Modern display of the Confederate battle flag facts for kids
Although the Confederate States of America was dissolved at the end of the American Civil War (1861–1865), its battle flag continues to receive modern display. The modern display began during the 1948 United States presidential election when it was used by the Dixiecrats, a political party that opposed civil rights for African Americans and supported racial segregation. Further display of the flag was a response to the civil rights movement and the passage of federal civil rights laws in the 1950s and 1960s.
The display of flags associated with the Confederacy is widely controversial. Supporters associate the Confederate battle flag with pride in Southern heritage, states' rights, and historical commemoration of the Civil War, while opponents associate it with glorification of the Civil War and celebrating the Myth of the Lost Cause, racism, slavery, segregation, white supremacy, intimidation of African Americans, historical negationism, and treason. Incidents such as the Unite the Right Rally and the murder of George Floyd led to public bans against the flag and official display mostly retired.
Background
National flags
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The Confederate States of America used three national flags during the American Civil War from 1861 to 1865, known as the "Stars and Bars" (1861–1863), the "Stainless Banner" (1863–65), and the "Blood-Stained Banner" (1865).
The "Stars and Bars" was unpopular among Confederates for its resemblance to the United States flag, which caused confusion during battle. Criticism of the first national flag led to the rise of the battle flag design, which was incorporated by the "Stainless Banner" and "Blood-Stained Banner". Both of these national designs also failed to gain traction in the South. The "Stainless Banner" was criticized for its excessive white design, creating fears that it could be mistaken for a flag of truce and causing it to be easily soiled. The "Blood-Stained Banner", issued a little over a month before the Confederacy's surrender, was seldom used due to few flags being manufactured.
The vernacular "Confederate flag"
Designed by William Porcher Miles, the chairman of the Flag and Seal Committee of the Confederate Provisional Congress, the flag now generally known as the "Confederate flag" was first proposed and rejected as the national flag in 1861. However, the design was adopted as a battle flag by the Army of Northern Virginia (ANV) under General Robert E. Lee and grew in popularity throughout the Confederacy.
To conserve material, the ANV changed Miles' design from a rectangle to a square for the battle flag. The rectangular version, similar to the battle flag used by the Army of Tennessee under General Joseph E. Johnston, is the most popular today and common in modern reproductions. Despite never having historically represented the Confederacy as a country nor been officially recognized as one of its flags, it is commonly referred to as "the Confederate Flag" and has become a widely recognized symbol of the American South. It is also called the "rebel flag", "Dixie flag", "Confederate battle flag", or "Southern cross". Opponents of the flag have referred to it as the "Dixie swastika". Due to misconceptions of this design being the Confederacy's national flag, it is often incorrectly called the "Stars and Bars" after the original national design. The self-declared Confederate exclave of Town Line, New York, lacking a genuine Confederate flag, flew a version of this flag prior to its 1946 vote to ceremonially rejoin the Union.
Official usage in Southern U.S. states
In the years after the end of the American Civil War, many former slave states that were members of the Confederacy adopted new state flags during the war. In their new flags' designs, motifs were used in the Confederacy's flags, such as the St. Andrew's cross. In the case of Mississippi, Florida, and Alabama these new state flags were adopted around the same time that new Jim Crow segregation laws were being enacted. These laws, combined with poll taxes, literacy tests, and extrajudicial violence, disenfranchised African American voters for the next ninety years. According to historian John M. Coski:
The flag changes in Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida coincided with the passage of formal Jim Crow segregation laws throughout the South. Four years before Mississippi incorporated a Confederate battle flag into its state flag, its constitutional convention passed pioneering provisions to 'reform' politics by effectively disenfranchising most African Americans.
State flags
Alabama
The current Flag of Alabama (the second in Alabama state history) was adopted by Act 383 of the Alabama state legislature on February 16, 1895:
The flag of the State of Alabama shall be a crimson cross of St. Andrew on a field of white. The bars forming the cross shall be not less than six inches broad, and must extend diagonally across the flag from side to side." – (Code 1896, §3751; Code 1907, §2058; Code 1923, §2995; Code 1940, T. 55, §5.)
An article in the October 1917 National Geographic magazine posited that "the purpose in inacting the state flag law was to preserve in permanent form some of the distinctive features of the Confederate Battle Flag."
Arkansas
The flag of Arkansas contains four blue stars within a diamond representing the four countries that historically controlled the territory; one of these stars represents the Confederate States of America. The design of the border around the white diamond evokes the saltire found on the Confederate battle flag. In 2019, the Arkansas legislature did not approve a bill that would have redefined the star as referring to Native Americans.
