How many times have we all seen Bo, Luke, and Daisy flying through the air, or narrowly avoiding disaster at ninety miles an hour? Everyone loves the Dukes of Hazzard and their infamous car, the General Lee, but have we ever stopped to think about the implications of the Confederate flag that appears on top of their brilliant orange ‘69 Dodge Charger? It seems that someone finally did.
The battle flag of the Confederate Army still flies today in many different places. This includes the states of Georgia, South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, and Arkansas. While that thought may be disturbing enough to some, this symbol also tends to be associated with white supremacy groups, such as the KKK. This flag has begun to pose a problem for some of the residents in these states. Finally, residents have begun to get some response towards their propositions to change this precarious flag.
Before we go on, it must be stressed that the Confederate flag we all know (and may or may not love) was only one of many battle flags flown by the battalions of the Confederate Army. It is not, as we uneducated northerners may think, the national flag of the seceded southern states. The Confederate National flag was changed three times during the course of the war with the Union, whose armies naturally flew the good old stars and stripes. The original Confederate national flag was called the "stars and bars," but was changed to avoid confusion on the field between the opposing troops.
The "southern cross," which is the topic of controversy in the southern states that still fly the offensive flag, originally stems from the heritage of the people that made up much of the southern states’ white population: Scottish and Irish. It is actually St. Andrew’s Cross; St. Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland, and was crucified on a cross in the X position. The stars on the cross are for the eleven states that managed to secede fully from the Union, making them part of the Confederate States of America, and two for Kentucky and Missouri who never managed to fully secede. This design turned out to be much more practical than the "stars and bars" on the battlefield because there was no way of confusing it with the stars and stripes in the heat of battle. For a short period in between the "stars and bars’ and the final flag, there was a design issued with the southern cross small in the upper left hand corner on a plain white background. The Confederate Army soon found out that this was easily mistaken for a surrender flag. Thus, a red bar was added to the final version to correct this flaw.
Another interesting tidbit would be the fact that the "southern cross" has NOT been flown continuously in any of the southern states since the end of the civil war. Many of the states that fly some version of the Confederate flag adopted it in the 1950’s and 60’s as a stand against desegregation.
On January 30, 2001 Georgia which would change the design of their state flag. Previously, the flag at the top of the statehouse dome had one third of it’s area allotted to the official seal of Georgia, and the other two thirds consisted of the "southern cross." This particular design for the state flag, adopted in 1956, did indeed represent a forceful protest against integration of the races. These suspicions are confirmed by Denmark Groover, now 78 years old, who was the House floor speaker at the time of the raising of the southern cross. "It’s time to end this cauldron of discord that adversely affects our lives and the future of our children and grandchildren," reflects the retired Groover.
Unlike Groover, who is pushing for the removal of the confederate flag from South Carolinan state property, the state itself is looking to honor the flag. On April 12, 2000, South Carolina passed a bill that would move that flag from it's present location at the State House Dome Center, to the base of the Wade Hampton Statue. This statue was built for honor and remembrance of the confederate war soliders who died during the war. Flying the flag at the statue would be to memorialize the confederate flag.
On May 18, 2000, the final bill was accepted in the House, and signed by Governor Jim Hogdges. The bill called for the flag to be altered from the rectangular shape, that flags are commonly seen as, to a more traditional, square battle flag shape. The bill also ensured that the flag pole would be no more than thirty feet high. It was hoped that the move would appease all concerned, but an economic boycott on the fourteen billion dollar per year tourist industry is still in effect. Currently there is pressure from the NAACP to completely remove the flag from all state property
Things are not quite so sticky just a little further west in the great state of Mississippi, due to a recent discovery that the flag was never actually adopted into state law. Since then, there has been a push from African American legislators to follow suit with Georgia and South Carolina. The unofficial Mississippi state flag, which incorporates the confederate flag in its design, has been in place since 1894. On April 17, 2001 state residents will vote to determine the fate of this symbolic and controversial flag.
The foremost argument in Mississippi revolves around the fact that a flag is simply a banner under which people will unite. The controversy alone should be sufficient reason to change the state flag.
So, how do we northerners, and supporters of the Union’s stars and stripes feel about this new battle involving the Confederate flag? Is it full of historical significance, a reminder of what was done so wrongly in the past, or is it an expression of the ideals of a generation of aristocratic, slave-owning, white men?
What an historical emblem is, in the minds of the government, rests uneasily with many of its people. Is the flag an abhorrent reminder--negligence on the part of the state governments--or an outright symbol of hate flying on top of the capitol buildings down south? Remember, Bo and Luke were in no way racist, and they loved the paint job on their car. Progress is being made, and we will find out soon enough how the rest of the country views it.
