What Does the Confederate Flag Mean to You?

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What does the Confederate battle flag mean to you? Some people say it characterizes the spirit of the south. Some say it represents the dark side of the CSA (although it was not the official flag of the confederacy). Others use it as a co-symbol for white-supremacist groups, and has been described as "This generation's swastika".

What do you think it represents or symbolizes? Should it be received as a symbol of hatred? Or as an artifact of american history?

 

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Little to nothing. The Confederacy doesn't exist any more. It was a blip in history. If people want to hang it from their front porch, more power to them. Generally speaking, I've never known a single intelligent person who's hung the Confederate flag from their home, which serves me well, since it's basically a large "I'm an uneducated idiot" symbol and a sign of people to avoid.

~String

 

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The best-known of all Confederate flags-the battle flag-is often erroneously confused with the national flag of the Confederacy. The battle flag features the cross of St. Andrew (the apostle was martyred by being crucified on an X-shaped cross), and is commonly called the "Southern Cross." A large degree of the Southern population was of Scottish and Scotch-Irish ancestry, and thus familiar with St. Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland. The stars represented the eleven states actually in the Confederacy, plus Kentucky and Missouri. This flag is the flap popularly associated with Robert E. Lee, and is the flag under which he fought.


The Army of Northern Virginia was the first to design a flag with the cross of St. Andrew, and Gen. P. G. T. Beauregard proposed adopting a version of it as the standard battle flag of the Confederate army. The Harper's Weekly Image above shows Beauregard's Arkansas troops serving under the "Stars and Bars" flag in 1861. The Army of Northern Virginia can be seen serving under the "Southern Cross" in 1862. One of its virtues was that, unlike the Stars and Bars, the Southern Cross was next to impossible to confuse with the Stars and Stripes in battle. The Confederate battle flag eventually developed wide acceptance 0throughout the Confederacy, but it was by no means the only battle flag.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_does_the_confederate_flag_represent


MYTH - The Confederate Battle Flag is known as the "Stars & Bars".

FACT - A common misconception. The First National Confederate Flag is correctly known as the "Stars & Bars". The Confederate Battle Flag is known as the "Southern Cross".


The Confederate Battle Flag was never a National Flag of the Confederacy. It was carried into battle by several armies such as the Army Of Northen Virginia and the Army of Tennessee. Was also used as a Naval Jack by the Confederate Navy.



MYTH - The Confederate Battle Flag represents racism today.

FACT - The Confederate Battle Flag today finds itself in the center of much controversy and hoopla going on in several states. The cry to take this flag down is unjustified. It is very important to keep in mind that the Confederate Battle Flag was simply just that. A battle flag. It was never even a National flag, so how could it have flown over a slave nation or represented slavery or racism? This myth is continued by lack of education and ignorance. Those that villify the Confederate Battle Flag are very confused about history and have jumped upon a bandwagon with loose wheels.


MYTH - The Confederate Flags are an authorized symbol of Aryan, KKK and hate groups.

FACT - Quite the contrary. These dispicable organizations such as the KKK and Aryans have taken a hallowed piece of history, and have plagued good Southern folks and the memories of fine Confederate Soldiers that fought under the flag with their perverse agenda. IN NO WAY does the Confederate Flag represent hate or violence. Heritage groups such as the SCV battle daily the damage done to a proud nation by these hate groups. The SCV denounces all hate groups, and pridefully boast HERITAGE - NOT HATE.

MYTH - The Confederate Battle Flag was flown on slave ships.

FACT - NONE of the flags of the Confederacy or Southern Nation ever flew over a slave ship. Nor did the South own or operate any slaves ships. The English, the Dutch and the Portugese brought slaves to this country, not the Southern Nation.

BUT, even more monumental, it is also very important to know and understand that Federal, Yankee, Union ships brought slaves to America! These ships were from the New England states, and their hypocrisy is atrocious.

http://www.rulen.com/myths/

 

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To me it represents slavery and treason. And I dont care that it was only a battle flag. It flew over the Southern armies that fought against their country and for slavery, and whether or not it had any association with either of the things I mentioned, that is the way I think of it. It is a symbol of the Confederacy, and all its qualities - racism and slavery, betrayal of the United States, state-loyalty, etc. To say that it does not represent those things bcause it is only a battle flag is just silly. What does this represent to you, Csmic?

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It must not represent racism, antisemitism, and social darwinism (among other things) because it is only a battle flag right? What does it make you think of?

 

It's is both arrogant and ignorant to think that the Confederacy was fighting for slavery. In fact, slavery - as a reason to fight - was not even introduced in the Union until long after the war began. It's introduction into the war was purely political and had nothing at all to do with why the conflict began.

Your error is a common one and is shared only by those who did not study American history properly.

 

The Confederacy seceded because the Union refused to extend slavery to new States, making it likely that Slavery would be eliminated from the US in the future.

It was a Confederacy of slave states, fighting a Union of non-slave States.

The soldiers who joined the Union Army often thought they were fighting against slavery.

The soldiers who joined the Confederate Army often thought they were fighting for it.

The issue was an old one - a bone of contention going back to the Revolution. It was not dreamed up in the middle of the Civil War.

 

Some say simplistically that the Civil War was fought over slavery. Unfortunately, there is no "simple" reason. The causes of the war were a complex series of events, including slavery, that began long before the first shot was fired. Competing nationalisms, political turmoil, the definition of freedom, the preservation of the Union, the fate of slavery and the structure of our society and economy could all be listed as significant contributing factors in America's bloodiest conflict.

