This Tuesday, June 27, 2017 photo shows the statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee that stands in the middle of a traffic circle on Monument Avenue in Richmond, Va. As cities across the United States are removing Confederate statues and other symbols, dispensing with what some see as offensive artifacts of a shameful past marked by racism and slavery, Richmond is taking a go-slow approach.
John Raby, Associated Press file
This Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017 file photo shows the statue of Confederate Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson in Charleston, W. Va. Most of the 11 Southern states that seceded prior to and during the Civil War have rebel monuments on or near the grounds of their state Capitol buildings.
Jay Reeves, The Associated Press
In this Thursday, Aug. 25, 2016 photo, a statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis stands on the grounds of the Alabama Capitol in Montgomery, Ala.
Mark Humphrey, The Associated Press
In this Monday, Aug. 14, 2017 file photo, people protest in front of the bust of Confederate Army Lt. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest in the Capitol in Nashville, Tenn. The group called for the removal of the bust, which is displayed in the hallway outside the House and Senate chambers.
Dave Martin, The Associated Press
In this Wednesday, April 18, 2001 file photo, a Confederate supporter who identified himself as "Bonzo" of Enterprise, Ala., pays homage to the statue of former Confederate President Jefferson Davis at the Alabama Capitol in Montgomery, Ala.
Mark Humphrey, The Associated Press
A bust of Nathan Bedford Forrest is displayed in the Tennessee State Capitol Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017, in Nashville, Tenn. Forrest was a lieutenant general in the Confederate Army during the Civil War.
Timothy D. Easley, The Associated Press
In this Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2015 file photo, a statue of Jefferson Davis, left, looks towards a statue of Abraham Lincoln in the Rotunda of the Kentucky State Capitol in Frankfort, Ky. Most of the 11 Southern states that seceded prior to and during the Civil War have rebel monuments on or near the grounds of their state Capitol buildings.
Susan Walsh, Associated Press file
In this June 24, 2015 file photo, a statue of Jefferson Davis, second from left, president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865, is on display in Statuary Hall on Capitol Hill in Washington. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of Calif. is calling for the removal of Confederate statues from the U.S. Capitol as the contentious debate over the appropriateness of such memorials moves to the halls of Congress.
John Bazemore, The Associated Press
A statue depicting confederate general and former Georgia Gov. John Brown Gordon on horseback is shown outside the Georgia statehouse Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017, in Atlanta. Most of the 11 Southern states that seceded prior to and during the Civil War have rebel monuments on or near the grounds of their state Capitol buildings.
Bob Bird, The Associated Press
This Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2000 file photo shows the Stonewall Jackson statue with streaks of green discoloration at West Virginia State Capitol in Charleston, W.Va. Both the "Mountaineer" and Stonewall Jackson statues received grant money to aid in their restoration.
Jonathan Drew, The Associated Press
A monument inscribed "To the North Carolina Women of the Confederacy" is seen on Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017 on the grounds of the old State Capitol in Raleigh, N.C. The 7-foot-tall monument of a woman and young boy is made of bronze and granite, and it was dedicated in 1914.
Rogelio V. Solis, The Associated Press
In this Tuesday, June 23, 2015 file photo, a statue built in memory of the mothers sisters, wives and daughters of the Confederate soldiers sits in front of the state capitol in Jackson, Miss. Most of the 11 Southern states that seceded prior to and during the Civil War have rebel monuments on or near the grounds of their state Capitol buildings.
Danny Johnston, Associated Press file
In this Tuesday, July 7, 2015 file photo, a monument to Confederate women stands on the grounds of the Arkansas state Capitol in Little Rock, Ark. Most of the 11 Southern states that seceded prior to and during the Civil War have rebel monuments on or near the grounds of their state Capitol buildings.
This Aug. 2017 photo shows a monument honoring slain Confederate soldiers on the grounds of the state Capitol Complex in Tallahassee, Fla. Most of the 11 Southern states that seceded prior to and during the Civil War have rebel monuments on or near the grounds of their state Capitol buildings.
Eric Gay, The Associated Press
This Thursday, June 18, 2015 file photo shows the Confederate flag on a monument to Hood's Texas Brigade at the Texas State Capitol in Austin, Texas. The Supreme Court upheld Texas' refusal to issue a license plate bearing the Confederate battle flag, rejecting a free-speech challenge.
