The social messages of Civil War monuments

Abstract

What messages did the patrons of Civil War monuments, both Confederate and Union, intend them to send to viewers? While it is commonly thought that Confederate monuments were erected to intimidate Black Southerners and keep them from voting, this article uses a combination of visual analysis and historical research to argue that these monuments were generally erected only after Jim Crow legislation and other means had already rendered Black political participation impossible. Instead, the monuments spoke to white, working-class Southerners, to persuade them not to cross racial lines, especially during labor disputes. Similarly, Union Civil War monuments also worked to enshrine racial inequality by erasing the memory of African-American soldiers' participation in the Civil War.