Why Were Confederate Monuments Built? : NPR
As  President Trump  doubled down on  his  defense of Confederate statues and monuments this week   he  overlooked an important fact noted by historians: The majority of the memorials seem to have been built with the intention not to honor fallen soldiers  but specifically to further ideals of white supremacy.
That letter to "compatriots" was signed the day before Trump's raucous press conference  in which he also cast blame on what he called the "alt-left" — comments for which he faced criticism from business leaders  nonprofits and members of his own party  among others.
Yet many historians say the argument about preserving Southern history doesn't hold up when you consider the timing of when the "beautiful" statues  as Trump called them  went up.
Statues and monuments are often seen as long-standing  permanent fixtures  but such memorabilia take effort  planning and politics to get placed  especially on government property. In an interview with NPR  Dailey said it's impossible to separate symbols of the Confederacy from the values of white supremacy. In comparing Robert E. Lee to Presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson on Tuesday  President Trump doesn't seem to feel the same.
As  [TGT]doubled down on  [TGT]  defense of Confederate statues and monuments this week   [TGT]  overlooked an important fact noted by historians: The majority of the memorials seem to have been built with the intention not to honor fallen soldiers  but specifically to further ideals of white supremacy.
That letter to "compatriots" was signed the day before [TGT]'s raucous press conference  in which he also cast blame on what he called the "alt-left" — comments for which he faced criticism from business leaders  nonprofits and members of his own party  among others.
Yet many historians say the argument about preserving Southern history doesn't hold up when you consider the timing of when the "beautiful" statues  as [TGT] called them  went up.
Statues and monuments are often seen as long-standing  permanent fixtures  but such memorabilia take effort  planning and politics to get placed  especially on government property. In an interview with NPR  Dailey said it's impossible to separate symbols of the Confederacy from the values of white supremacy. In comparing Robert E. Lee to Presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson on Tuesday  [TGT] doesn't seem to feel the same.