471A3--Week 8 Questions/Comments--Tuesday

Questions/comments about the readings
I never knew that the Confederate flag went through so many changes throughout the Confederacy's existence. I always thought of the 'battle flag' as a redneck kind of emblem because the kids in high school seemed to think that it matched camo really well. I enjoyed the change of thought and welcomed the improvement of my understanding. I never really think about the history behind flags but thought that it was interesting that the Confederate flag shared many of its origins with our country's flags, such as Ireland and Scotland, and of course the United States. I would have thought the Confederacy would have wanted a flag that differed from the US flag, and I didn't think it would be a topic of debate but obviously that was not the case. -Meg O

Honestly, I had never really thought that much about the flag like Meg. I knew that it was symbol for the Confederacy but never gave it more thought. Now I see that it meant just as much to them as the American flag means to us. It is a representation of the pride and the ideas that they were fighting for. It goes back to what the Confederacy thought they were fighting for, that pride and belief that they were doing what was right. –Kayle P

Going into the reading, I didn't know that the Confederate flag as we know it today was the battle flag for the Northern Virginia army first. I thought it always represented all the Confederate states and was established without much deliberation. I also found it interesting that its treated practically the same as all Americans treat the National flag... maybe even with more tact because its so controversial. -Cameron F.

Going off of the previous three comments, I knew that the Confederate flag that we think of as THE Confederate flag today was not the original, but I never realized how long of a process it was. I was particularly surprised by the support for having stars and stripes in the Confederate flag. I would have thought that the Confederate states would have wanted to make themselves as different as possible from the United States. However, again, we see the Confederacy linking their cause back to the founding fathers. -Carly W.

I grew up in a part of Northern Florida where the Confederate Battle Flag was on display more than the national ensign. I don’t remember anyone saying anything negative about its use in my town. It was perceived to be either a symbol of southern pride or racial hatred when used by the KKK groups in the area. From my perception there was a clear distinction between “heritage” use and racist use. I remember one occasion where there was a KKK rally of about 5-10 KKK members and they were confronted by “good ol’ boys” waving their Confederate battle flags. There was quite a bit of animosity in my part of Florida from "Confederate flag wavers" toward the KKK over their use of the battle flag. -Jason

The problem with the Confederate flag as a symbol is that it can mean too many things, so that anyone deploying a symbol may intend a different meaning from everyone who sees it, while the viewers will differ among themselves. Its very a very interesting topic that Dr. Coski delves into. There is so much confusion about what the Confederate flag means today and its lasting legacy.—George H

Dr Coski’s use of quotes is some of the best I have ever seen in supporting his arguments. My favorite of his uses of primary source info is this from pages 170-171: When Governor Lurleen Wallace signed a resolution requesting Alabama’s state sponsored colleges and universities to fly the state flag, the battle flag, the national ensign, and play “Alabama,” “Dixie”, and the national anthem at homecoming festivities, the Montgomery Advertiser asked, “Has anybody given any thought to what will happen at Alabama State [black college] when they take on Tuskegee Institute?” Instead of taking a stand by pointing out the blatant ignorance on the part of lawmakers, Dr Coski let the sources speak for themselves. -Jason

I grew up here in the Fredericksburg/Stafford county area and like Jason, I don't really remember anyone having issues with displaying the Confederate flag until I got to high school and Dixie Outfitter shirts became popular. The shirt company's main logo included the Confederate flag, and the company argued that their shirts displayed Southern pride, or "heritage not hate." Anyone wearing these shirts in school were asked to turn them inside out because the school administration did not find them politically correct, until a group of black students all decided to wear the shirts to school arguing that the emblem stood for everyone's southern heritage. Needless to say this caused quite a stir among the faculty. Like Jason mentioned, Dr. Coski's use of quotes in his work really helps drive his arguments. Many of the works we have read so far rely on quotes, and Dr. Coski does an excellent job working in great quotes. --Mary O.

