They are dedicated to the men of the Confederate States. — Why do you think New Orleans mayor Mitch Landrieu wants the statues to be removed? But Washington’s presence would remain everywhere. “I ask you, Mitch, should the Pyramids in Egypt be destroyed since they were built entirely from slave labor?” he wrote. Washington’s story is inextricably bound up with that of the early nation. In such a case we might be able to honestly say that, yes, indeed, we can actually learn something from monuments. ... South Carolina, in 2015, more than 100 Confederate monuments across America were taken down over the … An educational team would offer tours to schools and visitors, and training to teachers. It’s learning from it. In the wake of the recent police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and widespread protests against police brutality and systemic racism in America, there are renewed calls for Confederate monuments around the country to come down—from Birmingham, Alabama, where a 52-foot obelisk known as the Confederate Soldiers & Sailors Monument was dismantled on June 1, to Richmond's Monument Avenue, where Virginia Governor Ralph Northam … Those new poll numbers land smack dab in the middle of an ongoing debate -- in the nation's capitol and in states around the country -- about whether these statues need to be taken down. Should there be? This clear principle can be applied to the men who led the Confederate states into rebellion against the United States: Traitors should be disqualified from public honor. In contrast, the founders would remain ubiquitous — in history books, in debates over political theory, as long as discussions about the purpose and worth of the United States continue. But consider their contrasting conduct as generals: Washington waged a war to found a flawed democracy, and Lee waged a rebellion against that flawed democracy, to expand and extend slavery. No Confederate statues were removed in South Carolina. At the Saratoga National Historical Park in New York, there is a curious sculpture, dating to 1887, whose defining feature is a boot. Should the statues be removed? The man represented by the boot, and whose statue is “missing” — its absence is part of the design of the obelisk, built over several decades and dedicated in 1912 — has hardly been forgotten. When a statue that pays tribute to a person is erected, is there an implicit promise that the statue will always stand? They can take comfort in knowing that the founders set a clear example for public memorialization of people who had betrayed their country, too — helpful context for the debate that erupted after President Trump announced he would veto the annual defense bill if it included an amendment to rename military bases honoring Confederate leaders. A crucial test, when we consider which monuments ought to be taken down, is to ask a simple question: Will these people continue to exist elsewhere, historically speaking? Mayor: London slavery statues should be taken down Leopold reigned over the mass deaths of an estimated 10 million Congolese. The death of George Floyd is leading to the removal -- by protesters in some cases and city leaders in others -- of contentious statues that have riled some residents for decades, if not longer. Do you think it is apt to compare the statues to the Roman Colosseum and the pyramids of Egypt? Virginia Gov Ralph Northam on Thursday ordere… Should Statues Of Historic Figures With Complicated Pasts Be Taken Down? Charlottesville covers Confederate statues. Both were Southerners and military men. Protesters called for this Confederate monument in Norfolk, Va., to be taken down. What is your opinion of Mr. Suber’s perspective? He “will not even consider the renaming of these Magnificent and Fabled Military Installations” named for Confederate leaders — including Forts Bragg, Pickett, and Benning. Yes, take down the Confederate statues. If we tear down a statue of Robert E. Destroying Confederate monuments isn’t ‘erasing’ history. House speaker Nancy Pelosi has called for 11 Confederate statues to be taken down in the US Capitol, amid a growing campaign across the country to remove symbols of the Confederacy. Lost cause Confederate statues are being torn down across America. It was not just in the United States that statues that symbolized racism were taken down. Trump’s defense of racially divisive statues in the throes of a global pandemic, a failed governmental response to the crisis and high unemployment works only because we don’t know our own history well (and according to the president, we’ll know it even less once monuments, with their 10 or so lines of background information, disappear). Take the statues down. There’s no evidence of debate around the issue, at least none at the Washington presidential papers at the University of Virginia. Elected officials in some states have promised to bring down Confederate monuments. There they would be displayed alongside labels and panel texts offering context crafted by experts, drawing on documentary evidence found in archives. He wasn't, as many have said of President Donald Trump, to be taken literally not seriously. Three weeks after Arnold failed to sell Fort Arnold to the British — but succeeded in evading the noose George Washington wanted to see tightened around his neck — military officials abruptly began referring to “Fort Arnold” as “Fort Clinton,” after Maj. Gen. James Clinton. Outreach might include an exhibition that traveled to other museums throughout the country — which in turn might prompt meaningful national discourse. He’d still be on the quarter and the dollar bill. CONFEDERATE statues and monuments honoring slave traders are being taken down amid worldwide anti-racism protests spurred by the death of George Floyd. Students 13 and older are invited to comment. What is your response to that? Brooklyn. Tempers