Confederate Flag
The Confederate flag encompasses various designs used by the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War (1861–65), most notably the battle flag associated with General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. This flag features a blue diagonal cross with white stars on a red background and has evolved into a controversial symbol linked to Southern identity and, for many, to racism and White supremacy due to its historical ties to the pro-slavery Confederate cause. Over the decades, especially in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, the flag has sparked intense debate regarding its public representation amid ongoing discussions about racial injustice in America. Instances such as the 2015 mass shooting in Charleston, South Carolina, and the subsequent removal of the flag from the state capitol highlight the evolving perception of the flag as a relic of a painful past. In recent years, movements like Black Lives Matter have reignited calls for the removal of the flag from public spaces, further complicated by its presence during the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot, which showcased its association with extremist groups. While some defend the flag as a symbol of Southern heritage, it remains a deeply polarizing emblem reflective of America's struggle with its historical narrative.
Confederate Flag
The Confederate flag refers to several different flag designs flown by the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War (1861–65). The most widely recognized incarnation is the "battle flag" flown by Confederate general Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, featuring a blue diagonal cross containing white stars on a red background. After the war the design became popular as a general symbol of Southern identity, but also remained linked to the pro-slavery Confederate cause and therefore to White supremacism.
In the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, use of the Confederate flag became increasingly controversial amid ongoing debates about racism in America. In particular, official usage of the flag by Southern states—including its incorporation in state flags and its flying over South Carolina's state capitol building—was heavily criticized due to it's historical connections to slavery and racism. A 2015 race-based mass shooting in South Carolina led the state legislature to vote to remove the flag from capitol grounds. In 2020 controversy over the flag's symbolism and debates regarding its public presence and display became prominent once more amid widespread protests focused on racial injustice.
History of the Flag
The Civil War began in 1861 with the secession of seven Southern states, collectively known as the Confederate States of America, from the Union. Their primary grievance was the federal government's power over the rights of states that the South claimed would eventually eliminate the institution of slavery from Southern life. The North then went to war to recover the South, marking the beginning of the Civil War.
Stars and Bars
The Confederacy soon recognized its need for an official flag to distinguish itself as an independent political entity. In March 1861, it approved its first national flag, known as the "stars and bars." The upper left corner of the flag featured a circle of seven white stars, representing the original seceding states, against a blue background. The rest of the flag consisted of two red horizontal bars with a white bar between them.
The stars and bars soon presented problems for the Confederacy, however. The flag too closely resembled the flag of the Union, and Confederate soldiers were becoming confused on the battlefield. Realizing that this confusion could prove fatal in combat, the Confederate government began seeking a new national emblem by 1862.
Stainless Banner
The Confederacy then turned to an existing flag design, a battle flag created by Confederate politician William Porcher Miles. This flag featured white stars inside a diagonal blue cross that was emblazoned across a red background.
This flag had been flown by General Robert E. Lee, commander of the Army of Northern Virginia, since early in the war. Lee's numerous dramatic victories against the Union in 1862 and 1863 had rallied many Confederates to the war effort. By this point, Lee himself had come to symbolize Confederate pride.
It followed, therefore, in 1863 that Lee's battle flag should be appropriated to become part of the second national flag of the Confederacy. This was a white flag with a small version of the crossed battle flag in the upper left corner. Known informally as the Stainless Banner, the flag was officially adopted by the Confederacy on May 1, 1863.
Blood-Stained Banner
The Confederacy flew the Stainless Banner into early 1865, though it sometimes presented a unique problem. On windless days, the flag hung straight down, hiding the red and blue area, which made the flag appear to be a white flag of surrender.
To fix this, the Confederate government added a wide red stripe to the end of the flag and called the new design the "Blood-Stained Banner." Confederate armies flew this third national flag for the last several months of the war. The Confederacy surrendered to the Union in April 1865.
Post-War Confederate Flag
After the war, the Confederate flag in all its forms quickly fell into obscurity, being resurrected only sporadically for memorials for deceased Confederate soldiers. The flag reentered mainstream American consciousness in 1948, when South Carolina politician Strom Thurmond ran for president as a candidate for the States' Rights Democratic Party.
Thurmond opposed the African American civil rights movement that was then beginning in the United States, instead supporting continued racial segregation. At campaign events, Thurmond's followers waved the Confederate battle flag, the flag of Lee's army, to show their support. The States' Rights Democratic Party later adopted the flag to demonstrate its opposition to the racial integration programs the federal government was introducing.
The 1954 Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education, which fully integrated all public schools in the country, began another resurgence of the Confederate battle flag in the South. Georgia adopted a kind of Confederate flag as its state flag in 1956 to protest the decision, while the growing public popularity of the flag prompted merchants to begin placing its design on all manner of products, from t-shirts to beach towels. The flag was also increasingly adopted by overt White supremacists throughout the United States and even around the world.
In 1961, the Alabama state legislature raised the Confederate battle flag over its state capitol building to mark the 100th anniversary of the start of the Civil War. South Carolina did the same over its statehouse the next year. In 2000, the South Carolina legislature passed the Heritage Act, ruling that the flag could not be removed from capitol grounds without a two-thirds majority vote in the legislature to do so.
The presence of the Confederate flag at the South Carolina capitol generated much controversy over subsequent years. Supporters of the flag asserted it was a symbol of Southern culture and pride. Opponents argued the flag perpetuated racism and represented the state government's efforts to impede civil rights progress.
The question of whether the Confederate flag should fly over the South Carolina capitol was raised again in June 2015, after a man shot and killed nine Black individuals in the city of Charleston. Many state citizens then began calling for the flag's removal, saying it was part of the South's racist past. On July 9, 2015, after hours of debate, the South Carolina legislature voted to remove the flag from capitol grounds. The removal ceremony the next day was widely attended. Many attendees praised the state's decision to remove the flag. They believed it represented progress on the issue of race relations in the United States.
After an unarmed Black man, George Floyd, died in police custody in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in May 2020, the issue of publicly displaying the Confederate flag became prominent again as protests against racial injustice erupted in cities all over the country. In addition to other calls for action, such as police reform, activists including those affiliated with the Black Lives Matter movement heavily advocated for the removal from public places of symbols such as Confederate monuments and the Confederate flag as they were seen as connected to racism. In June, the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) announced that it was officially imposing a ban on Confederate flags on its properties and at its events. Later that same month, the governor of Mississippi, which had long flown a state flag including the Confederate battle flag emblem, signed a bill requiring that the state flag be changed. At the same time, the US Marine Corps released directives regarding the removal of the Confederate flag and any displays focused on the flag from its buildings and vessels. That July the US Department of Defense released rules about what flags could be displayed at US military installations, creating a de facto ban on the Confederate flag. Though many praised such moves, others continued to defend the Confederate flag as representative of Southern heritage.
The Confederate flag was again in the spotlight after it was prominently displayed by some of the rioters who stormed the US Capitol building on January 6, 2021. This unprecedented act of insurrection was carried out by supporters of President Donald Trump in an effort to overturn Trump's loss in the 2020 presidential election. Observers noted that even Confederate soldiers during the Civil War had not been able to bring their battle flag to the center of the United States government. Investigations later suggested that various White supremacist groups, including the Proud Boys, were key organizers of the violent attack, which left five people dead. To many, the use of the Confederate flag in the incident reinforced its status as a symbol of violent hatred and anti-American sentiment.
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