Jeffrey Collins, The Associated Press
In this Sunday, July 10, 2017 file photo, Cameron Maynard stands at attention by the monument to Confederate soldiers at the South Carolina Statehouse in Columbia, S.C. The South Carolina Secessionist Party sponsored the event to commemorate the day the flag was removed from the front lawn of the state capitol. The Secessionist Party says it will raise the flag every July 10th so a year will never go by without the Confederate flag flying.
Steve Helber, The Associated Press
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This Tuesday, June 27, 2017 photo shows the statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee that stands in the middle of a traffic circle on Monument Avenue in Richmond, Va. As cities across the United States are removing Confederate statues and other symbols, dispensing with what some see as offensive artifacts of a shameful past marked by racism and slavery, Richmond is taking a go-slow approach.
There has been plenty of back and forth regarding the removal of Confederate statues and monuments. Well, let’s cut to the chase. A public monument is not a piece of history, but exists to honor someone or something. Furthermore, whatever we honor, we endorse. Thus any monument to the Confederacy is an endorsement of those things for which it stood.
The Confederate States of America stood for two basic principles, as laid out in its own constitution of 1861. First, it stood for a disunion of the United States. Second, it stood for an official establishment of slavery based on race. This is a matter of historical fact. Simply stated, the Confederacy was a treasonous and racist institution.
Therefore, any statue or monument honoring the Confederacy endorses treason and racism. And the people who defend those monuments should think carefully about which flag they want to support — the stars and bars or the stars and stripes. You couldn’t have it both ways then, and still can’t.
ٲԾ,Lakewood
Monuments to Confederate soldiers were not put up to glorify slavery or any lost Confederate cause, but to memorialize great men and fallen soldiers. They were put up in recognition of great, albeit imperfect, leaders of the South, those who served our country well before the Civil War, but who were faithful to their home state. When we look at these memorials as tributes to slavery, we are ignoring their intended purpose. It isn’t fair to look at the past through the lens of today. No historical figure could pass the test. But if these monuments do remind us of slavery, perhaps that is a good thing. Let’s leave them up to remind future generations of the past. Let’s put up new monuments alongside to celebrate the elimination of slavery.
Bob Mesenbrink,Arvada
The Civil War monuments are a constant reminder of the oppression and treason perpetrated by the rebellious South. They we traitors — plain and simple. Their place in history is clear. They no more deserve monuments than Hitler does in Germany. The South turned Democrat when Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation and Republican when Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act. There is a common thread here that can’t be denied. The monuments should be removed. If those protesting want them so badly, put them up for auction and let them be put up on private property. I am sure that they will get the dysfunctional home they deserve.
Robert Brundage,Aurora
How sad it was that the statue had to be taken down of General Robert E. Lee. He was the son of Henry “Light-Horse Harry” Lee, the top of his class at West Point, an exceptional officer and engineer in the Mexican-American war, and superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy.
Why do Americans feel it’s necessary to change history? It is what it is. If we need to do this then, maybe we need to take down the Washington Monument — George Washington had slaves. Then there is the Jefferson home at Monticello and maybe even the Lincoln memorial. After all, his wife was a Southerner and her family had slaves.
ElizabethAnderson, Littleton
The people who came to Charlottesville to protest the removal of the Robert E. Lee statue were right. It is a tragedy to erase such a big part of our history and heritage.
Damn! I wish someone would invent a thingy that had, like, hundreds of pieces of paper with words written on them, that told people about what happened long ago, all fastened together and numbered in sequence. Too bad there are no such things.High time for someone to invent them.
EdwardWhitney,Denver
In Lexington, Ky., there is a great deal of excitement about removing statues of two men from Kentucky’s Civil War days. One is John C. Breckinridge.
In Colorado, the town of Breckinridge was named in honor of said John C. Breckinridge, as he was the vice president of the United States when the town was founded in 1859. The spelling of the name of the town was changed to Breckenridge in 1861 due to the fact that Mr. Breckinridge defected to the Confederacy. Only the spelling of the name of the town was changed, not the name.
Is there going to be an effort to change the name of the town to avoid connection with the unpopularity of Confederates?
JimWeber,Denver
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