Flare Over Removal of Confederate Statues in New Orleans. Lee married the Washington’s great-granddaughter and inherited some of the enslaved people who had lived at, or been born to people who lived at, Mount Vernon. Should Confederate Statues Be Removed or Remain in Place? And Sen Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) proposed a “national dialogue” on taking down statues of Jefferson and Washington. Replace them with any of these people. The soldier it represents isn’t identified by name even though a nearby inscription describes him as “the most brilliant soldier’ of the Continental Army who was desperately wounded on this spot … winning for his countrymen the decisive battle of the American Revolution and himself the rank of Major General.” Nearby, a 155-foot stone obelisk that commemorates the heroes of the Battle of Saratoga includes large niches for four statues, one on each side of the structure — but one niche is conspicuously empty. The statues were taken down before dawn on Aug. 16. But the founders are different. Instead of just taking them down, Mr. Suber, an African-American activist and organizer, would like to see the city pass out sledgehammers and “let everybody take a whack — just like the Berlin Wall.”. The succession caused the … Mr. Stewart also wondered about the Roman Colosseum: “It was built by slaves, who lived horrible lives under Roman oppression, but it still stands today and we learn so much from seeing it.”. What if, rather than standing Trump’s random statues forlornly in a “garden,” we instead placed the monuments that have been removed in recent weeks and years, whether by protesters or by cities, in a newly established museum. That same day , a statue of Christopher Columbus … Washington welcomed North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, Kentucky and Tennessee to the union. The statues on the Confederate monument are covered in graffiti and beheaded after a protest in Portsmouth, Va., Wednesday, June 10, 2020. And consider their relationship to slavery. For Frank B. Stewart Jr., a white New Orleans native, the city government’s plan to remove the statues — an idea championed by New Orleans’s white mayor, Mitch Landrieu — feels like an Orwellian attempt to erase history. If the statues are not taken down, should new historical context be added so people viewing the statues can learn from the past? The man who got his start as a surveyor helped to plan the capital city, and even selected the location of the White House and Congress. Washington made the personal decision to pave the road to freedom, in his will, for the people he enslaved, while Lee had no choice in the matter. Just one. If his statues go down, Lee will still exist in books about the Civil War. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public. If the statues are not taken down, should new historical context be added so people viewing the statues can learn from the past? — What about Mr. Stewart’s perspective? That at least has been the reaction in Austin, North Carolina, Kentucky, Maryland, Florida, Missouri, Wisconsin and New York. CORRECTION: This article originally misquoted an inscription near a statue in Saratoga National Park honoring Benedict Arnold. The vast majority of statue removals have been institutional or governmental, but as some protesters have expanded their targets to include the founders, the media focused on crowds tearing down statutes of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson in Portland, Ore. A descendant of Jefferson wrote that while the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C., may be marketed “as a shrine to freedom, it is anything but” — and it’s time for it to go. While she can’t unilaterally have them taken down outright, she can have them placed in areas of the Capitol generally not … Memorialize racism Puts slavery on a pedestal Serves as warning for POC Tells white nationalist they will be honored By:Gracie Speer Conclusion Rebuttal Doesn't mean it's good So your proud of your racist ancestry? The president and others have questioned whether the tearing down of Confederate statues is rewriting history. The administration has not been known for promoting education — historical or otherwise — but perhaps Trump’s proposal for a “National Garden of American Heroes,” featuring figures ranging from John Adams to Frederick Douglass to Amelia Earhart to Antonin Scalia isn’t as far off the mark as it appears. Their accomplishment began and ended with fighting to own people whom they could exploit and abuse at their discretion. In several cities, these tributes have been vandalized or torn down by protestors or removed by public officials. The left. Students: Read the entire article, then tell us: — What do you think about the Confederate monuments that stand in New Orleans? Last week, Mr. Stewart, 81, a businessman and civic leader, argued as much in a letter he published as a two-page advertisement in The Advocate, a local newspaper. Washington, John Adams Thomas Jefferson and their cohorts waged a war to found the union, one whose deep flaws were in tension with its highest ideals. COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Republican South Carolina legislative leaders are unlikely to give permission this year to local governments or colleges who want to take down Confederate statues or rename buildings honoring segregationists.A state law passed in 2000 when lawmakers removed the Confederate flag from atop the Statehouse dome requires a two-thirds vote of the General O n July 1, Richmond, Va.’s, monument to Confederate Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson — which had towered above the city’s Monuments Avenue since 1919 — was taken down from its pedestal. Not everyone is happy that statues of Confederate figures are coming down across the country--well mostly white supremacists. New Orleans police officers guarding a statue of Jefferson Davis, which the city plans to remove soon. He wasn't sending an errant tweet. Should Confederate Statues Be Taken Down? The inscription says that he was “desperately wounded" at Saratoga, not “fatally wounded.”