You're Probably Wrong About Confederate Monuments 

Hello everyone! It's been one year since I made this video, and what a year it's been. Ironically, just a couple of short weeks after filming this, statues once again popped up in the American news cycle as worldwide protests intensified following the murder of George Floyd. But it wasn’t just Confederate monuments in the crosshairs - it was just about any statue deemed problematic. So unfortunately, certain aspects of the video quickly became dated, in particular the information regarding public opinion in 2017 at 6:21. At the time, I posted a correction/update in a pinned comment. Now that enough time has passed to view the events more soberly and objectively, I'd like to share my (probably unasked and unwanted) thoughts about the 2020 monuments controversy. Last summer, when protestors started toppling non-Confederate statues - including likenesses of Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Christopher Columbus, and others - those who had opposed the removal of Confederate symbols loudly gloated that the "slippery slope" argument had been vindicated. As they saw it, these malevolent anti-American protestors were never going to stop with Confederates, oh no! They would not rest until history was completely rewritten to fit their woke agenda. Have events since last summer borne that theory out? No, of course not. To be sure, protestors did destroy a few statues of slaveowning Founding Fathers (whose legacies are far more morally ambiguous than Confederates, in my opinion). They even took aim at a bust of Ulysses S. Grant in San Francisco. The months-long uprising in Portland, Oregon was especially dangerous for big bronze presidents, claiming such esteemed casualties as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. Wait, so you're telling me that leftist activists on the West Coast have a myopic view of American history? Whoa, that's crazy. And those activists, caught up in the heat of the moment and understandably outraged by four hundred years of black oppression in America, went a little too far and tore down a statue that maybe shouldn't have been torn down? Pull the other one! Here's my main question for the drunk uncles of America: where is the apocalyptic domino of toppled Founding Father statues you keep predicting will happen? If the communists over at Antifa, LLC are trying to destroy American history, they're doing a terrible job. Since the ferocity of last summer, only a couple of inoffensive statues have been removed, always peaceably and (it seems to me) for good reasons. The Emancipation statue in Boston for instance, despite being erected for all the right reasons, depicts a black man kneeling in gratitude at Lincoln's feet - yeah, maybe not a great look, and I can completely understand why the city of Boston would no longer want it on public display. Times change, and standards change. It's only natural that something that was innocuous 140 years ago might raise a few eyebrows today. And in all seriousness, I think the statues controversy last year was a terrible shame. Not because of the statues - they're hunks of metal - but because it allowed the enemies of progress to gain the initiative in the cultural conversation, and provided ammunition to the right-wing media, which thrives on fear and misinformation. Pundits on networks like Fox screamed that what these protests were really about was destroying America, and all that was good about America. See, they even tore down poor George Washington! Their audiences ate it up. All of a sudden, everyone was talking about historical memory and activists were on the defensive. Any notions of police reform, the protests' original aim, were quietly forgotten. Because, of course, this debate actually has next to nothing to do with statues themselves. They only seem to become important to modern day Americans (of any political persuasion) once they pop up in the news again. So during the next monuments controversy, just remember that it's never been about "preserving history." It's about depriving people of color of even the barest symbolic gesture. Oh, and if you're curious, my position has remained unchanged. If a local municipality wants to take down a statue, they should be able to, and if I don't live there then it's not my business.

I'm ok with confederate monuments as long as behind every monument there is a statue of Sherman, twice the height, spitting fire in random intervals.

“Stop obsessing about Hannibal’s crescent formation” I feel called out

I'm surprised you didn't bring up the fact that many of the statues and monuments in question were erected closer to present time than to the Civil War. While arguments could be made about original period monuments erected by veterans of the Civil War are historic, that argument cannot be made about Confederate statues erected in the 1960s and 70s in response to the Civil Rights Movement.

I love your passion for the Civil War. I'm in my 40s now but when I was 13, I was obsessed. I watched Gettysburg and the Ken Burns series dozens of times, owned a union uniform and had a photo of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain on my wall. Strangest 13 year girl anyone knew XD

The Grand Army of the Republic fought the Confederacy? I've heard this one before...

Fun fact: when Lincoln first read out the Gettysburg Address, he wasn’t happy with it. He thought it was a really stupid and underwhelming speech. He was actually quite shocked when people were like “nice job dude”

Germany remembers its History without making monuments to Himmler and Hitler ....

I think it's unamerican to have monuments to our enemies and their values, I really don't understand why anyone would want these around if not for racism.

