Monumental Battle

Protesters wearing camouflage and holding assault rifles gathered near a park in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August. They had assembled for a rally of white supremacists. Supremacists believe that the white race is superior to all others. According to their leaders, they were there to march against the city’s plan to remove a statue. The statue is of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. Lee led the armies of the South during the Civil War (1861-65). The war was between the North (called the Union) and the South (known as the Confederacy).

But the protesters weren’t alone. A crowd of people who disagreed with them also arrived to demonstrate. The two sides soon clashed—first with angry chants, then with bottles, pepper spray, and fists. As the violence erupted, an alleged white supremacist plowed his car into the counter-protesters, killing one and injuring 19 others.

Despite the uproar, the city still plans to take down the Lee statue—though opponents have filed a lawsuit to stop its removal. Charlottesville is hoping to follow the lead of several other cities, such as New Orleans, Louisiana, that recently took down Confederate monuments. This past spring, after years of lawsuits and protests, New Orleans removed four such statues, including one of Lee.

The disputes in Charlottesville and New Orleans are just two examples of how the fight over the legacy of the Civil War is still playing out more than 150 years later. 

But the protesters were not alone. A crowd of people who disagreed with them also arrived to demonstrate. The two sides soon clashed—first, with angry chants. Then violence began. They used bottles, pepper spray, and fists. An alleged white supremacist drove his car into the counter-protesters. One person died and 19 were injured.

Despite the uproar, the city still plans to take down the Lee statue. Some opponents have filed a lawsuit to stop the removal. But Charlottesville is hoping to follow the lead of several other cities that recently took down Confederate monuments. For example, New Orleans, Louisiana, removed four such statues, including one of Lee. It did so this spring after years of lawsuits and protests.

The disputes in Charlottesville and New Orleans are just two recent examples of the fight over the legacy of the Civil War. The fight is still playing out more than 150 years later.

To many people, Confederate symbols represent slavery—the main cause of the Civil War—and the oppression of blacks in the South for more than a century after that war.

“These statues are not just stone and metal,” says New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu. The monuments celebrate an overly simplified view of the Confederacy, he says, while “ignoring the death, ignoring the enslavement, ignoring the terror that it actually stood for.”

Some people who oppose the removal of Confederate symbols, including the white supremacists who marched in Charlottesville, are members of hate groups that believe the white race should have power over all other races (see sidebar, below). To them, the Confederacy represents a time when whites were firmly in control.

However, other people support keeping the monuments for different ­reasons. Pierre McGraw is a descendant of Confederate soldiers. He says the statues honor the bravery of Southerners who fought in the Civil War.

Many people think Confederate symbols represent slavery. Slavery was the main cause of the Civil War. Many people believe the symbols also represent the oppression of blacks in the South for more than a century after that war.

“These statues are not just stone and metal,” says New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu. He says the monuments celebrate an overly simplified view of the Confederacy. At the same time, they are “ignoring the death, ignoring the enslavement, ignoring the terror that it actually stood for,” he says.

Some of the people opposing the removal of Confederate symbols are members of hate groups. The groups include the white supremacists who marched in Charlottesville. They believe the white race should have power over all other races (see sidebar, below). They think the Confederacy represents a time when whites were firmly in control.

However, other people support keeping the monuments for different reasons. Pierre McGraw is among the descendants of Confederate soldiers who say the statues honor the bravery of Southerners who fought in the Civil War.

By taking the statues down, he says, “you’re basically ripping out chapters of a history book.”

President Donald Trump joined the debate after the events in Charlottesville, defending Civil War monuments as part of America’s “history and culture.” He also blamed “both sides”—white supremacists and the protesters who opposed them—for the violence. His remarks were widely condemned by both Democrats and Republicans.

By taking the statues down, he says, “you’re basically ripping out chapters of a history book.”

President Donald Trump joined the debate after the events in Charlottesville. He defended Civil War monuments in a series of tweets. He said the monuments are part of America’s “history and culture.” He also blamed “both sides” for the violence. He was blaming both white supremacists and the protesters who opposed them. His remarks were widely condemned by both Democrats and Republicans.

In some ways, says Alvin Tillery, a professor of  African-American studies at Northwestern University, the battle over Confederate symbols shows how the U.S. “never addressed the legacy of the Civil War or slavery.” Even today, Americans have very different views of why the Civil War was fought.

When the war began, the Southern economy was mostly agricultural, relying on a few million slaves to harvest cotton. Most historians say the war started because of the South’s desire to continue slavery.

