Slim Majority of Americans Support Preserving Confederate 'Lost Cause' History

[Frodo]

And of that majority, it is -as you would expect- mainly older white Americans (including about half of all Millennials), particularly from the South:

Poll: Majority of Americans support preserving Confederate history

[7,052,770]

I think the wording of a question like this can really push people in one direction or the other.

[Alben Barkley]

“Preserving the legacy and history of the Confederacy” could be interpreted to mean you just want the history to be remembered and continued to be taught, even if you think the legacy was negative.

Horribly worded question. I would have said yes too and I despise what the Confederacy stood for and definitely not do believe in the “Lost Cause” mythology or that they should be honored as heroes.

I’m also shocked the South was only a bit more likely to say yes than the nation as a whole.Maybe because of all the black people there, who were the ones least likely to say yes, but even then it was a quarter. I doubt a quarter of black Americans believe in the “Lost Cause.”

[No War, but the War on Christmas]

It can be "preserved" in a museum, absolutely, where that history can be contextualized within the scope of Confederate atrocities.

[wnwnwn]

That wording...
Obviously a majority of americans want the Civil War and basic aspects of the Confederacy to be taught at schools.

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

That's because these same Groups are Maga supporters

[Joe Republic]

https://www.buzzfeed.com/iramadison/the-south-will-request-that-nsync-video-again

[jojoju1998]

“Preserving the legacy and history of the Confederacy” could be interpreted to mean you just want the history to be remembered and continued to be taught, even if you think the legacy was negative.

Horribly worded question. I would have said yes too and I despise what the Confederacy stood for and definitely not do believe in the “Lost Cause” mythology or that they should be honored as heroes.

I’m also shocked the South was only a bit more likely to say yes than the nation as a whole.Maybe because of all the black people there, who were the ones least likely to say yes, but even then it was a quarter. I doubt a quarter of black Americans believe in the “Lost Cause.”

It can be "preserved" in a museum, absolutely, where that history can be contextualized within the scope of Confederate atrocities.

“Preserving the legacy and history of the Confederacy” could be interpreted to mean you just want the history to be remembered and continued to be taught, even if you think the legacy was negative.

Horribly worded question. I would have said yes too and I despise what the Confederacy stood for and definitely not do believe in the “Lost Cause” mythology or that they should be honored as heroes.

I’m also shocked the South was only a bit more likely to say yes than the nation as a whole.Maybe because of all the black people there, who were the ones least likely to say yes, but even then it was a quarter. I doubt a quarter of black Americans believe in the “Lost Cause.”

My 8th Grade US History Teacher, in suposdely liberal California, said the Civil War was about states's rights, not slavery and had the confederate flag up.


And he went to a public university for his undergrad, San Diego State.

[Progressive Pessimist]

“Preserving the legacy and history of the Confederacy” could be interpreted to mean you just want the history to be remembered and continued to be taught, even if you think the legacy was negative.

Horribly worded question. I would have said yes too and I despise what the Confederacy stood for and definitely not do believe in the “Lost Cause” mythology or that they should be honored as heroes.

I’m also shocked the South was only a bit more likely to say yes than the nation as a whole.Maybe because of all the black people there, who were the ones least likely to say yes, but even then it was a quarter. I doubt a quarter of black Americans believe in the “Lost Cause.”

It can be "preserved" in a museum, absolutely, where that history can be contextualized within the scope of Confederate atrocities.

“Preserving the legacy and history of the Confederacy” could be interpreted to mean you just want the history to be remembered and continued to be taught, even if you think the legacy was negative.

Horribly worded question. I would have said yes too and I despise what the Confederacy stood for and definitely not do believe in the “Lost Cause” mythology or that they should be honored as heroes.

I’m also shocked the South was only a bit more likely to say yes than the nation as a whole.Maybe because of all the black people there, who were the ones least likely to say yes, but even then it was a quarter. I doubt a quarter of black Americans believe in the “Lost Cause.”

My 8th Grade US History Teacher, in suposdely liberal California, said the Civil War was about states's rights, not slavery and had the confederate flag up.


And he went to a public university for his undergrad, San Diego State.

Growing up in New Jersey even, I always experienced this in my US history classes too. I think it went beyond politics and had more to do with curriculums trying to satiate the pro-Confederate side by either watering down their motivations or both-sidesing them with the Union.

[Sol]

The Lost Cause mythology was the default historiography of the Civil War for most of the 20th century, even outside of the South.

Honestly this is fairly impressive, given the vague poll wording and the fact that taking down statues tends to be unpopular. Tbh, I don't really get people who want to keep Confederate statues up; they generally are artistically dull and were typically erected as part of the instantiation of Jim Crow. Nothing appealing about them!

[Alben Barkley]

My 8th Grade US History Teacher, in suposdely liberal California, said the Civil War was about states's rights, not slavery and had the confederate flag up.


