Christopher Bloise
November 29, 2011
4th Period
Ms. Deck
Since the Civil War, a very controversial issue emerged of whether or not one has the right to fly the Confederate flag, because while to some it represents heritage, to others it is an insult and a display of racial discrimination. The main controversy now is if the states have the right to fly the flag over governmental buildings. The National Association of the Advancement of Colored People or NAACP has hosted many protests mainly in South Carolina and Georgia for the removal of such flag from governmental buildings. The confederate flag controversy is such a huge a debate because of the opposing meanings that are connected with the flag, some saying it is showing respect and remembrance of the fallen soldiers of the Confederacy, and others saying it is just remembering slavery. Like with anything, there are those who are extremists and abuse things. In response to the controversy of the flag, South Carolina’s former Governor Beasley said, “The Confederate flag flying above the Statehouse flies in a vacuum. Its meaning and purpose are not defined by law. Because of this, any group can give the flag any meaning it chooses. The Klan can misuse it as a racist tool, as it has, and others can misuse it solely as a symbol for racism, as they have” (Sarratt 1).
The Essay on The Controversy Continues Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin wrote The Origin of the Species, which laid out his theory of evolution. His ideas revolutionized science, but also created a controversy that still continues to this day. Unlike some figures who took a stand in history, he was uncomfortable with the controversy he created. Charles Darwin published the Origin finding it compatible with his faith, but many Christians didnt think that ...
Some support the flag being flown on private property, knowing that to some it does represent heritage, but not over governmental buildings because they believe that the government is supporting slavery and revolution by doing. On another note, one has to consider the first amendment’s clause on “Freedom of Speech” and the tenth amendment talking about state’s rights. The Confederate flag should be able to be flown over government buildings because it is the state’s right to decide whether to fly it and is protected by freedom of speech, while some see it as a display of support for slavery, it is more rather a display of respect for ones heritage.
The controversy of whether the Confederate flag should able to be flown over government buildings is more of a Constitutional issue than anything protected by both the first and tenth amendment. The first amendment protects the citizens’ rights to “Freedom of Speech” as long as they are not taking part in slander or enticing a crime. The ability to fly the Confederate flag anywhere is thus protected under the amendment because it is neither slander nor enticing crime, although it may seem because protest sometimes get violent in response to the flag. Not only does the first amendment protect the right to fly the flag, but the tenth amendment does too. The tenth amendment protects the rights of the states, saying that any powers not given to the National Government are given to the states or the people. The National Government is not given the power to say whether the states are allowed to fly the Confederate flag over government buildings or not, thus giving the power to the states to decide. Mr. Giuliani, a 2008 presidential campaigner for the Republican Party, said,
One of the great beauties of the kind of government we have, which is a national/federal government, is that we can make — on a broad range of issues — we can make different decisions in different parts of the country… We have different sensitivities, and at different times we are going to come to different decisions, and I think that is best left up to the states. (Santora 1)
The Essay on The US Federal Government and state governments
The government of the United States is constantly changing. From the moment the country was born until today, there have been many eras and concepts that have transpired over the years. The United States federal government and state and local governments have gone through periods for transition from 1781 to the present day in which their relationships where continuously changing. In order to ...
Most of the states would say no, but there are few that do want it such as South Carolina and Georgia because of the strong sense of heritage in those states. In Georgia, there is a Confederate flag flying near one of its courthouses next to a memorial of the Confederate war, which some believe to be way too close and the NAACP has protested, but it is still there (Georgia 1).
In South Carolina, where many issues have come up, there is a Confederate flag that flies right outside the Governor’s office (Press 1).
It used to fly upon the Statehouse dome but was removed because in 2002 the NAACP protested it to be moved to a monument outside the Statehouse (Press 1).
Although the right to fly the Confederate flag over government buildings is protected by the Constitution, no states actually do because of so much protesting and court orders.
The NAACP is the major protester of the Confederate flag and has got many flags removed from governmental buildings because of its protesting. Opposite to common belief, 87% of all Americans in 1994 were not offended by Confederate symbols according to a nationwide Lou Harris poll and of that, 68% of African Americans were not offended (Confederate 7).
Although most are not offended, there are still those people that just want to protest. The most talked about controversy was in 2000 when the South Carolina legislature finally voted to remove the Confederate flag from the Statehouse dome due to so much protest and boycott. The bill passed easily in the State Senate with a vote 36-7, and then went on to the house where it had some difficulty but was later passed 66-43 (Brunner 1).
Although they did remove it from the Statehouse, the NAACP still did not call off its boycott, because it believes that the flag stands out too much on the capital lawn (Brunner 1).