The Southern battle flag is rightly associated with the fight to preserve slavery, but Dr. Coski points out, the flag also stood for Southerners' defense of their own view of constitutional liberties and southern customs. I think that this is the lasting legacy of the Confederate flag. The KKK used it as a symbol of racism, yet many southerners will point to it as a symbol of heritage. I think the Confederate flag has more to do with heritage and that the flag represents what the south perceived of what was their liberties.—George H

“The soldiers’ battle flag thus symbolized defense of home and resistance to invasion.” (21) I always guessed, based on what I have seen/heard, that the flag holds strong meaning to people in the South still today. I didn’t however think about it in this form. I wonder what people in the North viewed it as after the war and if they thought it meant the same thing. –Ana Y

The connection between the Confederate battle flag and the soldier was a new idea to me. Although in hind sight, this seems completely rational, I personally had always connected the confederate Flag with the Confederacy as a whole. It was quite interesting to see a theme of it as representing the soldier and made me think that this could be why the flag was so acceptable through today. On page 29, it talks about how the flag became "imbued with all the values of honor, courage, patriotism, and camaraderie that motivated more soliders." This was even talked about early on in the book when dealing with the causes of the war and that the flag was not racist precisely because it was a symbol of the soldier and not the government. --Matt A.

Further adding to my previous statement, I am very shocked at the indignation toward using the flag politically until the Dixiecrat age. The symbolism of the flag seemed to transcend ideals to pure for political use, even by southern Democrats. This was shocking to me and i would be intrigued to see why this sacred-ness went away in the 1940's. --Matt A.

Continuing on the symbolism of the flag, I found it interesting that during Brown v. Board of Education, the Southerners waved the flag to support white supremacy. Although I was not surprised, I can’t stop from myself from thinking about the people who wave it today and what they think it symbolizes. -Ana Y

This section of Coski’s book raised a question for me: how is American respect and reverence for the Stars and Stripes any different from anybody’s respect and reverence for the Confederate battle flag? He kept bringing up the different reasons for the prevalence of the Confederate battle flag today, but isn’t it for many of the reasons we value our American flag? Or any national symbol? People fought and died under that flag, too. Flag rituals kind of creep me out, but it’s definitely a part of our culture to be all ‘MURICA—whether that’s in the South or the North. Quoting Coski, “[The flag] adorned bug screens covering the front grills of freight-hauling trucks; it was framed by gun racks in the back of pickups; it was emblazoned with the garish logos of motorcycle enthusiasts. These images—including a continued association with stock car racing—have become veritable clichés of Americana, immediately recognizable in cartoons, films, and other forms of popular culture. The Confederate flag has proven to be an effective symbol for the fierce independence and individual rebelliousness common to all these types of people” (173-174). While I’m a bit uncomfortable admitting it as a liberal college student, my family is mostly made up of rednecks who had this flag on EVERYTHING. Plus, my dad was a history buff. I got plenty of “history” of the Confederate battle flag as a child. The "rebel" mentality is pretty much everywhere in that neck of the woods.-- Brooke

At the very beginning of the book, I was struck by the contemporary argument over whether or not the flag should reflect the US or be original to the Confederacy (3). It's interesting because it contrasts the opinion that the Confederacy was the true preserver of the Nation founded by the Founding Fathers with the opinion that they were a new institution. - Carly B.

What do you all make of the argument around page 20 about the nature of the flag as a representation of Confederate values? At what point did it become a symbol of racism? - Carly B.

Finally, this is the first work to get into more modern interpretations of the war, especially from a social/non-academic perspective. What are some of Coski's conclusions? - Carly B.

I thought that the connection between the KKK and the Confederate Flag was very interesting. It shows how the flag became a symbol of racism and the affect that the media had in associating the flag with Klansmen and segregation. --Kelly F.

Questions for Dr. Coski (for Thursday)
&lt;p&gt;I just wonder how he stumbled upon this topic...if it was by accident or if perhaps he always had a fascination with the Confederate flag? -Meg O

How did your work at the Museum of the Confederacy help your research? Do you think being close to mostly Confederate resources made it more difficult to present an objective perspective? - Cameron F.

Coming from an area where many people use the Confederate flag as a symbol of white supremacy I was wondering what kinds of reactions he experienced from people after publishing this book or perhaps even researching it? Were there any reactions or experiences that stand out in particular?-Carly W.

You mention that “The battle over the battle flag represents one of the most intensive and extensive ongoing public dialogues about U.S. history.” (preface) Since this book was published in 2005, do you feel that this debate is still going on in 2013? –Kayle P