And he went to a public university for his undergrad, San Diego State.

I’ve noticed a lot of history teachers can be weirdos. Wehraboos and such too.

The Lost Cause mythology was the default historiography of the Civil War for most of the 20th century, even outside of the South.

Honestly this is fairly impressive, given the vague poll wording and the fact that taking down statues tends to be unpopular. Tbh, I don't really get people who want to keep Confederate statues up; they generally are artistically dull and were typically erected as part of the instantiation of Jim Crow. Nothing appealing about them!

The fact that this is true yet Lincoln was also lionized, even in the South eventually as they continued to vote firmly against his party, has always struck me as an odd bit of doublethink. I guess people preferred to think of the Civil War as a tragic “many fine people on both sides” situation rather than accept that many of their fellow countrymen were willing to kill them to protect an evil institution.

[Jerry]

The “Lost” cause is used to disparag southerners and those of us who are against totalitarean forms of government. FACT: The South succeeded because of slavery. FACT: The north invaded a soverein nation and started the civil war.

[certified hummus supporter 🇵🇸🤝🇺🇸🤝🇺🇦]

The “Lost” cause is used to disparag southerners and those of us who are against totalitarean forms of government. FACT: The South succeeded because of slavery. FACT: The north invaded a soverein nation and started the civil war.

Oh yeah, I'm sure it was such a "totalitarian" move by the Union to  free those held in bondage in the cotton plantations of Georgia and the rest of the South  

The North started the war? Remind us all who fired on Ft. Sumter first Jerry

And if the South didn't want to get invaded, maybe they shouldn't have tried to secede to defend some imaginary "right" to own other human beings.

[Obama24]

It can be "preserved" in a museum, absolutely, where that history can be contextualized within the scope of Confederate atrocities.

Angrier about the Civil War than even the men who fought it. I love modern day academic leftists. At all times seething. Raging. They see not only Confederates, but Columbus, Jefferson, Washington, and their blood boils to a degree that would ignite the very sun. One day, you'll get to fell the Washington Monument too, BUT, not today.

[No War, but the War on Christmas]

It can be "preserved" in a museum, absolutely, where that history can be contextualized within the scope of Confederate atrocities.

Angrier about the Civil War than even the men who fought it. I love modern day academic leftists. At all times seething. Raging. They see not only Confederates, but Columbus, Jefferson, Washington, and their blood boils to a degree that would ignite the very sun. One day, you'll get to fell the Washington Monument too, BUT, not today.

What.

[Ancestral Republican]

It can be "preserved" in a museum, absolutely, where that history can be contextualized within the scope of Confederate atrocities.

Angrier about the Civil War than even the men who fought it. I love modern day academic leftists. At all times seething. Raging. They see not only Confederates, but Columbus, Jefferson, Washington, and their blood boils to a degree that would ignite the very sun. One day, you'll get to fell the Washington Monument too, BUT, not today.

What.

I'm starting to suspect this guy isn't planning to vote Obama in 2024.

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

Back then there was nothing to do but fight in wars and women had to have kids, but if their sons were injured or killed in a war that wanted to preserve slavery the majority of Americans would be against it

[Sumner 1868]

I know Jerry is a sock, but it is still worth noting a major goal of the CSA was conquering as much of the Caribbean and South America as possible to form a grand tropical slavery-based empire. And then we can get into how the CSA they treated counties that wished to remain in the Union.

[All Along The Watchtower]

This is from the actual survey results, not merely the Axios ragebait headline.

Nearly all Americans support “efforts to tell the truth about the history of slavery, violence, and discrimination against racial minorities in your community” (90%) and eight in ten support “efforts to promote racial healing by creating more inclusive public spaces in your community” (79%). Additionally, just under three-quarters support efforts that reconfigure or reimagine public spaces, so they better represent everyone” (74%) and “efforts to repair the damage done by past violence or discrimination against racial minorities” (72%). There are no differences between Southerners and Americans residing in the rest of the country.

Support for each of the four positions has remained relatively stable among Democrats, Republicans, and independents since 2022. Democrats nearly unanimously support each position (96%, 94%, 93%, and 90%, respectively). Republicans are most likely to support efforts to tell the truth about the history of slavery, violence, and discrimination against racial minorities (87%), followed by efforts to promote racial healing through inclusive public spaces (64%). More than half of Republicans still support efforts to reconfigure public spaces so they better represent everyone (56%) and efforts to repair damage caused by past violence or discrimination (53%). Independents’ support across all statements closely resembles all Americans (91%, 81%, 77%, and 72%, respectively).

https://www.prri.org/research/creating-more-inclusive-public-spaces-two-years-later/#page-section-9

I'm pleasantly surprised by a lot of this!

[Badger]

The “Lost” cause is used to disparag southerners and those of us who are against totalitarean forms of government. FACT: The South succeeded because of slavery. FACT: The north invaded a soverein nation and started the civil war.

