HISTORY OF THE CONFEDERATE FLAG | BY: IZABELLE BLACK

May 12, 2020

In order to understand the controversial debates about the use of the Confederate flag in modern times, it is important to know the complicated history behind the flag and how the reproductions and representations of the flag got to where they are today. To many people, the flag represents racism and a time of discrimination in our country. To others, the flag honors and remembers their ancestors who fought in the Civil War with the Confederate army (Coski “The Confederate Battle Flag in American History and Culture”). There is clearly a drastic difference in what the flag means to people, which is why it is essential to learn the history to interpret the different arguments. 

The original Confederate flag, also referred to as “the Stars and Bars” was the Confederacy’s first national battle flag which was adopted in March of 1861. The flag was adopted because of its resemblance to the United States Stars and Stripes flag (HistoryNet). However, the Stars and Bars flag was eventually seen as impractical and dangerous on the battlefield because it looked so similar to the Union’s Stars and Stripes. Therefore, Confederate commanders began to design other various battle flags to represent them throughout the war. “As the war intensified and Southerners became Confederates, they weaned themselves from symbols of the old Union and sought a new symbol that spoke to the Confederacy’s confirmed independence,” (HistoryNet). Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia was a popular choice for the new national flag because of his victories in the war. Many people believed that Lee’s army best embodied Confederate nationalism (HistoryNet). The Confederacy adopted this battle flag as the national flag in May of 1863. 

​

The flag is associated with the Confederate soldiers that carried the flags into battle, as well as a representation of the soldiers political beliefs. The flag was linked with the independence of a nation dedicated to the defense and preservation of slavery (Coski “Myths & Understandings: The Confederate Flag” 2018). Captain Carlton McCarthy stated, “It was not the flag of the Confederacy, but simply the banner, the battle flag of the Confederate soldier. As such it should not share in the condemnation which our cause received, or suffer from its downfall. The whole world can unite in a chorus of praise in the gallantry of the men who followed where this banner led,” (Coski “The Confederate Battle Flag in American History and Culture”). This describes a perspective from the Confederacy time period where the flag represented and honored who was fighting in the war. Although now seen as a racist act, honoring the Confederate soldiers was, and in some places still is, a key element of southern identity and life. 

​

During and directly after the American Civil War, many people in the South looked at the Confederate flag as a symbol of heritage of bravery and idealism (Thornton 2012). The people who fought in the Confederacy were young, white southern men and many of them did not own slaves. They fought in the war because they believed in the conception of liberty that they believed was at stake. These soldiers believed that they were on the right side of history and were fighting for freedom and democracy that they thought might be taken from them (Thornton 2012). “The tragedy of the 1840s and the 1850s--ultimately the tragedy of the Civil War--was that the southern conception of liberty became hopelessly entangled with the defense of slave owners' rights,” (Thornton 2012). To many people with ancestors that fought in the Confederate war, the flag represented an act of heroism that they honored. This perspective is often lost and forgotten today. However, even though people argue that they were fighting for the southern way of life, this “lifestyle” directly links to slavery. In the Confederate perspective, freedom was connected to the ability to own slaves in response to the federal government’s decision to abolish slavery. 

​

After the Confederacy ended, the battle flag continued to be used in commemoration of those who fought and led in the war. During the Reconstruction era, the period directly after the Civil War, the United States administration attempted to compromise with the South. The South was allowed to create segregation laws while the government attempted to protect the legal rights of the newly freed black population ("American History: The Civil War and Reconstruction: Aftermath of the Civil War").  Throughout the 1880s through World War 2 the flag was flown in veterans’ parades, monument dedication ceremonies, and Memorial Day observances. Confederate heritage is an important part of the white Southern lifestyle and there were organizations that owned the Confederate flag and controlled its meaning (Coski “Myths & Understandings: The Confederate Flag” 2018). In addition, southern college campuses began using the Confederate flag to represent political views. This most likely started at Washington and Lee University at Kappa Alpha Order fraternity where R.E. Lee was the president (HistoryNet). These political views include the “Dixiecrat” party, which was a segregationist political party created in protest to the civil rights efforts from the Democratic Party (HistoryNet). The Dixiecrat party was against racial integration and supported Jim Crow laws and white supremacy. The party used the Confederate flag to represent them. In the 1950s and 1960s, many organizations, institutions, and state governments began to use the flag as a symbol of segregation, for example, the Ku Klux Klan and the White Citizens Council. 

In conclusion, the history of the Confederate flag is a controversial and sensitive topic, which is why it is beneficial to understand its historical context and the background that it comes from. There is an obvious difference in what the flag means to people. To some, it represents their ancestors and their willingness to fight for what they believe in. However, to many others the flag represents a time in the United States that is full of hatred and racism. “It is one thing to embrace a Confederate past and quite another to embrace that past uncritically. The southern past should not be venerated--or purged--but understood, as completely and as honestly as we can understand it,” (Thorton 2012). It is important to know these two sides and what they believe.