Position:Home>History> Confederate flag taken down

politics as usual!. The Naacp blackmailed the state by threatening to boycott tourism, causinga backlash of support from businesses across the state!. The flag was moved, but still is causing enough of a threat to these same people that they again are threatening to do the same thing!. As always the politicians listen with their pocketbooks , instead of their brains!. The flag is part of our history, especially in the south!. and as such deserves its place in time and space!.The concentration camps in Germany are left as a reminder, as is Andersonville, should we bulldoze these under so that we no longer have to think about them!?We have bigger issues then the Confederate battle flag in this country today!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

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An odd questions considering this hasn't been a big issue for several years!. There's two sides to the argument and neither side will admit the other makes a point!. Some people do revere the Confederate Flag because it represents Confederate Soldiers, it's not merely some symbol of hate!. Yet at the same time, the Confederate Flag has been used by quite a few racists with silent approval by most of the white South!. In fact, I've seen quite a few news photos from the 50s and 60s desegrations problems in the South in which Southern teens are mocking and taunting black school children with Confederate Flags!. During the era, the head of the Sons of Confederate Veterans sided with the racists and their use of the Confederate Flag to represent segregation!. The only group of people with completely clean hands is the United Daughters of the Confederacy who have always consistently resisted use of the flag for any other reason than to honor Confederate war dead!. The UDC even bravely spoke out against segregatonists for using the flag for cheap political purposes but they were shouted down by white Southern leaders!.

Like any other popular symbol, the Confederate flag has taken on many meanings, no one can possibly keep a lid on it!. To many, it represents racism and segregation!. Www@QuestionHome@Com

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Eventually, pressure from those who viewed it as a symbol of hate beat those who viewed it as a symbol of states rights!.

In reality, it is both!. The flag was the symbol of the Confederacy, which wasn't inherently hate-ful; even though they wanted to keep slavery!. after the South's aggression (which started in SC when they attacked a Federal outpost at Fort Sumpter & killed the inhabitants) was crushed by the North, groups that desired a return to pre-civil War society used it as a symbol; and many of those groups terrorized blacks and others they viewed as changing society!. So the Confederate flag became a symbol of terrorism & of hate!.

And as soon as the flag became associated with those sorts of people, it was inappropriate to fly anywhere, especially over a government building!. You don't see the Buddhist good-luck charm of the swastika on any flags anymore, do you!? And that symbol was around for millennia as a positive thing!.

As G!. Carlin said "Its a symbol!. And I leave symbols to the symbol-minded"!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

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Well the Armies that honoured the Flag were fighting for the right to keep people of color in bondage and still argue that they had and have the right to do so to this very day (mostly on this forum, try calling Jefferson Davis a traitor and see how quick you get a thumbs down or a violation notice!)!.!.!.!.!.!. Quite simply the Confederate Flag does represent Slavery in the eyes of Many and just like the Nazi Flag it is rude to parade it about!.!.!.!.

Peace//////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\!.!.!.

(PS and the unofficial motto of South Carolina was , "N^gger Know Thy Place!.")Www@QuestionHome@Com

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It's not that the flag flew over slave quarters, but it was the symbol of the Confederate government, which actively supported slavery!. also, the Confederacy was dedicated to the division of the United States of America, their flag is completely inappropriate to fly over a state capitol!. What heritage exactly does it represent that is appropriate for a state government!?Www@QuestionHome@Com

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Very few Confederate soldiers owned any slaves and were fighting an invasion of the south by the north, fighting for their lands and families, and the war was mainly fought over that, not the slavery issue, that issue was already dying out!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

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Because the naacp and those other hate groups forced the gov't to do so, however, their plot backfired because now, it's out of space, and in your face!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

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First, lets make clear what is being discussed, the Confederate National Flag (of which there were three versions) is not what is being discussed, rather it is a Confederate battle flag (also with a version used by the Confederate Navy) and was never used to represent national entity or policy!.

