Flags have been around for centuries and are full of symbolism. From the 13 stripes to the 50 stars our United States flag has always represented freedom. In this symbolism, there is an underlying tone of civil disobedience that has lasted through history and now lives on in the form of another flag. The Confederate flag is a now common symbol of civil disobedience. To understand how the Confederate flag is civil disobedient, one needs to know what civil disobedience is. To be civil disobedient, in this case, is to go against the flow of society in a nonviolent, lawful manner. What is considered civil disobedient is left to personal opinion; however, once a law is broke the act is now a crime and cannot be considered civil disobedient. If …show more content…
The states seceded separately starting with South Carolina, each state naming slavery as the main reason for the secession. The seceded states became the Confederate Army during the Civil War and the Confederate flag became their symbol. The flag in also known as the “Southern Cross” and the “Rebel Flag”. The flag earned the name “Rebel Flag” from the civil disobedient nature of the Confederate states. By seceding from the Union, the Confederate states themselves were practicing civil disobedience; however, once a confrontation happened, the war began and the act of civil disobedience ended. Since the Confederate Army was fighting to keep slavery, Opponents of the flag believe that it stands for slavery itself. However, the supporters of the flag state that it now stands to honor the lives lost during the Civil War and the brave soldiers who fought for what they believed …show more content…
In this case, I would not participate in flying a Confederate flag because there is no symbolism in it for me. If I had a relative who served in the Confederate Army, then I would proudly fly it to honor them. I would also fly the flag if the state were to outlaw it because I would want to protest my right to fly the flag that was taken away. In this case, I would put myself through tickets, public humiliation, and even arrest for the Confederate flag; eventually I would give into the law if violence fell upon me for I am a chicken when it comes to pain. However that is a different tale for I would then be breaking the law and the act would not be considered civil
For more than 200 years, the American flag has been a big part of the United States. Betsy Ross had been the first, reportedly, to make the American flag. It originally had thirteen stars, representing the first thirteen colonies, but later it ended up with fifty to represent the states in the Union. It is a symbol of our
...more overpowering and overwhelming than any general feeling of Southern pride. America has obtained a reputation to be an accepting and open minded country, welcoming all of any race, couture and religion. The Preamble states clearly that America will establish justice and insure domestic tranquility for all. Neither of these entities are accomplished in America as long as the Confederate flag remains raised. Our nation is furthermore divided by racism through a flag that is possibly being used as a degradation tool. This battle with racism has become far too large for American citizens and anything that is viewed as racist in such a manner as the Confederate flag is, should be censored from society, in only a helpful practice. A state flag should be capable of uniting its citizens, instead of dividing them. The Confederate flag should be lowered immediately.
In conclusion, people should not take down confederate memorials as they are part of the history. They remind us of the cost of freedom and equality; they force us to remember the ignominious truth of the past; they serve as a mighty tool to educate the racists. We need them to avoid recommitting the same
During winter months, basic huts were constructed from wood when it was available. During the civil war, most of the soldiers fought only 75 percent of the time. When they were not fighting, their day usually started at 5:00 in the morning during the summer and spring, and 6:00 in the morning during the fall and winter. Soldiers would be awakened by fifes and drums, then the first sergeant would take a roll call, and all the men sat down to eat breakfast. During the day, soldiers would be engaged in sometimes as many as five 2-hour long drill sessions on weaponry or maneuvers.
“The Confederate Flag: Controversy and Culture.” David Sarratt American Studies University of Virginia. Web. 22 Feb. 2014
For that reason, my perspective on the events that took place during the war is honestly irrelevant. However, throughout my entire life, I have been an advocate for slavery and have pushed for it every year of my political career, which is why I like to think that my words influenced the secession of the south. According to PBS I argued passionately that slaveholders could take their enslaved people into free states and still own them. This debate over states' rights and slavery would eventually lead to the Civil War. Based on the ideas that I value, one could easily argue that my perspective, or attitude toward the war would be in favor of the confederate
What is the American flag and what does it represent? For many Americans the flag represents freedom, pride, and justice. Our flag stands for freedom because of the many lives that had to be lost throughout history for us to be the nation we are today. The American flag stands for pride because of the many American soldiers men and women who lost their lives for us. Lastly, our flag stands for justice because in the United States no matter what crime we do we have the right to a fair trial.
