Difference between revisions of "471A3--Week 8 Questions/Comments--Tuesday"
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Some flag defenders resented the conflation of the Confederate battle flag with racism as it was taken up by segregationist groups during the era of Civil Rights and massive resistance. What was the tradition that they sought protect by keeping certain southern attitudes separate from an historical symbol? Even when divorced of the more recent violent implications of the Confederate flag (like use by the KKK), Senator Mosely-Braun points on page 197 that the historical importance of the flag is equally as capable of serving as a painful reminder of ongoing racial inequality and prejudice, so how do you think heritage organizations and flag 'purists' would have responded to that? --Erin B. | Some flag defenders resented the conflation of the Confederate battle flag with racism as it was taken up by segregationist groups during the era of Civil Rights and massive resistance. What was the tradition that they sought protect by keeping certain southern attitudes separate from an historical symbol? Even when divorced of the more recent violent implications of the Confederate flag (like use by the KKK), Senator Mosely-Braun points on page 197 that the historical importance of the flag is equally as capable of serving as a painful reminder of ongoing racial inequality and prejudice, so how do you think heritage organizations and flag 'purists' would have responded to that? --Erin B. | ||
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| + | Do you think Coski has succeeded in presenting the subject in and objective manner? R. King | ||
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| + | Is it ever possible to present history in an objective manner? Even by presenting the facts, do we not present them in a particular order, or omit certain elements while including others? I do not believe objective history is possible. --Cash | ||
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| + | Did the flag become "the flag" because of it's association with the Army of Northern Virginia and there for R. E. Lee? -R.King | ||
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| + | Why has the flag become the most contentious symbol of the American Civil War and in particular to the Confederacy? - R.King | ||
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| + | How much of the "flag fad" of the late 40's, early 50's do you think contributed to the the way the flag is marketed and commercialized today? -ABratchie | ||
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| + | Perhaps it is just because I am studying Vietnam in my 1960s AMST seminar, but I think a lot of this has to do with the nation's need to "get back on its feet" so to speak after being humbled in Korea and pasted in Vietnam. When your might is shown to be questioned, I think the only way to bring it back is with BIG WORDS and FLASHY SLOGANS...no matter how empty. --Cash | ||
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| + | On page 145 Coski states, "The collection and interpretation of evidence for the Confederate flag's racist use present significant challenges. They depend upon eyewitnesses or photographers troubling to notice and document the flag's presence as a symbol of segregation or white supremacy." Do you think proponents of Civil Rights were able to successfully argue that the Confederate Flag embodied racism despite the idea by many that the flag represented states rights, while keeping in mind the difficulty in proving its racist links with evidence? -ABratchie | ||
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| + | Discussion topics for tomorrow. The Confederate battle flag as a military implement. Why was the Confederate battle flag created? What did the battle flag mean to soldiers that fought in the war? The different types of battle flags that were used. Logan T | ||
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| + | How was the Confederate battle flag used during reconstruction? Why was the Confederate battle flag used by American military units in other wars? What was the flag fad in the 1950s about? How have racist groups used the Confederate battle flag? Logan T | ||
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| + | Do you think that the commercialization of the Confederate Flag (being printed on bikinis and beach towels) lead to the flag representing more of a rebel image than a symbol of Southern heritage? -MK | ||
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| + | Coski's objective with this book is to make both defenders and opponents of the Confederate Flag to in a sense try to logically understand one another. Do you think that this is a realistic goal, when there is still so much debate over the causes of the Civil War? -MK | ||
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| + | Since the end of the war until today, the flag's popular usage has been suppressed again and again. Have Northern distaste for the flag and occaisional laws banning its use encouraged its supporters? Does it hurt more to let it fly or to open oneself to charges of "cultural genocide"? What would be a practical middle ground? -GStan. | ||
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| + | Why was the symbol of the Confederate flag inflated only ''after'' the Civil War? Did the flag not hold as much meaning or importance to those soldiers or civilians during the war as it did to those who began participating in the memorialzation of the war beginning around the 1870s? -avanness | ||
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| + | What participation did the flag have in memorialization events after the war including Memorial Day and establishing Confederate cemeteries and monuments? -avanness | ||
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| + | Did the official use of the Confederate flag violate U.S. Army regulations governing the display of flags? Coski writes on page 114 that the new Army regulations concerning flags allowed enough latitude for units to employ Confederate flags for historical or decorative purposes. Do you agree with soldiers being able to bring Confederate flags while they are serving their country in combat?- Nick | ||
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| + | How did Civil Rights leaders of the 1950s and the 1960s perceive the Confederate battle flag? How did this differ from Northern perspectives of the Confederate flag?-Nick | ||
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| + | The many different battle groups throughout the confederate states had very different opinions on what the flag should look like, (size, colors, dimensions) and defended their individual rights to carry those flags into battle despite the obvious dangers, and confusion, it presented for the units. Did this belligerent defense of their perceived rights within the confederacy lead to other issues of coordination and standardization within the Confederate army? - AJ | ||
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| + | How much of a role do you think the lost cause, and the continued fierce loyalty to the confederacy that came with it, had in making the flag the symbol it became? - AJ | ||
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| + | Coski cites a study conducted by James McPherson regarding soldier motivations. McPherson claims that Confederate soldiers did not consciously fight for the preservation of slave property, but rather, to defend their states. Are the results of this study surprising? We usually think of the suppression of the slavery theme as a post-war/Lost Cause phenomenon, so does the fact that soldiers were thinking this during the war change the way we can look at confederate soldiers? Do you by the study?- aaskins | ||
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| + | There are numerous accounts in this book that relate the intimate connection Confederate soldiers felt with their (various) battle flags. This seems to be a common reaction of any nationalist of any country. What is it about flags that move people and is it irrational?- aaskins | ||