However, not everyone agrees with that interpretation. Some say the South fought primarily for states’ rights to decide their own affairs. After the North won the war, Southerners and groups commissioned monuments to help promote that view of the conflict.

Many of the memorials honor Confederate leaders and soldiers without any mention of slavery. For example, a Confederate monument recently removed in St. Louis, Missouri, read: “They battled to preserve the independence of the states.”

In some ways, the battle over Confederate symbols shows how the U.S. “never addressed the legacy of the Civil War or slavery,” says Alvin Tillery. Tillery is a professor of African-American studies at Northwestern University. Indeed, even today, Americans have very different views of why the Civil War was fought.

When the war began, the Southern economy was mostly agricultural. It relied on a few million slaves to harvest cotton. Most historians say the war started because of the South’s desire to continue slavery.

However, not everyone agrees with that interpretation. Some say the South fought primarily for the right to decide its own affairs. After the North won the war, Southern residents and groups commissioned monuments to help promote that view of the conflict.

Many of the memorials honor Confederate leaders without any mention of slavery. One example is a Confederate monument recently removed in St. Louis, Missouri. It read: “With sublime self-sacrifice, they battled to preserve the independence of the states.”

Honoring Confederate bravery wasn’t the monuments’ only purpose, says James Grossman of the American Historical Association. They also served to rally white Southerners who resented the gains that black Americans achieved after the war, such as the right to vote.

In the 1870s, Southern states began passing Jim Crow laws, which restricted the rights of blacks and segregated them from whites. Over the next few decades, hundreds of Confederate monuments were erected as violence against African-Americans escalated.

The building of Confederate statues surged again during the civil rights movement of the 1950s and ’60s, Grossman says. Although blacks were making strides toward equality then, there was still resistance to change in the South.

Today, many African-Americans are pained by the monuments’ presence. “I am offended every time I pass [the Lee statue],” Zyahna Bryant, an 11th-grader in Char­lottesville, wrote to city officials. “I am reminded over and over again of the pain of my ancestors.”

Honoring Confederate bravery was not the monuments’ only purpose, says James Grossman of the American Historical Association. The monuments also served to rally white Southerners who resented what black Americans achieved after the war. For example, black Americans gained the right to vote.

In the 1870s, Southern states began passing Jim Crow laws. The laws restricted the rights of blacks and segregated them from whites. Over the next few decades, violence against African-Americans grew. At the same time, hundreds of Confederate monuments were built.

The building of Confederate statues surged again during the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, Grossman says. Blacks were making strides toward equality then. But there was still resistance to change in the South.

Today, many African-Americans are pained by the monuments’ presence. “I am offended every time I pass [the Lee statue],” Zyahna Bryant, an 11th-grader in Charlottesville, wrote to city officials. “I am reminded over and over again of the pain of my ancestors.”

For example, the University of Mississippi kept its controversial Confederate statue but added a plaque. It reads, in part: “Although the monument was created to honor the sacrifice of local Confederate soldiers, it must also remind us that the defeat of the Confederacy actually meant freedom for millions of people.”

Putting the monuments in historical context rather than replacing them is called contextualization. Even this approach isn’t without challenges. It took two years for University of Mississippi officials to agree on the plaque’s wording. And small signs may not be enough to balance every statue, critics say.

Other cities have created new statues honoring African-Americans rather than eliminating Confederate ones. In Richmond, Virginia, a statue of black tennis star Arthur Ashe overlooks the city’s famed Monument Avenue, along with Confederate generals Lee and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson.

“I want Richmond to tell the whole story of its people,” Mayor Levar Stoney recently told Time. “Not just a one-sided story.”

For example, the University of Mississippi kept its Confederate statue but added a plaque. Part of it reads: “Although the monument was created to honor the sacrifice of local Confederate soldiers, it must also remind us that the defeat of the Confederacy actually meant freedom for millions of people.”

This approach is called contextualization. That means putting the monuments in historical context rather than replacing them. But it is not without challenges. It took two years for University of Mississippi officials to agree on the plaque’s wording. And critics say that small signs may not be enough to balance every monument.

Other cities have created new statues honoring African-Americans rather than eliminating Confederate ones. In Richmond, Virginia, a statue of black tennis star Arthur Ashe overlooks the city’s Monument Avenue. It sits alongside statues of Confederate generals Lee and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson.

“I want Richmond to tell the whole story of its people,” Mayor Levar Stoney recently told Time. “Not just a one-sided story.”