Some have seen friends and family get tortured and murdered by their own government for daring to do things we take for granted every day. For those who risked everything simply for the chance to become an American....what kind of feelings do they have for the flag when they Pledge Allegiance the first time? Go to a naturalization ceremony and see for yourself, the tears of pride, the thanks, the love and respect of this nation, as they finally embrace the American flag as their own. Ask one of them if it would be OK to tear up the flag.
Tensions between the North and South had grown steadily since the anti slavery movement in 1830. Several compromises between the North and South regarding slavery had been passed such as the Nebraska-Kansas and the Missouri act; but this did little to relieve the strain. The election of President Lincoln in 1861 proved to be the boiling point for the South, and secession followed. This eventually sparked the civil war; which was viewed differently by the North and the South. The Northern goal was to keep the Union intact while the Southern goal was to separate from the Union. Southern leaders gave convincing arguments to justify secession. Exploring documents from South Carolina’s secession ordinance and a speech from the Georgia assembly speech will explain how the Southern leaders justify the secession from the United States.
The Secession of the United States was the cause of thr Civil War. The Southern Confederates were furious that the Northern Union for trying to abolish slavery. When Lincoln was elected president, he tried to once and for all abolish slavery in the North as well as the west. He tried to contain slavery to its geographical area to keep it from spreading anymore north, but the South erupted in rebellion and eventually went to war against the North in the Civil
First I would like to include some information about our american flag and how it came about. In the British colonies of North America before the Revolution, each of the 13 colonies had its flag. On Jan. 2, 1776, the first flag of the United States was raised at Cambridge, Mass., by George Washington. Known as the Grand Union flag, it consisted of 13 stripes, alternate red and white, with a blue canton bearing the crosses of St. George and St. Andrew. Congress, on June 14, 1777, enacted a resolution “that the Flag of the United States be 13 stripes alternate red and white, that the Union be 13 stars white in a blue field representing a new constellation.” On Jan. 13, 1794, Vermont and Kentucky having been admitted to the Union, Congress added a stripe and a star for each state. Congress in 1818 enacted that the 13 stripes, denoting the 13 original colonies, be restored and a star added to the blue canton for each state after its admission to the Union. All of the states and territories of the United States also have their own flags. Betsy Ross created the first flag. Betsy would often tell her children, grandchildren, relatives, and friends of the fateful day when three members of a secret committee from the Continental Congress came to call upon her. Those representatives, George Washington, Robert Morris, and George Ross, asked her to sew the first flag. This meeting occurred in her home some time late in May 1776. George Washington was then the head of the Continen...
The Confederate flag was used symbolically during the Civil War. For Southerner’s, the flag represented a source of southern pride as well as a way of remembering the fallen Confederates. As the Civil War proceeded, the meaning of the flag began to change. Currently, the flag is being used as a symbol of racism. Due to this change in meaning, controversy over the flag has been exponentially growing.
The first Flag Act, which was adopted on June 14, 1777, created the original United States flag of the thirteen stars and the thirteen stripes. The second Flag Act approved by congress provided the Star-Spangled Banner with fifteen stars and fifteen stripes. Vermont and Kentucky joined the Union which gave the Star-Spangled Banner the additional stars and stripes. Finally, the third Flag Act, passed on April 4, 1818, provided the number of stripes back to thirteen in honor of the original thirteen colonies and provided for one star for each state. However, the making of the flag is just the beginning. It’s the war of 1812 that gave the flag a song.
The symbolism of the Flag was thus interpreted by Washington: “We take the stars from Heaven, the red from our mother country, separating it by white stripes, thus showing that we have separated from her, and the white stripes shall go down to posterity representing Liberty.”
Confederate States of America, the name adopted by the federation of 11 slave holding Southern states of the United States that seceded from the Union and were arrayed against the national government during the American Civil War.