My allegiance is to the Republic, to democracy! - A Union soldier, probably

In my town we have a statue of the confederacy, which is strange considering we actually voted to secede from Tennesee after it itself seceded from the union.

"Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it." - Some guy with Confederate flags on his pickup truck who learned nothing from history, probably.

"Get up out of that armchair, stop obsessing about Hannibal's crescent formations for a second and take a good, hard look at the world around you. Don't wanna repeat history? Actually learn from it." Holy shit. Guys, these words need to be heard by everyone, need to go down in history themselves. Remember that in archeology, the relics and artifacts of Native Americans and others were handled horribly, casually broken and forgotten about, and that it's still happening. Remember that so many of the historical figures you like weren't flawless, they were always problematic in some (many) way(s)- yes, even that one. Remember that people still believe in these insane, absurd myths. We all sit around, always moaning that the world's not fair. Are you going to keep sitting around, or do something to make it fair?

"I think you're wrong, but I don't think you're stupid." There's not enough of that these days. Thank you.

I like what some former Warsaw Pact countries have done with their statues. Hungary and a few of the Baltic nations have created 'statue graveyards. Basically, they took former communist statues and place them in less public areas and let them sit there. People can come and see them along with tours being provided to give context. The statues themselves have either basic maintenance or none at all, so over time, they weather away. I think something akin to that would be nice to see. Maybe not in every state in the south, but at least have one for the more infamous ones.

There are very few, if any, statues of Hitler in Germany and yet we remember the Holocaust just fine. So the idea that history is being erased if you remove statues is nonsense.

What if we replaced statues to Southern Confederates to statues of Southern Unionists

We don't get to pick and choose which parts of history we remember, but we do get to choose what we celebrate.

Didn't Robert E Lee once say that he was against monuments to the Confederacy because "they would keep open the wounds of war." ( I'm paraphrasing here. I can't remember the exact quote.)

The best case scenario was what happened to the gold bust of Nathan Bedford Forrest in Tennessee. It was in the Tennessee state capital building and the people of Tennessee voted upon it to have it removed. It was removed and placed in the Tennessee State Museum in the section of how people from Tennessee were involved in the Civil War. It wasn't destroyed like certain other monuments, and it was taken from one public space to a space where more people can view the bust and learn about who the person is and what they did instead of the bust existing for seemingly no reason.

This is a thoughtful video. I had 7 ancestors who fought for the Confederacy, 2 of them at Gettysburg in the 13th and 47th Alabama. My family's oral history fully celebrates their service. At the same time, I am completely against anything that rings of racism. It is a very difficult position to be put in to work out those conflicting points. The truth is that it is impossible to separate the Confederate cause from slavery. Thanks for posting this.

The US really needs a national museum for removed statuary. Maintenence is far easier for a place dedicated to it. Just look at the Neon Museum in Las Vegas. They essentially have the same upkeep problems, but by keeping it all in one place, they can significantly reduce the costs, and dedidicate a museum to that particular type of oversized and defunct artifact. yes, this kind of museum would attract bigots - but just as the holocaust memorials effectively deal with them, so too would this. It would in fact be perfect for what the University of Texas's museum calls their exhibit of an old Jeff Davis statue, "From Commemoration to Education." Bigots will do their thing. The best we can do is exclude and ridicule them, instead focusing on the people who are capable of learning

Funny story, general lee was asked about monuments about the war and said we shouldn’t even build them and try to move on from the Civil War

I am an old man, and I have heard the Gettysburg Address countless times since my grandfather first recited it to me as a young boy. This is, however, the first time it brought tears to my eyes. Well done, Andrew, and thank you.

He looks…almost as if he is holding back tears, reciting the Gettysburg Address. And he nearly brought me to tears. The country’s ideals have never been truly attained, but still the People fight for this country, they bleed for this country, they speak for this country. And they seek to form the more perfect Union by which our father’s so hopefully sought. It is, therefore, fitting; that our flag is one that should represent the ideals of a country that speaks of freedom and equality, yet cannot attain it due to works of the divisive and the hateful. We hold our hands to our hearts, we the People of the United States, to pledge allegiance to these ideals. May our ideals, not our actions, succeed in the end. For liberty, and justice for all. Atun-Shei, I pray you see this. You are a true patriot of our country. And I respect every endeavor and labor you dedicate yourself to, for the sake of teaching lost, confused, deceived people about our country. Faults and all.