Complaints of Georgians

Many of the problems Georgians saw more than one hundred fifty years ago are being reiterated today. The "oppressive" federal government. High taxes(tariffs before the war). A growing government unwilling to listen to law abiding citizens. Sound familiar? They were complaints levied from 1816 on in Georgia.

Constitutional Questions

People argued about the meaning of the Constitution since its infancy. From a legal standpoint, the document defines the relationship between the people of the United States and the federal government, detailing the powers and responsibilities of each. In 1828 Vice-president John C. Calhoun said if a state felt a federal law extended beyond the Constitutional rights of the government that state had the right to ignore(or "nullify") the law. This concept dated back the Articles of Confederation. President Andrew Jackson felt the federal government was the highest authority(Article VI, Section 2) and the states had to abide by its law.

Tariffs and the Nullification Crisis

As industry in the North expanded it looked towards southern markets, rich with cash from the lucrative agricultural business, to buy the North's manufactured goods. However, it was often cheaper for the South to purchase the goods abroad. In order to "protect" the northern industries Jackson slapped a tariff on many of the imported goods that could be manufactured in the North. When South Carolina passed the Ordinance of Nullification in November 1832, refusing to collect the tariff and threatening to withdraw from the Union, Jackson ordered federal troops to Charleston. A secession crisis was averted when Congress revised the Tariff of Abominations in February 1833.

The rhetoric changes

However, the political climate changed during this "Nullification Crisis." Designations of States Rightist, Pro-Union, loose or strict constructionalist became more important than Whig or Democrat. In North Georgia when John Thomas, a local politician, was asked what to name a new county he said, "Name it Union, for none but Union-like men live here." Most of the northern tier of Georgia counties remained pro-Union until the outbreak of war almost 30 years later. From this point on factional politics would play an increasing part in the division of a country

http://ngeorgia.com/history/why.html

 

That's FAR from the whole picture! A great deal of the strife was over tariffs that were unfairly applied to the South and the fact that the South was also loosing fair representation in the federal congress.

But your "half-told" story sounds good to some people - until it's rightly shot down as being heavily biased.

 

it is a symbol of violence and war instead of peace and communication to me.

 

ditto! :bravo:
I see this flag on a person's house, shirt, vehicle, etc and I start taking off IQ points.

 

maybe some people like the colors and the design. i never understood how people can give a drawing or a symbol such power. but hey it takes all kinds.

 

LOL,really? You seriously think that's why they have it on their house? Cuz its purty?

 

Really? I'm neutral on the subject - it's just a piece of history to me.

But your comment could just as equally apply the US flag, the British flag, and dozens and dozens of others. :shrug:

 

Yes, it is a common misconception. So common in fact, that Southern statesmen of the period got it wrong, for example:

More remarkably, somehow the State of South Carolina bought into the "myth" when they seceded, writing:

If only modern historians had been there to correct them, South Carolina likely would not have seceded!

 

believe it or not but yes it is true with most of these people. not that i ever seen it on a house but i have seen it plenty of times associated with southern rock bands. it is all a matter of intent and often times there is no malicious intent involved.

look at the swastika, most people have no idea where it originated so because Hitler used it that means it is bad. you think these people did what they did because they wore a swastika?

When i saw it at a hindu ceremony i was confused about it but then i found out that they used it (a variation of it anyway) long before the nazi's did. and of course it has nothing to do with nazi's. but then it all depends on the intent so at that point it becomes offensive.

all i am saying is that most or many of these people dont display that flag for malicious purposes. it means something completely different to them. i never owned one myself and i am not a southerner either.

 

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M*W: I own one. It's authentic. I display it in my living room. It is a proud symbol of my ancestral homeland--the South. Take off all the IQ points you want. Your opinion means nothing to me--even less if you are a Yankee.

 

I mean god forbid that you be influenced by someone who doesn't live in a region know for its shitty education and having large number of stupid people opinion.

 

Irrelevant. I never said that slavery wasn't involved at all in the dispute - just that it was NOT the primary reason for the start of the conflict! Sheesh - can't some of you people even understand ordinary English?

 

Slavery was dying as a institution already.

The States were Union and also Slave Holding, Missouri, Kentucky, Delaware and Maryland, so you were saying?

Wrong-o, they joined for many reasons, and the issue of slavery was not one of the top ten.

Most went because their friends were going, the next biggest reasons was Preservation of the Union.

Sorry, but the Southern Soldier was fighting for States Rights, and the Fact that the Yankee's were onvading their states, not for slavery, if the Southern Soldiers was fighting for Slavery, then explain the 95,000 + Blacks, both Free Men of Color and Slaves who fought in the Army's of the South?

Only 4.8% of the Southern Population owned Slaves, so no it wasn't the reason that the Southern Soldier fought for the South, they were defending their States against Yankee aggression.

No it was not a new issue, but as a rallying cry for the Civil War in the North, it wasn't until 1863, that it became popular as a excuse to justify the war.

 

It was dying because the north was fighting viciously to end it long before the Civil War.

This is a good point, one that should not be overlooked. But the fact still stands, Slavery was the key, dividing issue between north or south, and while none of us can know for sure what would have happened if slavery never had taken hold of the USA at its founding, most experts know that without slavery in the equation, the civil war would have never happened.

It's like ignoring the elephant in the room and saying that it isn't really there. Slavery was THE issue that brought about all other issues that caused the war. While the war may have been justified and legitimized for other reasons, the fact is, it was slavery that brought them all about.

Is that how you really see the Civil War? "Yankee Aggression"?

Again, this ignores the main point that the dividing issue between the two regions was slavery. How can you seriously right off this fact?

~String