World Regional Geography: History or Memories?

Professor Dereck Alderman (Geography professor with more than 20 years of experience) states: “Monuments not only describe the history of who built it but reflect the history of what is going on in the country right now”. Before talking about removing or not Confederate monuments we should learn why they were built at first. The civil war was not only a battle between the Union and the Confederacy, or Slavery and Freedom; it shaped what we know as The United States of America today.

But if we look back, we will realize that the war was even more than slavery noticing that many decades after the war there are still racist conflicts between whites and blacks. It is still a problem of who has more rights to be an “American”. If we look back, we can realize that presidents like Washington and Lincoln himself who was the author of the act of emancipation and who attributed the liberation of slaves in the country were slave owners themselves.

Get quality help now

writer-Charlotte

Verified writer

Proficient in: Civil War

4.7 (348)

“ Amazing as always, gave her a week to finish a big assignment and came through way ahead of time. ”

+84 relevant experts are online

Hire writer

That tells us that although the act of emancipation did not benefit him directly, he sought the welfare and union of the country.

On one hand, some consider that removing the Confederate monuments would be a bad idea. Even long after the Civil War, some maintain the ideology that the white population has more rights than blacks, either because they have ancestors who fought in the civil war or because after having studied or not studied, they have decided to continue supporting this cause. They claim that removing these monuments would remove or try to forget part of the history of the country. It should be noted a phrase used by President George W. Bush: 'We remember, we remember what was experienced in the terrorist attacks in September 2001. While it is true to remove the monuments would not erase the event, it would erase the physical part of that disastrous event for the nation. Another reason they claim it is important to preserve those monuments is education. Education is an important part when we talk about conserving history. It means not only knowing one side of what happened but both sides.

In contrast, those who are in favor of removing the monuments claim that they represent the pain of those who lost their lives during the civil war and that it is a lack of respect towards the black community. They are not even discussing on destroy or covering the statues with graffiti, but relocating them in a museum or a place where those who want to learn about the Confederacy ideology can appreciate them. Even Robert Lee himself, one of the Confederacy leaders, was against building statues when he wrote: “I think it wisest not to keep open the sores of war, but to follow the example of those nations who endeavored to obliterate the marks of civil strife and to commit to oblivion the feelings it engendered.” Ironically people that are asking the same thing are being killed.

Most of the time, not every side will be please because of their different ideologies. In a way to try to solve the problem, I would neither destroy nor let the monuments in public ways. The reason why is because having or not having them in public places there will still be racism in the country. Listening to NPR radio I consider that by educating future generations we could end this problem, instead of abolishing these statutes. Having said that, as professor Alderman said we should focus on what history meant back when those monuments were built, why they were built, and what history means today. Finally, I do not consider that the monuments are the cause of the racist acts that have been occurring in the country, but the misinformation, intolerance, and lack of knowledge about them. We must consider what the pledge of allegiance says and what our Founder Fathers wanted this country to be ‘one nation…. With liberty and justice for all.