Arkansas flag

Here is a good website on the history of confederate flags:

http://mshistory.k12.ms.us/features/feature2/histconflag.html

totally right, seafox. it was just their flag. just as the betsy ross didn't think that her american flag would be burned in the middle east, or canada, or otherwise unanimously hated in many areas around the globe

I'll bet the first time they flew this flag they didn't think it meant gravy, biscuits and fried chicken.

I'll bet, when they flew this flag for the first time (way back when) they weren't thinking at all that it had anything to do with slavery!

it's amazing the number/type of comments that come up with the posting of a 239x216 arkansas flag, as opposed to a picture of some half-naked chick.

I don't really have a problem with them on notebooks or bumperstickers, however, it might be a good idea to execute anyone hanging one in front of a government building for treason.

oh also does anyone know where to get good history books that aren't distorted like textbooks? are the books in my local library or bookstore any more pure than school textbooks?

well.... on the topic of the confederate flag:

i like the flag. i have one on my school planner (I'm in 10th grade). i put it on there originally b/c i was a really big Lynyrd Skynyrd fan. I'm not obsessed with them anymore, but i keep the flag on there because i think it looks cool. unfortunately, there are a lot of racist connotations that go along with the stars and bars. but think about what else it can symbolize: the south. which includes: homestyle cooked meals with gravy and biscuits and chicken and potatoes and whatnot. it can symbolize the famous southern hospitality. it can symbolize revolution and resistance to oppression (although the causes of those are disputed.) so really, symbols like the confederate flag only mean what you interpret them as. unfortunato, most people interpret the confederate flag as a symbol of racism.

Whoever,

Why do I think the Confederate flag elicits such a negative reaction from African Americans?

That's because history has been "adjusted" to make the War Between The States more about slavery and less about States Rights, which was the true cause of the war.

No history book ever tells that President Lincoln wanted and planned that all blacks should be shipped back to Africa.

The main reason was that by that time, the North barely had any slaves left (at least compared to the South, were the practice was still going full-throttle. I will agree there was a lot of hypocrisy going around at the time, but the fact is that between 1777 and 1804, most Northern colonies and states had given up on slavery. It was a very gradual process, and during the Civil War many more Northern slaves were offered freedom if they joined the army. The same offer was made to Southern slaves, which prompted many to jump ship and fight for the Union. Granted, after the war, the treatment of freed slaves was dismal in both the North and South, but the fact remains that many in the Northern colonies, and later Northern States were fighting to abolish the practice and the South was vehemently opposed. More than just a part of the war had to do with the question with slavery, and the opposite views both the North and South had on it. If this weren't the case, why do you think the Confederate flag elicits such a negative reaction from African Americans?

In President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, three years into the war, only freed the slaves in the Confederate States of the south, leaving slave ownership intact in the northern states. General U.S. Grant had slaves on his farm in Rhode Island several years after the war ended and only gave them their freedom when he became President. That indicates to me that no part of the war was about the question of slavery.

I have. As you can see from my previous comments, I agreed that economic issues played a significant role in thrusting the nation into a Civil War. However, the fight against slavery had been brewing for a long time, and trying to hold on to it was the main reason the South tried to secede. That is also incontrovertible when you read newspapers, speeches, and letters from that period.

The first shots of the Civil War occurred when the Star of the West was fired upon by Cadets of the Military College of South Carolina on January 9, 1861. This ship, carrying Union troops, had been ordered to Charleston by President James Buchanan to resupply Major Robert Anderson's garrison at Fort Sumter for the purpose of collecting Federal taxes on agricultural goods being shipped to Europe.

You can't get this from history books because history has been distorted, you must read newspapers and letters from that time in history.