Florida
The current flag of Florida, adopted by popular referendum in 1900, with minor changes in 1985, contains the Cross of Burgundy. It is believed that the Cross was added in memory of, and showing support for, the Confederacy. The addition of the Cross was proposed by Governor Francis P. Fleming, a former Confederate soldier, who was strongly committed to racial segregation. However, some historians believe the flag dates back to the original flag the Spanish flew over Florida in the 16th century.
Georgia
In 1956 the Georgian state flag was redesigned to incorporate the Confederate battle flag. Following protests over this aspect of the design in the 1990s by the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) and other groups, efforts began in the Georgia General Assembly to remove the battle flag from the state flag's design. These efforts succeeded in January 2001 when Georgia Governor Roy Barnes introduced a design that, though continuing to depict the Battle Flag, significantly reduced its prominence.
The following year, amidst dwindling demands for the return of the 1956 design ("Battle Flag" version) and lesser opposing demands for the continued use of the new "Barnes'" design, the Georgia General Assembly redesigned the flag yet again; it adopted a "compromise" design using the 13-star First National Flag of the Confederacy (the "Stars and Bars"), combined with a simplified version of Georgia's state seal placed within the circle of 13 stars on the flag's canton.
The city flag of Trenton, Georgia, United States, was adopted in 2001 as a protest following the change of the state flag of Georgia. The flag has been controversial because it incorporates the Confederate Battle Flag.
Mississippi
The Confederate battle flag became a part of the flag of Mississippi in 1894. In 1906, the flag statutes were omitted by error from the state's new legal code, leaving Mississippi without an official flag. The omission was not discovered until 1993 when a lawsuit filed by the NAACP regarding the flag was being reviewed by the Supreme Court of Mississippi. In 2000, Governor Ronnie Musgrove issued an executive order making the flag official, which it did in February 2001. After continued controversy, the decision was turned over to citizens of the state, who, on April 17, 2001, voted 2:1 to keep the Confederate Battle Flag a part of the current state flag.
During the George Floyd protests, more discussion about changing the flag was held, with legislation being introduced into the state legislature. On June 27, 2020, the Mississippi Legislature voted to suspend rules in order to debate over and vote on a bill to address the flag issue. On June 28, both houses passed a bill to abolish the state flag, remove the flag from public institutions within 15 days of its enactment, and create a nine-member commission to design a replacement that would exclude the Confederate battle flag and include the motto "In God We Trust". Governor Tate Reeves signed the bill into law on June 30, 2020.
North Carolina
The first flag of North Carolina, which was adopted in 1861, had two ribbons. On one of the ribbons is emblazoned "May 20th, 1775". The other one had the inscription "May 20, 1861".
The new flag, which was adopted in 1885, has a modified design with other colors, and the date of the North Carolina's secession was replaced by "April 12, 1776".
Tennessee
The current Flag of Tennessee was designed by Colonel Lee Roy Reeves, an attorney and officer of the Tennessee National Guard. The flag was officially adopted in 1905, replacing the original post-Civil War state flag. Although the symbolism is reported as referencing only the State of Tennessee, its color scheme, symbolism, and design evoke the Confederacy's flags. The red field and blue charge with white fimbriation evoke the Confederate Battle Flag. The placement of the vertical bar at the fly of the field evokes the Third National Flag of the Confederacy. The language the designer used to describe the three central stars ('the indissoluble trinity', albeit regarding the three 'Grand Divisions of Tennessee') and their central placement evokes the cross of St. Andrew of the Confederate Battle Flag. Vexillologist Steven A. Knowlton, an assistant professor and collection development librarian of the University Libraries of the University of Memphis, believes the relationship of the current Tennessee State Flag and the flags of the Confederacy is one of "pragmatic unity" with a "deeper symbolic recognition" linking it to the Confederacy. While there is no explicit evidence of any intention on the part of the designer to create a link, Knowlton believes many Tennesseans have perceived and continue to perceive a link, given the cultural and historical context. Christopher Ingraham of the Brookings Institution, citing Professor Knowlton, considers this a case of "plausible deniability" and that the flag is one of seven state flags visually continuing the legacy of the Confederacy.
State symbol
Stone Mountain, Georgia, is a "monument to the Confederacy" that was paid for and is owned by the state of Georgia. Stone Mountain Park opened 100 years to the day after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. It is the most visited destination in the state of Georgia.
Four flags of the Confederacy are flown at Stone Mountain. In addition, the Stone Mountain Memorial Lawn "contains...thirteen terraces — one for each Confederate state.... Each terrace flies the flag that the state flew as member of the Confederacy."
State seals
The first Confederate flag and five other nations that have had sovereignty over Texas (Spain, France, Mexico, Republic of Texas, United States) appear above one of the side entrances to the Capitol. They also appear on the reverse of the Seal of Texas, which is the subject of a floor mosaic in the Capitol Extension. The seal's reverse was proposed by the Daughters of the Republic of Texas and approved by the Texas Legislature and Governor in 1961, modified in 1991.
