The Problem with “Confederate” Monuments on our Heritage Landscape

Abstract

Objective This article seeks to reframe so‐called Confederate monuments as monuments to the revisionist “Lost Cause.” I define these monuments as a problem for historic preservation that has long been based on a preference for in‐place protection of things “historic.” Methods I compare Confederate monuments’ original intent with arguments that these are Civil War, soldier, or veteran memorials. I also explore monuments’ value as sculpture and their de facto status as nationally significant and worthy of preservation. Results Confederate monuments are monuments to the Lost Cause, a narrative supporting the resurgence of white supremacy. We must reconsider the in‐place preservation of these monuments as a de facto choice of historic preservation. Conclusion The structural problem of Confederate monuments for our national historic preservation program calls for its broader evaluation for inclusivity and racial justice. We must find other ways to tell the history of the Confederacy than through physical propaganda pieces of the failed national insurrection of the 1860s.

Reexamining Confederate symbols displayed on flags and monuments in public spaces: Two fallacies in the heritage versus hate debate

“…As well-meaning as these debates have been, they presuppose an equivalency between the heritage and hate schools of thought that represents a false dichotomy. In short, these studies test public opinion without weighing in on the substantive merits of each argument (Brown 2015;Cooper et al 2021;Lees 2021;Leib 1995;Woliver, Ledford, and Dolan 2001).…”

“…In short, these studies test public opinion without weighing in on the substantive merits of each argument (Brown 2015; Cooper et al. 2021; Lees 2021; Leib 1995; Woliver, Ledford, and Dolan 2001).…”

“…The Facebook 4 Setting aside the heritage preservationist argument about protecting monuments, historians might argue that Confederate monuments should be preserved not because of what they tell us about the Civil War era, but what they tell us about the Jim Crow era. In other words, a Confederate monument reflecting white supremacy has historic value as a window into the thinking of the whites who erected the monument, not for any messages about the Southern Confederacy of the 1860s (Evans 2021;Lees 2021). Consider an analogy.…”

“…A memorial movement arose to venerate the common soldier as a means of grieving for the lost sons, brothers, husbands, and fathers who had fallen on the battlefield or succumbed to injuries in the years following the war's end. Cemetery monuments typically featured an anonymous figure striking a non‐threatening pose or a soldier defiantly facing the north to keep a watchful eye on the enemy (Evans 2021; Janney 2013, p. 229; Lees 2021; Martinez and Harris 2000, pp. 137–144).…”

“…This observation suggests that the changing nature of Confederate symbols—flags no longer packed away, and monuments no longer erected solely inside cemeteries—reflected an emerging political goal of the 1870s and 1880s, namely, promoting white supremacy (Evans 2021; Henderson et al. 2021; Lees 2021). Over 90 percent of Confederate memorabilia, specifically monuments and statues, were erected after 1895, with the majority occurring during the first two decades of the 20th century, the heyday of the Jim Crow era (Blight 2001, pp.…”