Original Purpose of the Confederate Flags
The original purpose of the Confederate flags was to represent the Confederate nation and its independence from the United States. The Constitution of the United States logically stated that “any State could voluntarily leave the union when its people believed that the union was no longer serving its purpose of establishing justice and/or insuring domestic tranquility”. It provided an image of the Confederate ideals such as slavery and religion, ideals different from those of the Union states. The Confederate states wanted their own representation just as the forefathers of America wanted independent representation from Great Britain. The Confederate Flag represented a new Congress and a new Constitution made by the Confederate states.
Symbolism of the Confederate Flag
The Confederate Flag symbolizes many things such as pride, a scare tactic, racism, and rebellion. One can use it as showing pride of Southern history coming from slavery to a free nation or respect for the CSA standing up for what they believed in. “…there is not an old man living who can discover the emotions of the past; he can only bring back the objects around which…the emotions have ordered themselves in memory, and that memory is not what happened in the year 1860 but is rather a few symbols, a voice, a tree, a gun shining in the wall-symbols that will preserve only so much of the old life as they may, in their own mysterious history, consent to bear”. One can use it as a symbol of rebellion against something that does not represent one’s belief. Just as the Confederate did not believe the Constitution of the United States did not represent them. Those who believe in the “white power” belief such has the Ku Klux Klan symbolize the Confederate Flag has white supremacy over other races. The Confederate Flag is mostly used in radical groups who bring social disruption into communities in regards to racial diversity. These groups use the Confederate basis of racial segregation.
Usage of the Confederate Flag in the Civil War
The Confederate Flag is a version of the “Battle Flag” used by the Confederate Union. It was used as representation of the Confederate’s deficiency of the Union states. The Confederate was a government that wanted to preserve slavery. The first Confederate flag, the “Stars and Stripe”, was first official used in the inauguration of Jefferson Davis in the Confederate Presidency. The “Battle Flag” was used because its predecessor looked similar to the Union flag and caused confusion among soldiers. Many versions of the flag were used during the Civil War. “...the Civil War itself was a symbol for America’s Boarder struggle over race”. The Confederate’s defense of slavery poses that the “Battle Flag” is “inherently associated with slavery"
Usage of the Confederate Flag in Politics
Debates on the Confederate Flags being flown above capitol buildings often come in politics. Many states that were a part of the Confederate still have Confederate features in their state flags, states such as Mississippi, Georgia, and North Carolina. The flags of Alabama and Florida have Confederate features but are modeled after the Cross of Burgundy flag. The flying of the Confederate Flag above the South Carolina capitol sparks much controversy. Black residents found the appearance of the flag as a symbol that advocated white supremacy while whites seen it as a memorial for fallen Confederate soldiers. The NAACP worked with South Carolina government officials in negotiating terms for removal of the flag from the state capitol building. Republicans considered it a state matter while Democrats were against the flag’s display on the capitol. The NAACP and officials both agreed that the display of the Confederate Flag and any flag containing features of the Confederate flag caused disruption. The Confederate Flag was moved to a Memorial for Southern Soldiers. Even though some Blacks thought the flag was still a problem some thought it was not readily visible. "Confederate national flags belong in publicly sponsored displays of historical flags, just as they do not belong on contemporary symbols of sovereignty"
Usage of the Confederate Flag in Racism
Even though the Confederate Flag represented an act of separation from a government in the past, groups such as the Neo-Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan use it as a racial tool. They would bring it on school campuses to fortify segregation of school during the civil rights movement. The Confederate Flag symbolized a segregated America while the American Flag would symbolize a complete America. “For extremists, political compromise of Confederate symbols is not an option; these groups exist precisely because they find the idea of compromise inconceivable. One does not compromise with the enemy in a race war”.
Effects of the Confederate Flag on Society
The Confederate Flag is "not simply a symbol of perceived racism in the country's distant past but a symbol of explicit racism in the recent past and present". The Confederate Flag affects everything from the past, the present, and the future. Confederate Flags worn on t-shirts, belts, and other clothing often bring controversy over racial issues in public schools. Giving honor to fall soldiers and Southern heritage also comes with reminding others of the way their ancestors were treated. America has come a long way from racial segregation but racism still exists. Any form of expression in a way to bring offense sticks forever. Radical groups who have used the Confederate Flag for their own ideal have permanently tainted the flag. The Confederate Flag can no longer be considered a historical monument. “Confederate flags and monuments are offense reminders of the worst aspects of Southern culture: a degrading, paternalistic view of African Americans as racially inferior people and a belief that slavery was necessary to the economic and cultural interests of the antebellum South”.
Although the Confederate Flag symbolizes honor for some people and racism for other people, usage of the flag falls under the First Amendment. Freedom of speech, expression, and action all spread in a board category of American Rights. These rights should not go without regulation and the respect of justice. No expression should be used to disrespect or harm another human being or group of people in an unjust way.
Notes
1. John Coski, The Confederate Battle Flag: America's Most Embattled Emblem (USA: Harvard University Press, 2005), 4-5.
2. Coski, The Confederate Battle Flag: America's Most Embattled Emblem, 7.
3. Coski, The Confederate Battle Flag: America's Most Embattled Emblem, 8.
4. Coski, The Confederate Battle Flag: America's Most Embattled Emblem, 17-18.
5. Devereaux Cannon, The Flags of the Confederacy: An Illustrated History (China: Pelican Publishing, 1994), 1-2.
6. Allen Tate, The Fathers (Athens, Georgia: Swallow Press, 1984), 22.
7. Micheal Prince, Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys!: South Carolina and the Confederate Flag (Columbia, South Carolina: University of South Carolina Press, 2004), 5.
8. Coski, The Confederate Battle Flag: America's Most Embattled Emblem, 26.
9. Coski, The Confederate Battle Flag: America's Most Embattled Emblem, 303.
10. William Richardson, Confederate Symbols in the Contemporary South (Florida: University Press of Florida, 2000), 7.
11. Coski, The Confederate Battle Flag: America's Most Embattled Emblem, 157.
12. Richardson, Confederate Symbols in the Contemporary South, 7.
Bibliography
Cannon, Devereaux. The Flags of the Confederacy: An Illustrated History.
China: Pelican Publishing, 1994.
Coski, John. The Confederate Battle Flag: America's Most Embattled Emblem.
USA: Harvard University Press, 2005.
Prince, Michael. Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys!: South Carolina and the
Confederate Flag. Columbia, South Carolina: University of South Carolina Press,
2004.
Richardson, William. Confederate Symbols in the Contemporary South. Florida: University Press
Of Florida, 2000.
Tate, Allen. The Fathers. Athens, Georgia: Swallow Press, 1984