. — What do you think is the best solution to this conflict? Louisville, Kentucky, took down its John B. Castleman Monument on Monday, which the mayor there said will likely be moved to the Confederate officer’s private grave. ... -grandson of Jackson has said he believes monuments to his famous ancestor were built as symbols of white supremacy and should be taken down. It was an obvious call to make, and anyone who objected would have likely been suspected of treason themselves. Should they remain? Although I agree with the powerful words and sentiments expressed by Mayor Landrieu of New Orleans last week about why he thinks Confederate statutes and symbols should come down, I do not … — What fear does Charles Washmon say he has regarding the possible removal of the statues? Timberlake said there are "roughly 1,848 confederate statues" still standing in the United States. Arnold’s enduring place in historical memory should reassure Americans who fear removing the names and monuments of historically significant people from public spaces will “erase” them from history. Virginia's capital, Richmond, became a battleground in the monument debate after Gov. By signing up you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, Discussion of news topics with a point of view, including narratives by individuals regarding their own experiences, You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George Washington. Erase those, and he’s the namesake of the nation’s capital and a state. Not … This is a time when there is an intensified movement – particularly at America’s colleges and universities – to remove statues and names from buildings or organizations that pay homage to Confederate leaders and others with racist views. In The Conversation, education professor Christian Anderson examines the question of what – if anything – should be put up in their place. He dominates the stories our textbooks tell about the founding era not just because he triumphed militarily against the British, but also because of his political accomplishments. Such are the irreconcilable parameters of an ugly battle over race and history in New Orleans that seems to only be growing uglier, one that demonstrates the Confederacy’s enduring power to divide Americans more than 150 years after the cause was lost. Why not take them down? The most important news stories of the day, curated by Post editors and delivered every morning. “Where does it stop?” Trump has asked — a version of the slippery slope argument — and he has tweeted he had “authorized the Federal Government to arrest anyone who vandalizes or destroys any monument … with up to 10 years in prison.”. Some protesters have taken action to tear them down themselves. That dialogue would have to include an honest look at the parallels and connections between Washington and Robert E. Lee — including family connections. Two … He also put Congolese people into a human zoo in Belgium. Bill Tiernan/The Virginian-Pilot. Quite the contrary: He’s better known than the other war heroes fully represented at the national park: He’s Benedict Arnold, the traitor who was caught trying to hand Fort Arnold (later called U.S. Military Academy) to the British in 1781. But President Trump appears willfully confused and frankly unpatriotic when it comes to these distinctions. In “Tempers Flare Over Removal of Confederate Statues in New Orleans,” Richard Fausset writes: NEW ORLEANS — For Malcolm Suber, the Confederate monuments that dot this Deep South city stand for white supremacy, pure and simple. The Union Army defeated the Confederacy and the people he held in bondage were freed. Students 13 and older are invited to comment. On June 10, a statue depicting former Confederate President Jefferson Davis was torn down. He was saying he'd rather die than give up his slaves. In contrast, Confederates like Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson had a purely negative agenda: Had their cohorts succeeded in their goal to end the union in the 19th century, the United States of America would have been destroyed, for the purpose of establishing a new nation with slavery at its core. He signed important treaties and legislation we now see as laudable — helping, for example, to create the First Bank of the United States, — and immoral, like the first Fugitive Slave Act. Denise Sanders/The Baltimore Sun, via Associated Press. The police killing of George Floyd sparked widespread protests and reignited efforts across the U.S. to remove Confederate and other statues viewed as symbols of slavery and racism. At least nine bills altering or eliminating the Heritage Act have been filed before the 2021 General Assembly session starts Tuesday. Confederate Statues Come Down Around U.S., But Not Everywhere Though George Floyd's death renewed calls to remove Confederate monuments, some cities formally decided to protect them. The vast majority of Confederates will be forgotten because they made no major, lasting contributions to human society. I talk about the controversy of Confederate statues and memorials. See where they're being taken down across the U.S. From monuments to murals and statues to flags, memorials of all types are being removed across … ... the enmity among brothers literally hid the fact that more Princetonians actually fought on the side of the breakaway Confederate States of America, not for the United States. He created the Cabinet and a decided to step down after two terms — a precedent followed by every other president until Franklin Roosevelt. 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