You’re right, I was thinking of “The Declaration of Causes of Seceding States” and the subsequent Confederate Constitution that said states later ratified. The secessionists’ own words clearly indicate it was always about slavery from day one.
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I agree that federal funds shouldn’t be used to build or maintain monuments to the confederacy (unless it’s a museum-like setting for the art work, kinda like the Louvre). That’s daft.
The war was about slavery, no doubt. But that wasn’t what I was pointing out. Those slave holders (and their granddaddies) thought they had the right to leave the United States because the 10th Amendment said so. It’s irrelevant what constitution the CSA had in it.
Not if you’re trying to make a case that the Confederacy fought for a cause noble enough to warrant a monument instead of an inherently evil one.
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Celebrating a flawed person is different from celebrating a person’s flaws. The monuments to Confederate soldiers should, can, must, and will be removed. Good riddance.
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Strawman much?
I never said the Confederacy cause–I assume you mean slavery, not limited federal government-- was noble.
If you recall, this started when you called Confederate generals (and other subjects of monuments) traitors, and I was simply trying to point out that they plausibly might have not labeled themselves such.
I am reminded, however of Kaepernick’s argument.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave,
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave
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Traitors rarely do.
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So conquer we must
for our cause it is just
and this be our motto
In God Is Our Trust
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I agree with him; it’s a shitty song that explicitly celebrated slavery and murder. If I were to pick a corny 19th-Century ditty as our anthem I’d probably go with “America the Beautiful.”
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The only monument to a previous traitor loser:
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"Traitors rarely do."
We are a nation built on it, after all…
I’m pretty sure the British weren’t racing to build monuments to Washington and Jefferson in the decades following the American Revolution.
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Treason doth never prosper: what’s the reason?
Why, if it prosper, none dare call it treason.
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Arlington was built on land confiscated from Lee. It was his family home (the house is still there as a museum iirc)
That’s exactly right. But we sure did!
Equating one small subset of smallminded bigots with “everyone” was your move, not his.
No, Fallacious in that case. Not Ridiculous unless you ever repeat it, then Utterly So.
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We built those monuments to Washington and Jefferson because
- As previously mentioned, they fought to expand freedom and democracy rather than restrict it, and
- They won.
I can’t think of any other nation that built monuments to a cause that was neither righteous OR victorious.
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Right, I declared “arguments” ridiculous, not people.
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“I was surprised to hear people suggest that removing statues of Confederate traitors would somehow lead to us tearing down the Jefferson Memorial. That is patent bullshit.”
I agree that we shouldn’t be looking at taking down Jefferson, Washington, etal monuments. There are many difference between them and leaders of the CSA.
But.
There have been calls from people to do just that.
That said, the world isn’t black and white. One need not support all or no monuments, but only those worthy of remaining.
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