THE ONLY TRUE CONFEDERATE FLAG 🏳️

My city removed a confederate statue last year but they left the base so now it just looks like the bottom half of a weird lego pyramid

By God, that conclusion by Atun-Shei quoting Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address was so fucking classy…

Erecting statues of confederate soldiers is just “honoring” history but if there were any schools, monuments, or statues dedicated to communist leaders, you would never hear this argument from the same people.

As always, the Witchfinder General has the best, most righteous judgement on this issue.

I love the idea that without statues we would forget the people they depict. Books and writings are for history, statues are for honoring the individuals. The statues themselves are no better proof because if they weren't labeled no one would know who they even are...

My biggest problem during this whole thing was every time someone asked my opinion on the matter, they always wanted a straight yes or no answer as to whether they should stay or be removed, as a whole. But it should be a case by case basis! As a history teacher, remembering context is incredibly important! For example many of the statues and monuments were erected in the late 20th century, and I think most everyone can agree these are not historically important and should be removed (Barring perhaps one or two, which should be moved to a civil rights museum to highlight the dirty practice of the time period, building political monuments to stifle social progress). Some statues are much older and weren't created in such bad taste, and should probably remain or perhaps relocated to a museum. There is more than enough information regarding the construction of pretty much all of these monuments to discern whether a monument was built in good faith or solely to push some kind of agenda, and these things should be considered when discussing the topic. That said, yeah probably 95% of them or more should go as it was such a common political tool for suppression. And I don't know that any of them should be displayed anywhere outside of a museum where a greater context can be conveyed.

There is a downside to the US taking down all these confederate memorials. I really wanted to deface a few of them

"it belongs in the museum"-Indiana Jones

Why aren't there any memorials for the British soldiers who served in the Revolution? All I can find are a few grave sites.

As a person who grew up in Nashville I'm so glad that stupid statue of Nathan Bedford Forrest finally got removed

I've *_heard_* the Gettysburg Address dozens of times in my life, but your recitation is the first time I've really *_felt_* it.

I've just realized that in my 27 years of living I've never heard more of the Gettysburg Address then the first few lines. Considering I live in the south that's a damn shame and this has been a very sobering experience.

His eyes are so intimidating and scary when he gets serious

I was in KY when that monument moved. I had a small disagreement with my friend who I was staying with - my perspective was in such a narrow place because I was visiting from England and didn't KNOW about American history and its budding culture. This video, yourself and the words of union vets changed my mind. Thank you.

The only war where the losers got statues

The last time I was this early the South still thought they could win the war.

Confederates?! Grand Army of The Republic?! What is this!! Star Wars The Clone Wars?!

Mr. Patterson was woke, even during the Victorian era. A true patriot 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

Yeah, the decision of removing or maintaining should be solely on the local community. And if any statues are deemed to have any historical value (which I believe most of them don't) they should be moved to a museum

"Actually learn from it" HOW DARE YOU! SIR! i will learn history but i will not learn FROM history!

I remember watching a Documentary on the statues in 9th Grade. I can’t remember where it was from or who was in it, but a Black Historian raised a very valid point. “If you take a young Black kid growing up in the South, and show him a Confederate statue endorsed and constructed by the state, what is that kid going to think?”

Making a formerly enslaved people live around monuments to people who tried to dissolve the nation to keep them enslaved is messed up.

Honesty, I think putting up statues of rebels who wanted to destroy your country is stupid af.

I’m a fan of letting localities decide what they want to do. Statues belong on battlefields and in cemeteries

If you take down all the confederate statues how am I supposed to piss on them?

I had originally wrote a long speech about how much I’ve enjoyed your civil war videos which I’ve been binging and how they’re enlightened me about the nature of the lost cause, but I’ll keep it shorter. Thank you so much for these videos, they’re both entertaining and informative and I deeply enjoy them.

Another irony of lost causers saying "you can't erase history because it's offensive" is that, whenever you calmly tell the truth that the Confederates fought for slavery, a ton of lost causers seem to get all steamy and go "GoD sAvE tHe SoUtH" and "TyRaNnY!" They're only second to Skyrim players who always pick the Stormcloaks (despite the game outright telling you that Ulfric is a puppet and destroying the empire means possibly damning the world) in responding to calm criticism with screaming buzzwords, chanting out of nowhere and generally acting like someone from a gamer rage compilation, over something that's just irrelevant to most of us in the real world. (Seriously, why do so many Stormcloak players act like they're in a real civil war?)