The Alabamian coat of arms features the Confederate battle flag's saltire in its design. Like Texas, the saltire on the coat of arms represents one of the five countries that have held sovereignty over part or all of Alabama.
The shield of the Confederacy was found in the Rotunda of the Florida Capitol, together with those of France, Spain, Great Britain, and the United States – all of them treated equally as "nations" that Florida was part of or governed by. The five flags "that have flown in Florida" were included on the official Senate seal, displayed prominently in the Senate chambers, on its stationery, and throughout the Capitol. On October 19, 2015, the Senate agreed to change the seal to remove the Confederate battle flag. The new (2016) Senate seal has only the flags of the United States and Florida.
Vehicle license plates
In Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee, vehicle owners can request a state-issued license plate featuring the Sons of Confederate Veterans logo, which incorporates the square Confederate battle flag.
In 1998, a North Carolina appellate court upheld the issuance of such license plates in the case Sons of Confederate v. DMV, noting: "We are aware of the sensitivity of many of our citizens to the display of the Confederate flag. Whether the display of the Confederate flag on state-issued license plates represents sound public policy is not an issue presented to this Court in this case. That is an issue for our General Assembly."
In 2015, the dispute over Texas vanity plates that would have displayed the logo ended up before the United States Supreme Court. In its decision in Walker v. Texas Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans, the court ruled that license plates are governmental speech, so the government may decide what to have printed on them. Texas's refusal to issue flag-emblazoned license plates therefore didn't violate petitioners' right to free speech.
In 2015, Virginia recalled its vanity plates with the Confederate flag emblem pictured within the logo of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. To holders of SCV plates, the state mailed replacements without the emblem. The old design with the emblem was invalidated, and driving with such Virginia tags was made a misdemeanor similar to driving an unlicensed vehicle. However, in October 2015, an SCV legal team tried fighting the ban in court.
Display at the South Carolina State Capitol
The Confederate battle flag was raised over the State House on April 11, 1961, at the request of Representative John May ostensibly as a part of opening celebrations of the Confederate War Centennial, according to Dr. Daniel Hollis, an appointed member of the centennial commission. Many historians point out that the flag's appearance likely had a more nefarious purpose: to symbolize Southern defiance in the face of a burgeoning Civil Rights Movement. In March 1962, lawmakers passed a resolution directing the flag to be flown over the State House. As Time magazine later noted, the move was "a states'-rights rebuff to desegregation." In 1996, then-governor David Beasley advocated for the removal of the flag from the Capitol dome, but later backtracked and was voted out of office.
On April 12, 2000, the South Carolina State Senate passed a bill to remove the Confederate flag from the top of the State House dome by a majority vote of 36 to 7. The new bill specified that a more traditional version of the battle flag would be flown in front of the Capitol next to a monument honoring fallen Confederate soldiers. The bill also passed the state's House of Representatives, but not without some difficulty. On May 18, 2000, after the bill was modified to ensure that the height of the flag's new pole would be 30 feet (9 m), it was passed by a majority of 66 to 43. Governor Jim Hodges signed the bill into law five days later after it passed the state Senate. On July 1, 2000, the flag was removed from atop the State House by two students (one white and one black) from The Citadel; Civil War re-enactors then raised a Confederate battle flag on a 30-foot pole on the front lawn of the Capitol next to a slightly taller monument honoring Confederate soldiers who died during the Civil War. State law prohibited the flag's removal from the State House grounds without additional legislation.
In 2005, two Western Carolina University researchers found that 74% of African Americans polled favored removing the flag from the State House altogether. The NAACP and other civil rights groups attacked the flag's continued presence at the state capitol. The NAACP maintained an official economic boycott of South Carolina for 15 years, citing the state's continued display of the battle flag, until the flag was eventually removed completely from the State House grounds.
In 2000, the National Collegiate Athletic Association "announced that it will cancel future Association-sponsored events in South Carolina if that state doesn't take action to remove the Confederate battle flag from atop its state capitol." The association said that "many coaches and student-athletes feel that an inhospitable environment is created by the display of the Confederate flag over the South Carolina state house", and its chair said, "there is no question that to a significant number of our constituents, the flag is a symbol of oppression." Display of the flag has prevented South Carolina from hosting any championship sporting events in which the sites are determined in advance. This NCAA ban on postseason championships in South Carolina was strictly enforced, with the exception of HBCU Benedict College. In both 2007 and 2009, the school hosted the postseason Pioneer Bowl game, violating the NCAA ban, though no action was taken. On July 6, 2009, the Atlantic Coast Conference announced a decision to move three future baseball tournaments out of South Carolina citing miscommunications with the NAACP concerning the display of the Confederate flag in the state.