Pound salt, you traitor slavery apologist. God bless the UNITEDS States of America.

[LBJer]

My 8th Grade US History Teacher, in suposdely liberal California, said the Civil War was about states's rights, not slavery and had the confederate flag up.


And he went to a public university for his undergrad, San Diego State.

I’ve noticed a lot of history teachers can be weirdos. Wehraboos and such too.

The Lost Cause mythology was the default historiography of the Civil War for most of the 20th century, even outside of the South.

Honestly this is fairly impressive, given the vague poll wording and the fact that taking down statues tends to be unpopular. Tbh, I don't really get people who want to keep Confederate statues up; they generally are artistically dull and were typically erected as part of the instantiation of Jim Crow. Nothing appealing about them!

The fact that this is true yet Lincoln was also lionized, even in the South eventually as they continued to vote firmly against his party, has always struck me as an odd bit of doublethink. I guess people preferred to think of the Civil War as a tragic “many fine people on both sides” situation rather than accept that many of their fellow countrymen were willing to kill them to protect an evil institution.

I don't think this view is obviously false.  Yes, slavery itself was definitely "evil."  But that's not how most Southern whites saw it at the time--they were living in a culture that had become highly dependent on it and, as a reaction against increasing criticism, had become very self-righteous and strident in defending it.  There was virtually no counter to this in the South by the time of the Civil War.  That's quite different from the world neo-Nazis rioting in the early 21st century have lived in. 

Additionally, I find the "were willing to kill them" misleading.  It sounds like those who fought for the Union were sitting around their dinner tables or sleeping in their beds while Confederates walked up and shot them.  This was a war. In war people on each side try to kill or wound those on the other (although in this case, those on the Union side were doing so for morally much better reasons than those on the Confederate side).

I have little tolerance for the "Lost Cause" apologia.  But it shouldn't be replaced by a blanket demonization of everyone who fought for or otherwise supported the Confederacy.  Such an approach is itself inaccurate.

[Obama24]

The “Lost” cause is used to disparag southerners and those of us who are against totalitarean forms of government. FACT: The South succeeded because of slavery. FACT: The north invaded a soverein nation and started the civil war.

Pound salt, you traitor slavery apologist. God bless the UNITEDS States of America.

Literally angrier than Ulysses Grant was about the rebels. Literally still fighting a war from 150 years ago. It's sad to have left wing views when other leftists are such angry people.

[Obama24]

It can be "preserved" in a museum, absolutely, where that history can be contextualized within the scope of Confederate atrocities.

Angrier about the Civil War than even the men who fought it. I love modern day academic leftists. At all times seething. Raging. They see not only Confederates, but Columbus, Jefferson, Washington, and their blood boils to a degree that would ignite the very sun. One day, you'll get to fell the Washington Monument too, BUT, not today.

What.

I'm starting to suspect this guy isn't planning to vote Obama in 2024.

The left wing in 2012 weren't Jacobin in nature or would be Cultural Revolutionaries who hate not only the bad parts of this country's history, but every facet of it and the entirety of Western civilization's history. Obama by comparison to your average post 2015 leftist looks like Goldwater. Even Bernie is a bit too right wing by the standards of the academic left.

[Ancestral Republican]

It can be "preserved" in a museum, absolutely, where that history can be contextualized within the scope of Confederate atrocities.

Angrier about the Civil War than even the men who fought it. I love modern day academic leftists. At all times seething. Raging. They see not only Confederates, but Columbus, Jefferson, Washington, and their blood boils to a degree that would ignite the very sun. One day, you'll get to fell the Washington Monument too, BUT, not today.

What.

I'm starting to suspect this guy isn't planning to vote Obama in 2024.

The left wing in 2012 weren't Jacobin in nature or would be Cultural Revolutionaries who hate not only the bad parts of this country's history, but every facet of it and the entirety of Western civilization's history. Obama by comparison to your average post 2015 leftist looks like Goldwater. Even Bernie is a bit too right wing by the standards of the academic left.

Seek help, genuinely.

[Obama24]

It can be "preserved" in a museum, absolutely, where that history can be contextualized within the scope of Confederate atrocities.

Angrier about the Civil War than even the men who fought it. I love modern day academic leftists. At all times seething. Raging. They see not only Confederates, but Columbus, Jefferson, Washington, and their blood boils to a degree that would ignite the very sun. One day, you'll get to fell the Washington Monument too, BUT, not today.

What.

I'm starting to suspect this guy isn't planning to vote Obama in 2024.

The left wing in 2012 weren't Jacobin in nature or would be Cultural Revolutionaries who hate not only the bad parts of this country's history, but every facet of it and the entirety of Western civilization's history. Obama by comparison to your average post 2015 leftist looks like Goldwater. Even Bernie is a bit too right wing by the standards of the academic left.

Seek help, genuinely.

Have a visit to Tiktok sometime - And you'll see what I mean.