As with any battle flag (and there are many) it represents the men fighting under it!. Just look at any current regimental with its battle streamers, the meanings are very similar and those who fought (of any age and army) understand!. Take a look at the 50 year anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg!. Union and Confederate veterans of that battle met at the site of the battle and on the last day they planned to reenact Picket’s charge!. Both sides (of now old men) lined up (under their battle flags) and with the Confederates began the charge!. It is a long way across the field to the Union line and the actual battle was so terrible with bloody death that it must have come back full force in the minds of all of these veterans because all at once the Union men rose up and came down into the field meeting the Confederates and not letting complete this reenactment of this terrible charge!. These men knew the reality, and they knew that battle flags represented these men and not some politically based esoteric idea!.

Those of today (from any political perspective) who use this Confederate battle flag to make some political point (by either flying it or forcing it down) are wrong!. Even more wrong are those of us who watch and do nothing to stop such political propaganda!.

As an aside, it is difficult to answer questions such as this without correcting some of the misstatements and misunderstandings in some of the other answers, for example:

The statement, “ !. !. !. were fighting for the right to keep people of color in bondage and still argue that they had and have the right to do so to this very day!. !. !. !. “ is a poor attempt at historical revision!. While the slavery issue was interwoven in that period of the country, the driving force was State rights as viewed by the Founders, the Lincoln administration saw it one way (that is, a strong overriding federal government), and the Jefferson Administration saw it another (that is, the States were free, Independent, and Sovereign, with exceptions only as defined by the Constitutionally delegated powers)!. A case can be made that the confederate position was verified at the end of the war Primarily with two legal events!. One is that although President Jefferson Davis was arrested and there was a movement to declare him a traitor with execution to follow!. However, this never even came to trial because the best legal minds of the day believed that this would prove he did nothing illegal or unconstitutional because he was merely a President of a foreign country!. One other is the 14th Amendment [1868]!. It never met Constitutional requirements for ratification and yet it is declared as a legally applied amendment and that it was legal for the Union to use it to enforce (unconstitutional) acts of reconstruction!. This was the opinion of the Supreme Court in Texas v!. White [1869] by declaring it was legal due to by conquest through force of arms!. Conquest through force of (as defined in international law) arms is, “to conquer a territory or nation by means of force!. This is not applied to the act of a general government taking over a State (within the nation) by force of arms!. Therefore, the States of the Confederacy were States of a foreign nation as defined by the Union federal court!. The goal of the Union (Lincoln) was to bring this foreign nation within the Union of the United States!.

Then there are the historical revisionist statements about the start of the American War of the 1860s!. “ !. !. !. after the South's aggression (which started in SC when they attacked a Federal outpost at Fort Sumpter & killed the inhabitants) was crushed by the North !. !. !. “ First this is not the start of the that war!. The first shots of the war were actually fired during the President Buchanan administration!. South Carolina informed the Buchanan administration (as they did later with Lincoln) that any attempt to supply Fort Sumter would be considered an act of war!. Subsequently during the Buchanan administration used the ship “Star of the West” to attempt to supply Fort Sumter!. On 9 January 1861 the “Star of the West” approached Fort Sumter and a battery on Morris Island fired on her and she replied by running up the Stars and Stripes!. The battery continued to fire with Fort Moultrie joining in and, two steam tugs and an armed schooner moved out to intercept!. The “Star of the West” put about and returned to New York!. It is my understanding that this date and action is the official beginning of the Civil War!.

Fort Sumter was used as pretext for war by the Union!. Fort Sumter had only been occupied in October of 1860 so it was not a long term Union installation!. If you look at a map of Charleston Harbor you will see that it was not a defendable installation!. Lincoln was informed by General of the Army Winfield Scott that it would require a minimum of 20,000 union troops to defend it and such troops were not available and he recommended to leave it!.

Major Robert Anderson was the officer in charge of Fort Sumter and as supplies were running out he informed South Carolina that he would be abandoning the Fort!. During the supposed final day, knowing that the people of Charleston were watching him, a show was made to move into Fort Johnson with the Women and Children (the garrison’s families) being taken to Fort Johnson!. During the night of 26 December 1860 the garrison moved to Fort Sumter as others of the command (at the other forts) spiked the guns, burned the carriages and cut down the flag staff of the other forts!. Anderson sent a letter to Adjutant General Cooper informing of this action!.

