Disclaimer: This paper is, in no way, intended to offend any of the communities that dislike the Confederate flag. It is not a paper on hating any of these groups. It is simply an overview on the meaning of the flag, the history of the flag, and the reasons it should keep proudly flying.
Throughout history, those who have won the wars have written the history. If had won the war, not only would the writers and supporters of the Declaration of Independence have been hanged, the flag would be an everlasting symbol of wrong. This is similar to what has happened to the Confederate flag. This paper will talk about how and why that happened.
First of all, the Confederate flag, in some people’s eyes, is a symbol of hatred towards African-Americans. This is completely incorrect. The Confederate States of was not formed because of slavery. Anyone that wanted a slave owned one. What history fails to mention is that in the South, the title was slave, but in the North, they became “indentured servants.” This is merely a way to soften the cold, hard truth that the North owned slaves. The harsh treatment of slaves was incredibly wrong. However, history also will not tell you that the percentage of mistreated slaves was incredibly low. A slave, by today’s standards, could cost anywhere from $100,000 to $500,000. How many people pay this much money to have something to starve and beat until dead? Actually, the real meaning behind the secession was taxes.
The North was incredibly rich due to one reason. Congress only allowed the sale of the South’s main goods such as cotton and tobacco to Northern factories instead of shipping to other countries. Did the South get any of this back? Well, of course, if they could pay the added tax that the finished products had slapped on them for resale to the South. Oh, by the way, if you think that heavy taxation and no one being there to represent the taxing party is a horrible way to start the war, think about this: That’s why the Revolution was started. Those brave men that began knew this. The South remembered this.
The Confederate flag is a symbol of the ultimate bravery. These men committed treason against something they knew was wrong. This happened in the Revolution, and wrote the history. In the Civil War, the North wrote the history and shed some very bad light on the South. It would be a much different history book if the South had won. My beautiful home state of South Carolina seceded because of heavy taxation, and a biased economy.
If you really want to know how much this flag means to us, remember the men who died for to be free. The American flag, the flag of freedom, stands for the same things the South fought for. Again, please don’t think that this essay is against the African-American or Northern community. It is just my thoughts and historical evidence about the heritage of the Confederacy. If the flag offends you, you need a history lesson. It will teach you the importance of bravery and the importance of standing up for what you know is right. As far as I am concerned, the Confederate flag does not stand for hate. It stands for heritage and bravery. It is one of the world’s most beautiful flags. Keep it flying!