Not only has the Confederate flag caused problems in politics in South Carolina but also in sports due to the NAACP. South Carolina hasn’t been able to hold three ACC baseball tournaments because of the Confederate flag that is outside the Statehouse (Wojciechowski 1).
South Carolina is not able to host in championships or tournaments without the NAACP’s blessing, and the NAACP will not give their blessing until the flag is removed from the statehouse grounds (Wojciechowski 2).
The Essay on Colonial South Carolina Report 1750
George the Second, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, King, Defender of the Faith, I write to thee from the heart of South Carolina, Charleston to impart my knowledge of the region. My travels have been long and arduous. I arrived by way of a freight ship bearing finished goods for the colony on the twenty-eighth day of March, in the twenty-third year of thy reign. All that province, ...
The Confederate flag also has caused problems with Ole Miss and its mascot the “Rebels”. So not only has the NCAAP caused unreasonable turmoil in politics but also in sports. A controversy over a single flag should not cause so many problems, when the state is only trying to show pride in its heritage and respect for its past.
Before even deciding whether or not the Confederate flag should be able to be flown, one has to know why the South seceded from the Union and the background of the flag. The major incident that sparked the beginning of the Civil War was the Nullification Crisis between the state of South Carolina and the Union. The crisis was South Carolina refusing to pay tariffs because of issues with state rights. In 1852, South Carolina drafted the “Declaration of the Immediate Causes Which Induce and Justify the Secession of South Carolina from the Federal Union” saying that the Union was encroaching upon their state rights (Declaration 8).
Even after they issued this declaration, the Union still infringed on their rights which led to the adoption of it in 1860 (Decleration 12).
Many others states issued similar declarations, including Mississippi that listed all of its issues with Union. Of all these issues, only a few even referred to slavery, most spoke of state rights (Decleration 6-8).
The Confederate flag originally was almost identical to the union flag and the soldiers were often confused which one was which, so the Confederacy decided to adopt the “Battle Flag” that is commonly mistaken as the Confederate flag and known as the “Southern Cross” (Confederate 1-2).
The Battle Flag came from the Scottish Cross of Saint Andrew and was used because it was easily distinguishable from the Union flag (Confederate 2).
The flag is just a symbol that is interpreted differently by people. “Beasley asserted the basic premise of Semiotics that signs and symbols have no intrinsic value but only carry that value which is assigned to them by people” (Sarratt 1).
Not only does the flag not have an exact meaning, but the South never exactly seceded because of slavery, but more of in response to the encroachment on state rights by the Union.
The Confederate flag should be able to be flown over governmental buildings because it is a Constitutional issue and the Constitution allows it. Both the first and tenth amendment protect the right of the state to fly the Confederate flag wherever it wants, but none of the states fly it over government buildings because they either do not support it or because of so much protest. Either way, the states still have the right to fly it. The flag is a symbol of heritage to some, and hate to others. The main problem with the Confederate flag is that extremist groups like the KKK have abused it and tarnished its meaning. Barbara Phillip Sullivan, a professor of civil rights law, said the confederate flag is “hate speech because its use in the South was a use intended to convey the ideology of white supremacy and the inhumanity and subordination of African-Americans” (Sarratt 2).
The Essay on Civil War South Union Battle
In May of 1861 five states in the upper south United States seceded from the Union and joined the seven states already seceded and created the Confederate States of America. This was the beginning of the Civil War; it was the Union against the Confederates. Many People believed that the war would be over quickly they thought it was more of an uprising then a full on war. Nobody expected it to last ...
Because of the NCAAP protests, the Confederate flag flying over the State house in South Carolina had to be removed. The controversy of the Confederate flag being able to be flown over governmental buildings will go on for a while but as of now the states still have the right to do so.
Works Cited
The Associated Press. “South Carolina: Confederate Flag Issue Rises Again.” The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 2011. Web. 27 Nov. 2011. .
Brunner, Borgna. “South Carolina’s Confederate Flag Comes Down.” Infoplease. 30 June 2000. Web. 27 Nov. 2011. .
“Confederate Flag Facts.” Heritage Preservation Association. Web. 27 Nov. 2011. .
“Declaration of Causes of Seceding States.” UTK. Web. 27 Nov. 2011.
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“Georgia county keeps Rebel flag flying.” The Augusta Chronicle. Georgia Newspaper Partnership, 4 May 2011. Web. 27 Nov. 2011.
Santora, Marc. “In Alabama, Giuliani Calls Confederate Flag a Local Issue .” The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 2011. Web. 27 Nov. 2011. .
Sarratt, David. “Current Controversies.” Virginia. Web. 27 Nov. 2011. .
Works Cited
Wojciechowski, Gene. “South Carolina continues to suffer.” ESPN Commentary. 9 July 2009. Web. 27 Nov 2011. .