The authorities declared that Major Anderson’s act was a virtual declaration of war, with hundreds of young men demanding to attack Fort Sumter!. Although such an act was not allowed, Fort Moultrie and Castle Pinckney were occupied by forces of South Carolina with the custom-house and post office also sized, and the militia took possession of the government arsenal!. The union revenue cutter “William Aiken” was surrendered by its commanding office!. As a tone of the times, when Major Anderson asked of the new commander of Fort Moultrie by what authority did he occupied it, the reply was, “By the authority of the sovereign State of South Carolina, and by the command of her government!.” This act of Major Anderson and the response of South Carolina began to solidify pressure in the North for President Buchanan to act!. This is when the unarmed steamer “Star of the West” was sent to Charleston with supplies for Major Anderson!.

These events spurred other Southern States to move forward to secession, meeting on 4 February 1861 which converted itself into a “Congress” and by 9 February 1861 all members taking the oath of allegiance and then electing President Davis and Vice President Stephens!. It is also interesting to note (in the context of the Forts of Charleston) that when Louisiana seceded 26 January 1861 the U!.S!. Mint at New Orleans was sized and more than $1,300,000 in double eagles and silver half dollars were struck until the bullion was depleted in May of 1861 and the U!.S!. dies were destroyed!. There were other U!.S!. forts in the South (such as in Florida) which were also sized!. With all of these events the firing on Fort Sumter had not yet occurred!.

On the morning after the inaugural festivities (5 March), Lincoln went to his office and found a report from Major Robert Anderson, written on February 28, which had reached Washington on Inauguration Day!. Anderson reported that he had made an examination of his provisions and found that his supplies would be exhausted in about four to six weeks!. Equally disconcerting, Anderson reported that he and his staff agreed that it would take a considerable land and naval force to relieve and reinforce the fort!. He estimated it would take no less than "twenty thousand good and well-disciplined men!." Lincoln presented the information to General Winfield Scott for evaluation and received a gloomy response that evening!. Scott, who had earlier advised the reinforcement of Sumter, now stated that the time had passed to save the fort!. "I now see no alternative but a surrender, in some weeks," Scott argued!. "Evacuation seems almost inevitable !. !. !. if, indeed, the worn out garrison be not assaulted & carried in the present week!." Scott also mentioned the existence of "something like a truce," which he also referred to as a "truce, or informal understanding," at Fort Pickens!. It had been established by the Buchanan administration following the movement of federal troops to the fort from the mainland!. Reinforcements remained aboard ship with orders not to land at the fort until "an attack shall be made by the secessionists!."

On March 15, Lincoln sought his cabinet's advice on this problem!. He asked them to write a response to the following question: "Assuming it to be possible to now provision Fort Sumter, under all the circumstances is it wise to attempt it!?"

On 8 April 1861 President Lincoln notified Governor Pickens of South Carolina that he was resolved to provision Fort Sumter at all costs!. General Beauregard telegraph the Confederate Secretary of War for instructions and was told (9 April) to compel evacuation of Fort Sumter without delay!. Beauregard sent the head of his staff to Major Anderson to demand surrender, he refused and further informed that provisions were so low that they could not hold out much longer!. Beauregard notified Anderson that if he would name a day of surrender and not use his guns on the confederates, unless attacked, Beauregard would not attack him!. Anderson named 15 April unless he should receive supplies or orders from Washington!. Beauregard could not accept such conditions because he knew that a fleet with provisions and re-enforcements was then off the harbor!. Beauregard told Anderson that he would open fire within the hour (12 April 1861 4:30 A!.M!.)!.

As we are all aware the dead line passed and South Carolina opened fire on Fort Sumter which lead to the surrender of the Union troops!. It is important to not that NO ONE was killed at Fort Sumter!.
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