In June 2015, Bree Newsome, filmmaker and activist, climbed the flagpole and removed the flag.
On July 10, 2015, Republican governor Nikki Haley ordered the flag removed, and it was given to the South Carolina Confederate Relic Room & Military Museum.
July 10 a flash point in Columbia
Dueling groups have been competing over the commemoration of the flag, if any, should be held on the anniversaries of its removal on July 10. After 2015, the South Carolina Secessionist Party has sometimes raised the flag on a temporary flagpole at the capitol on July 10 to mark the anniversary of the flag's removal. This was permitted because the group applied for and got permission to hold an event on the Capitol grounds, the flag was never left unattended, and the temporary flagpole and flag were removed, as required, at the end of the event. Protestors far outnumbered the two dozen flag supporters.
- In 2019, the permit of the South Carolina Secessionist Party was only valid from 6 to 8 AM, as a competing group, South Carolinians for Racial Justice, having requested it earlier than the Secessionists, had reserved the rest of the day specifically so that the flag could not be erected.
- In 2020, competing applications were received simultaneously. The State House Memorial Honor Guard flew the flag from 8 to 11:45 AM; the South Carolina Secessionist Party is defunct.
Remington, Virginia
From 1985 to late 2020, the town of Remington, Virginia, had a Confederate flag in its municipal seal. A variation of the seal, Confederate flag included, appeared on their police uniform shoulder patches.
The Remington town council voted to remove the Confederate flag from its seal on July 20, 2020. Remington was perhaps the last town to remove the Confederate flag from its municipal emblem.
Official use in Americana, Brazil
From 1975 to 1998, a version of the Confederate battle flag appeared in the coat of arms and flag of Americana, São Paulo, Brazil, a city settled by Confederate expatriates.
Presence in other parts of the world
American culture is exported all over the world and as a result, noticeable display of the Confederate flag is not confined to North America. Various overseas groups, movements and communities make use of it, albeit sporadically in most instances. Much like in the United States, the flag is displayed for range of reasons, but is most often associated with slavery and racism. In Germany and Poland, countries where most symbols of the Third Reich are prohibited by law; far-right and Neo-Nazi groups often fly the Confederate flag at rallies as a stand in. In Italy, some Southern soccer fans display the Confederate flag as a symbol of Southern Italy's long-standing dissatisfaction with the North.
As in the U.S., some display the flag as a light-hearted symbol of "rebellion"; without latching any significant political meaning to it. Fans of both Cork GAA and Cork F.C., have waved the flag at intercounty and league matches; reflecting the nickname of County Cork as "the Rebel County" for its prominence in historical Irish rebellions, and red as the county color GAA Hurling is the most popular sport in Ireland, and the Cork team is called "The Rebels." In 2017, the Cork GAA president appealed to fans not to use such flags, and his successor in 2020 said they would in future be confiscated at Cork stadiums. While the Republic of Ireland is noted for a lack of nativist or far-right activism; Northern Ireland, in contrast has long suffered, often violently, from sectarian division. Confederate symbols, including the battle flag, are often utilized by Ulster Loyalists on far-right. These groups usually passively condone the flag's association with racism and white supremacy, while also invoking the shared Ulster-Scot heritage between some leaders of the Confederacy and Northern Irish Protestants. Several loyalist paramilitary groups have been known to display confederate symbols; most notably the Red Hand Defenders, a designated terrorist group in the U.S., Ireland and the U.K. for their role in sectarian violence, including murder, during the 1990s.
The car-centered subculture raggare of Sweden sometimes use the flags on their vehicles and clothing as a kitsch symbol to represent America, without political meanings, along with other American symbols such as cowboy hats, old American muscle cars and other Americana.
In none of these instances is the Confederate flag necessarily a long-standing or ubiquitous symbol of the movement or group known for either now or in the past openly displaying it. Both Southern Italian and Cork sports fans display other, most often local symbols, far more widely than they have the confederate flag. For far-right groups outside of the U.S., the Confederate flag is only one of several flags prominently displayed, often alongside those of other historical imperial and/or fascist regimes associated with white supremacy, such as the many flags associated with White and Apartheid South Africa and Rhodesia.
Removals due to the George Floyd protests
After both the Southeastern Conference and the NCAA threatened to ban games in Mississippi until the flag was changed, the Mississippi Legislature passed a bill in June 2020 to abolish the state flag, remove it from public institutions within 15 days of enactment, and create a nine-member commission to design a replacement that would exclude the battle flag and include the motto "In God We Trust". Governor Tate Reeves signed the bill into law on June 30, 2020. The flag commission accepted submissions for a new design from the public and the winner was put to a referendum on November 3, 2020. Mississippi voters overwhelmingly approved the measure; the new flag went into effect on January 11, 2021.
