On the history of Confederate monuments and their contemporary support

Confederate symbols have been at the center of a contentious public debate for many years. Opponents of Confederate symbols argue that they are symbols of a racist and oppressive history and should be removed as a way to acknowledge and confront the legacy of white supremacy in the United States. Supporters argue that the symbols are an important part of Southern history and should be preserved, often using the argument that they represent “heritage, not hate”. However, there is reason to be cautious of this argument. Here, we test the claim made in the “heritage, not hate” argument that hate is not at all a part of Confederate symbols. We consider the historical and contemporary meaning of Confederate symbols. First, we provide evidence that historically, Confederate symbols are associated with hate. We do so by linking Confederate symbols with lynching, an explicitly racist and violent practice. Second, with survey data, we find that contemporary support for Confederate symbols is predicted by hate, contrary to the “heritage, not hate” argument. Third, an experimental study suggests that manipulating Southern pride does not have a direct impact on support for Confederate symbols. Taken together, these studies suggest that the “heritage, not hate” argument ignores a truthful accounting of the historical and contemporary factors underlying support for Confederate symbols. Instead, the studies suggest that Confederate symbols are tied to hate.

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