”). He
History has a strange way of coming back around when it comes to human civilization. It has been said repeatedly that those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it. However, just because there is a potential for danger in the future, this does not mean that humanity must ignore what once was. History is normally remembered through what is known as a memorial. When a memorial is put into a physical representation, it is then known as a monument.The need to memorialize events or people is complex; in some cases, monuments honor moments of great achievement, while in other cases, monuments pay homage to deep sacrifice. A monument's size, location, and materials are all considerations in planning and creating a memorial to the past. Examples of such feats are the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, and even Mount Rushmore. For the latter of the
The Civil War determined what kind of nation the United States would become. It determined whether it would be a nation with equal rights for everyone or the biggest country that still abused of slaves. The war started because of the brutal conditions slaves were living in. Many had no education what so ever and were treated worse than animals. Back then part of this country found this acceptable and demanded to keep their slaves while the others demanded freedom. Today there are many movies about the civil war. For example the movie Glory which was made in December 15, 1989 it was directed by Edward Zwick. The movie depicts the lives of African American soldiers who had to endure tougher training than the American man, and American officials who had to make these men into real action fighting soldiers. The defining characters in this movie were. Major Cabot Forbes who was very tender towards the African American soldiers and he even stood up for them. Private Trip gave up his freedom in order to fight is true fighter. Corporal Thomas Searles who struggled a lot in the training camp but in the end pulled through. Glory is mainly about men with struggles that have to overcome their torments in order to end the Civil War. It took time and strength but the colored regiment became just as good as any white one. Corporal Thomas Searles, Major Cabot Forbes, and Private Trip all fought for what they believed in even at the time of their last breathes something they would have never done at the beginning of the movie.
“I think it wiser not to keep open the sores of war but to follow the examples of those nations who endeavored to obliterate the marks of civil strife, to commit to oblivion the feelings engendered” written by Robert E. Lee in 1866. Monuments celebrate origins. They demonstrate a community’s symbolic honoring of events and people for qualities it finds indispensable to its identity. But the ones in Virginia do not. They represent a various amount of These confederate monuments ought to be placed in a more private area for individuals who want to view them can. Likewise, these monuments influence individuals to feel awkward in their consistently lives. A few people differ and feel that these remembered monuments not be brought down, and should stay up.
Following the American Civil War, the whole nation was forever changed and was the result of many good and bad things. Although it was a very costly war and was So, the Civil War did define us and made us the good and the bad things we are and led to an extremely significant change because slavery was abolished once and for all and African American rights followed many years later, the Federal Government imposed more power over the states, our country was divided for a while, and it left the nation in debt due to the fact that we fought each other.
Recently there has been news about people heavily wanting Confederate statutes to be taken down due to their relation with slavery. While many have their own views on the matter, one in particular stands out. The view of preserving them in a way that’ll keep both sides happy and to preserve the history behind them. This “contextualized” view, as discussed in Gary Shapiro’s “The Meaning of Our Confederate ‘Monuments’” I believe should not only be applied to the Confederate statutes but other monuments and memorials as well. Memorials being made in order to remember an event or person, while a monument is made in order to honor an event or person(Shapiro). While it is in fact very reasonable to want to take these statutes down due to evil background, they are still a part of history. Instead, we should follow the “contextualized” view and add context to all monuments and memorials as their meanings change throughout time.
Many people have disputes over many of the Confederate soldiers such as General Robert E. Lee. To many people the monuments of confederate soldiers remind them of slavery, which was the mainly the whole reason for the civil war. However other people don't want to take down these monuments. They think that the statues remind them of a part of history and that if they statues are taken down, then a part of our history is being ripped away. Pierre McGraw is a descendant of Confederate soldiers and he says “you’re basically ripping out chapters of a history book.”Since there are two different points of view on this issue it is causing a lot of controversy. Many different states have made laws banning the removal of plaques, statues, and monuments.
Washington, DC is a spectacular place. This being my first time in DC, I was in awe of everything and all the historical places I encountered. The presence of the monuments and history is what made the capitol so magnificent. Having only read about the Lincoln memorial, I never had the chance to experience the sensation of being inside such an honorable place of importance. The imposing white marble walls of the memorial and the many people surrounding it could be seen from afar. Arriving at the location, an unknown feeling came over me. I was experiencing history in a whole different level. When I think about a memorial, the term remembrance comes to mind. Seeing the statue of Abraham Lincoln brought pieces of memories from history class and evoked thoughts of what it might have felt like to be in his shoes. I was astonished by the statue’s enormousness and how grand Abraham Lincoln looked in his chair. The size of the statue compared to pictures from books and elsewhere was surreal. Abraham Lincoln was a very “powerful and prominent individual” in the history of our nation, the statue’s design and size reflected upon that. Looking around me, I wanted to know what the others thoughts were on seeing his statue and how they felt in that building. I finally had the courage to ask one or two people what they thought; they all had the same appreciation as me. Hearing about an important person or learning about them in a history book gives you vast knowledge but it doesn’t evoke the feeling of utter appreciation as the memorial does. When Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, many people wanted to build a memorial in honor of him. They wanted to be able to show how important he was to shaping our nation and to “honor his existence”. Ce...
