why do southern united states still fly the confederate flag?

Question

didn't the south loose the civil war?. so why do they allow that i think the confederate flag symbolizes oppression and slavery so why are people still proud to have it on their lawns?

Answer 1

Most Southern people I know fly the confederate flag because to them it symbolizes the south and their heritage as their relatives served in the Civil War. Most really don't look at it as a flag of oppression and slavery. I don't think they view it that way at all. For many years you never heard a word about this until blacks made an issue of it. It was the war between the states and many good people including black people on both sides lost their lives.

Answer 2

The racism issue is overdone. Most people only know what they've been told and don't care to look into what the flag really means. They automatically think it's about slavery since that just so happened to be something the South had. Here: "According to Civil War historian and southerner Shelby Foote, the flag traditionally represented the south's resistance to northern political dominance generally; it became racially charged during the Civil Rights Movement, when protecting segregation suddenly became the focal point of that resistance."

To many of them it symbolizes the strength of the South. They lost the Civil War, but they fought incredibly hard.

Abe Lincoln recognized they're strength and how hard they fought. When word reached him that General Lee had surrendered, a large crowd gathered on the White House lawn to honor President Lincoln. When Abe finally came out, he didn't call for a huge celebration or a ball, he asked the band to play the anthem of the South, Dixie, to honor the Confederate Soldiers.

If you want a better sense of how hard they fought and what they went through, things like that, i'll suggest a song. It's by Johnny Horton. He's really big on Civil War, World War, etc songs and I was basically raised on his music. It's really a good song in my opinion. Anyways, it's called Johnny Reb by Johnny Horton.

Basically, the lyrics are like this (Note: Johnny Reb is what people would call the Confederate Soldiers):

"You fought all the way Johnny Reb Johnny Reb
You fought all the way Johnny Reb

Saw you a marchin' with Robert E Lee
You held your head high tryin' to win the victory
You fought for your folks but you didn't die in vain
Even though you lost they speak highly of your name
'Cause you fought all the way Johnny Reb Johnny Reb
You fought all the way Johnny Reb

I heard your teeth chatter from the cold outside
Saw the bullets open up the wounds in your side
I saw the young boys as they began to fall
You had tears in your eyes cause you couldn't help at all
But you fought all the way Johnny Reb Johnny Reb
You fought all the way Johnny Reb

I saw General Lee raise a sabre in his hand
Heard the cannons roar as you made your last stand
You marched in the battle with the Grey and the Red
When the cannon smoke cleared it took days to count the dead
'Cause you fought all the way Johnny Reb Johnny Reb
You fought all the way Johnny Reb

When Honest Abe heard the news about your fall
The folks thought he'd call a great victory ball
But he asked the band to play the song Dixie
For you Johnny Reb and all that you believed
'Cause you fought all the way Johnny Reb Johnny Reb
You fought all the way Johnny Reb"

Sorry this was so long. I hope it helped, though.

Answer 3

The "Stars and Bars" was NOT the national flag of the Confederate States of America. It was merely a battle banner. Today, it represents Southern heritage, and many Southerners proudly display it to show their pride in being from the South - including me and my wife.

Actually, as a result of my proud Southern upbringing, you might be shocked to hear that today there is actually more racism up North than down South. Historically, from the days when there were slaves in the South, through Reconstruction and the Jim Crow days, blacks and whites still worked side by side on a daily basis.

I'll tell you this much: Both my wife and I grew up in Texas. I am white, she is black and we have two bi-racial children. We never heard one racist comment about our being together until we moved up North.

Answer 4

Its about heritage, not hate....The southern cause for the Civil War was states' rights not slavery. In fact, the South almost ended slavery in hopes of getting England into the fight on their side. There were also some 20,000 black soldiers in the Confederate army, look it up. My great-great grandfather was a soldier in the Confederate Army, he didnt own any slaves, so why do you think he fought.

Answer 5

As a Southerner, I know this one. It was actually a flag representing the Southern States before it was taken in by the rebel forces. For me it shows Southern patriotism. (however I don't own one) But, considering it's lost its meaning over the years and all anyone sees is exactly what was posted above me, most Southerners don't even see it that way now, most just like it to be rebelllious, just like dress codes, it's just another rule you can see how far you can push until it breaks.

Answer 6

To some people is might mean that. To alot of Southerns, it means pride in our heritage. The war started due to states rights. Slavery was brought in later. People don't like being bossed around. Period. And you basically had businessmen bossing around farmers. So of course feathers got ruffled. There is nothing wrong with having pride in your heritage. Why must every non-Southern assume its all about slavery?

Answer 7

To some southerners it is a sign of southern pride. To others flying the flag is a form of rebellion. And some do it with the intentions of offending people, those are the ignorant aholes that believe that "the south will rise again."

Answer 8

This is always so hard to explain… Let me ask you a question. If a man & woman are about to have sex, she says yes & they proceed, then mid-stream she starts saying “no stop I don’t want to do this,” If the man then continues by force against her will, is that rape? Of course at this point you’re saying hell yes it is!

Well the Declaration of Independence says:
“We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.
That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its Foundation on such Principles, and organizing its Powers in such Form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”

You’ll note a couple things in there:
ALL rights come from God alone & NEVER from government. Government exists ONLY with the consent of the people, ONLY to protect these rights (executed via the const, see below), & ONLY with selective powers voluntarily given up by the people. So, in reference to my rape example: if the people, or say a region of several states, is blocked from equal representation in Congress & effectively has no say in the government, if it votes to legally remove this consent to be governed… do you see the parallel to the example? The Declaration goes on to say that if & when government, even a legally elected one, removes these rights given by God to the people then it becomes the DUTY of the people to replace that government, by peaceful means if possible or violent revolution if necessary.

To you the flag may mean racism & slavery, that’s mostly the KKK since the 20s (they were always bigger in the north than the south & still are). To many of southern heritage it means the Declaration of Independence, freedom from oppressive government & the power of the people to stand up to it, standing up for the little guy, no excessive taxation, or corrupt government, or starving some people to make others rich, protection of your private property from illegal seizure… all these were the issues of the civil war, and yes slavery too. Fewer than 5% of southerners owned slaves though, most were poor white farmers just trying to scrape by & they weren’t fighting for the rich any more than northerners were fighting to line the pockets of industrial robber barons making their fortunes over the back of immigrant sweat shops. Slavery was AN issue of the war, but not THE issue, not for us & not for the north at the time.

Answer 9

MYOB! This is still America, the land of the free, home of the brave... and it's their constitutional right to wave what ever flag they want, so long as it's waved under the USA flag, and it doesn't symbolize racism, it's a part of history that many people cherish for many different reasons.

Answer 10

Because what you think is wrong.......

It was the Battle Flag of the Southern Army.......

Not a symbol of Racism.........

Remember, People in the Northern states had slaves too.........