Cornman10, We do know. The fact is that as early as the Second Continental Congress, in 1776, Thomas Jefferson had written a clause into the Declaration of Independence which would have forever banned the import of slaves into the nation-to-be. While this was far from abolishing slavery, the Northern colonies, all of which had strong anti-slavery movements, sided with Jefferson. The South, fearing that their economy would be imperiled by this, threatened to vote down American independence unless the anti-slavery clause wasn't deleted. So you see, the North (known as "Unionists" during the civil War) were announcing their intentions even before the United States had been born. The Southern colonies were so determined to continue with slavery that they were willing to prevent the separation from England. Of course, the North deleted the clause and the nation was created, with the fight against slavery left for another day. As to whether the Union had a lot to lose if the South succeeded, yes, obviously it did; the United States would not exist today if they had. But from history we know that the Civil War was, above all, a bloody continuation of the debate on slavery started before the American Revolution.

how do we know that the Union really wanted to abolish slavery? They might have used that as an excuse to keep the bountiful farming fields of the south within US borders. it this time, farming was the main source of US revenue, and farming supplied all the raw materials for the industry. so who's to say that the Union wasn't profit-driven like today's society, and wanted the south merely for the money that it;s farms and plantations brought in? i'm not saying that's what happened, or necessarily what i believe, but it can't be ruled out as a possibility.

cool.......like most people do......... i though you were attacking.............I understand that the Stars and Bars offend some, and i understand why..........but its where i from so i get defencive most times...........sorry

I understand that not everyone from the South is a racist. I was only trying to point out why the symbols of the Confederacy are so offensive and downright hurtful to many. Rock on, man.

And for the record I now live in Fairbanks Alaska and I still fly my Ga. state flag under my American flag....

I understand all that.....trust me i do.........my point is that not everyone from the South is a racist. Thats all i was trying to say...........I am from the south and very proud of it. I am retired Air Force and have been all over the world and take it from me " there is no place like home"

No matter where you may be from.

Racer, the Confederate flag does have racist connotations, even if you don't wish to accept it. The main reason for the secession attempt by the South (Georgia included) was that it refused to abandon slavery, and believed anti-slavery forces in the Union would force it to do just that. Even before the Civil War, as the morality of slavery was being discussed, pro-slavery and racist political parties in existence at the time, like the Whig party and the Know-Nothings vanished and many of their members went on to create the Republican party. Even the Democrats were split in two over the issue. In fact, Abraham Lincoln's assassin, John Wilkes Booth, who believed in the ideals of the Republicans, decided to act when news of Lincoln's abolitionist intentions started to go around. The Confederate States formed as a result of secession, and secession was borne out of the racist desire to maintain slavery. So, as a matter of historical fact, The Confederate flag is a symbol of racism, and anyone who flies it is defending the precepts of the racists who tried to break the Union apart and failed. This failure made the Stars and Stripes the flag for the whole of the United Sates, including the South. You do know you lost the war, don't you?

Dear SirAndrewTheGreat(asshole)...lol...I am very proud that I am from the South, I fly this type flag everyday, (the one i fly happens to be the Ga. state flag) just because some idiots fly it for racist reason does not mean everyone does. What you are saying is like trying to blame Smith & Wession for someone being shot and killed by one of their firearms.....YOU JACKASS!!!!!!!

We have a lot of do gooders in the UK trying to ban the flying of the Union Jack for the same reasons as discussed here. They believe its viewed as a racist symbol because the right wing extremists in this country used it! I would ask what they expected right wingers to adopt? It wouldn't be the McDonalds arches would it!!! The Union Jack stands for a lot more than racist idiots.....

Hey racer, all the white trash hicks use it as a symbol of their hate for blacks, do you know anything about this counrty?!?!? Instead of telling people to get a life, sounds like you need too!!! You JACKASS!

I wish the hell it was the Arkansas flag

HEY PEOPLE......Get a grip on life......this flag has nothing tom do with slavery or any other stupid ass thing yall want it to........the STARS AND BARS are a regional thing, not anything more......stop looking for something to bitch about and get a life.

the ignorance is the fact that people fly this flag....get over the fact that the south lost and thats that....:-)

SirAndrewTheGrouch,

What do you get out of showing your ignorance and intolerance?

That flag would make GREAT toilet paper!!!! Anyone who flies this flag is a loser and a dumb loser at that!