Remembrance and reverence to those who fought in one of the bloodiest wars in United States’ history are offered through Confederate monuments and namesakes. The removal of Confederate monuments and names of schools brings in a whitewashing of the American past. Citizens learn from the past, and if it is erased the lessons to be learned are lost along with it. Americans should constantly be
Organizations like the United Daughters of the Confederacy and others who supported the Confederacy helped to create memorials to honor the Confederacy and the beliefs the South fought for during the Civil War. Many of the monuments and memorials established after the Civil War were dedicated to people who reflected the Lost Cause. The Commemorative postcard of living Confederate flag in front of the Robert E. Lee Monument in Richmond, Virginia exemplifies how people of the South after the Reconstruction embraced the aspects of the Reconstruction through the perspective of the Lost Cause. Since the picture of the living Confederate flag was a famous postcard in the South in the 20th century, the postcard was likely viewed by a large number of people, especially in the South, which helped spread the influence of the Lost Cause and how the Lost Cause affected the legacy of the Reconstruction. An advertisement in the Confederate Veteran magazine in 1905 proved how monuments influenced people in the South during this time period. Since the Confederate Veterans magazine was a popular magazine in the South, Many people viewed the magazine’s contents and may likely have been influenced by articles in it. People in the South viewed monuments and memorials as a way to remember how life used to be before the Civil War and represent people’s views of the Civil War and the Reconstruction. Lost Cause advocated also believed that the Reconstruction was the North’s way of destroying the Southern way of
Imagine standing in front of the defaced statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee only to hear two sides of people curse, hurt each other. This situation is too familiar for people who visit Charlottesville, VA, the formerly peaceful town. The controversy between Confederate memorials never ends. Many people argue that Confederate monuments should be taken down because they become the flashpoints of unrest and violence. As far as I am concerned, confederate memorials should remain as these memorials are the legacy of history; history is value-neutral and innocent.
The Denton Confederate Monument, erected in 1918 by the United Daughters of the Confederacy, is hotly debated on the basis of what the monument represents. Advocates for the removal of the monument maintain that it is a glorification of slavery and racism that cannot be tolerated. Proponents for its retention argue that it is a tribute to the soldiers who died in the Civil War. The monument is in the style of a triumphal arch, with the Confederate soldier set atop it. These formal elements suggest both that the Confederacy won the war, and by extension that the racism of the Confederacy is still alive, and that the Confederate soldier is dominant over the viewer, similar to the way in which
The rolling hills of Arlington were scenic, that is, if you could ignore the hundreds of thousands of gravestones. Here, I saw loss, great loss, in the name of this country in the form of rows of the dead. I shed tears as I watched the finely choreographed march of those participating in the changing of the guard ceremony. I saw the eternal flame. I felt a sense of national pride that carried over to the dark, climate controlled rooms of the National Archives. There, after an hour wait to get into the building, I had to fight through throngs of people all trying to see a piece of paper with faded writing that was the reason for America. I fought, again, to gaze upon the Constitution that so many in this day and age have forgotten the words of. Standing back a moment, looking at the bodies shoving past one another, I suddenly felt angry. All of these people wanted to see these documents so badly, but did they know that they condoned slavery and sexism and every opposite of equality in the book, prior to amendments that fixed some of these issues? Do they not realize that this nation may have been founded on freedom from Britain, but not freedom for all? Perhaps it is not fit to recognize these weaknesses as a citizen of the country upholding them, so I do not recognize them, I simply walk into a much less crowded
If public opinion changes cities or private groups have to remove them. This is what happened in the south over the 2016-2017 period and calls for more removals of Confederate statues to be removed continues today. To many African Americans, these memorials are here to remind them of the past when white people, who only had the power would threaten African Americans. Many people argue if this is a remembrance of fallen Confederate soldiers and generals or a racially motivated statement. More reasons people want to get rid of them is cultural values like good and bad luck associated with memorials. The article that talked about the removal of an older cemetery because the Asian business owners near the cemetery believed that a place near a bunch of dead people causes bad luck and will cause negativity on the
In the summer of 2014, my family and I visited the Gettysburg battlegrounds. Being one of the most pivotal and important events of the American Civil War, it stands today as a reminder of the senselessness and backwardness that the conflict brought our country, alongside a solemn memorial of violence. My visit to Gettysburg invoked a variety of emotions, including disgust over the mass bloodshed and conflict, appreciation for the sacrifices of our countrymen, and love for the influence it had in steering our country to a brighter future in the aftermath.