The Confederate Flag

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In 1861, several southern states seceded from the union. They created the confederate states of America. The Southern states relied on slavery to keep the economy running. The union wanted to end slavery. Eventually, tensions grew, leading to a war between the north and the south. The south, now separated and at war with the north, made their own flag. Although there might be more than one flag, the first flag was accepted in the south in March 1861. The flag was red with a big blue X across the flag that had white stars in it. The flag resembled the once-beloved Stars and Stripes, proving to be impractical and even dangerous on the battlefield. The battle flag became a huge symbol for the men who served under it. After awhile, it started …show more content…
In fact, the flag does have many connections to racism even past the Civil War. Contrary to popular belief, the Confederate flag was never really the official flag of the Confederate States of America. What happened was that the original Confederate States of America flag looked far too similar to the American flag. Because of this, it was hard to tell which flag was which on the battlefield, thus making things confusing. So they began to make different flags in Virginia which would one day become the infamous Confederate flag. This battle flag eventually was used by the whole Confederacy. While this flag was a symbol of racism during the war, it became an even stronger one after the Civil …show more content…
A senior at the University of South Carolina Beaufort, who is black, hung up a Confederate flag on his dorm room window. He attracted a lot of attention to himself and it became a huge story. His opinion, was unique because he didn’t even bring racism into his reason for hanging up the Confederate flag. He said that the flag just celebrates his “southern and regional pride.” The more important reason why he hung the battle flag up was to remember his ancestor, Benjamin Thomas, who was a black cook for the Confederates. He says that he would feel ashamed if he didn’t celebrate his ancestor’s service to the South and that the flag is his way of remembering what he did. In conclusion, the examples listed above are very normal and educated opinions on why the Confederate flag isn’t racist.

In conclusion, there are many opinions on the Confederate flag and there is a lot of good evidence for both sides of the argument. This paper explains the history and background of the Confederate flag and it also gives many opinions that have spurred up on the controversy. After reading this, it should be easy for you to make an educated decision about your feelings on the Confederate
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