We should do what the Lithuanians did after communism and create our own Gruto parkas (Stalin's World) where all the public statues are removed and placed in an outdoor park.

THE WITCHFINDER GENERAL COMMENT THO im laughing so hard rn

There's something immensely funny about a dude dressed as a union soldier just double barrel flipping off a confederate monument.

As an Australian I have no connections to the USA nor the civil war but I'm deeply interested on both subjects. This video has filled some of the gaps but obviously there is more to say so I thank you for the great way you presented this topic!

I’ll never understand the “destroying history” argument regarding the removal of Confederate monuments. The battlefield parks are still here. The plantation-museums are still here. The ink spilled on over thousands upon thousands of pages written on Civil War history are still here. What history is being destroyed exactly?

My favorite quote from the Grand Army of the Republic, "We believe in making treason odious. "

I am surprised that so many snowflakes want to keep their second place participation trophies in place.

The biggest thing that has always driven me crazy is that the lost cause is often taught in our schools. Our children need to understand that the men who led the Confederacy were the greatest traitors this country has ever scene. There is nothing about what they did that was noble. The fought to split this nation into two because they didn't like the results of an election, and feared that they would no longer be allowed to owned human beings. My Father's side is from Arkansas, and I do have some ancestors who fault in the rebel army. I am not defending what my ansestors did. They were poor white farmhands who were protecting their homes from invasive. I think that makes the whole rebellion look worse. Not only were they doing the things I mentioned about fighting for the right to own people, but they forced future generations to look at any private family southern man who felt obligated to pick up a gun and protect his family and remember them as foot shoulders in the slave owners army. I will also tell you that I have no ideas what my ansestors thought of slavery, but odds are they knew they were fighting to proserve it. Most lower class southerners wanted slaves among them, so they could feel like there was someone below them in society. The whole dam rebellion was about slavery, nothing else. In the North it was a little more complicated.

I mustn't forget to buy some toilet roll when I get to the shops - I'd better build a quick statue to remind myself

15:30 the Soviet officers who disposed of Hitler's remains took the location they did so to the grave, for this very reason.

In Finland we have started to discuss about some of the Lenin statues that were erected in the country. And the arguments defending them sound very similar to the arguments defending Confederate statues. How ironic considering that the statues represent the opposite ends of the political spectrum.

Thanks! They broke the oath. It's as simple as that. As a vet I take that seriously. They took an oath and they broke it. No heroism or honor in that. You're right. Lincoln's few lines encompassed the war and those who fought for their country and the idea of the constitution. Bravo!

Disagreeing with you on the Concentration Camps thing: I've visited three of them, one with my sisters, one with my school and one with my university. I've never seen a Nazi there, mostly school classes and normal people. It's a great way of remembering history, the atrocities and the suffering. Not just putting up the "war heroes". Most of the people walk out of there, being shattered and saying "never again".

Stop obsessing about Hannibal`s crescent formation for a second. And take a good hard look at the world around you. I think this is the best roast to a history nerd ever.

If it’s your confederate heritage to celebrate these men. Then it is my union heritage, to remind you, how you came second place. #bluebelliesforlife

It bothers me people still get mad about Confederate statues getting taken down, like you don't see other countries erecting statues for traitors or evils of their country, and you also see those other countries actually teach their students, "Hey our ancestors did really shitty things, let's not be like that" you can easily do that without have a statue dedicated to them.

USA is the only place in the world where rebels claim to be patriotic to the nation they rebelled from & broke away from it😂🤦

Common sensed Unionist DESTROYS pro-confederate nerds with facts and logic

Atun-Shei, I wanted to say thank you for making these videos, and helping me to better understand Civil War history. You've helped me to separate better understand the Civil War as a conflict. Also, it made me happy to hear you mention my hometown of Winston-Salem, NC, and their Confederate Monument. I was once against the tearing down of Confederate Statues too, until I learned the truth of why they were erected. So, I agree with your statement here, 100%. Thank you, and I'm looking forward to future videos from you.

Turns out the people saying that Jefferson and Washington (and William Pitt?!) would be next were absolutely right

There is so much more Southern history that deserves to be remembered and celebrated than the Confederacy. Well done and well argued Atun-Shei Films.

Just found this from InRange TV. I didn't expect to have my thoughts changed on the matter, but hot damn, context is a merciless and humbling thing. Thanks for making this, man.

I learned a lot from this. While I was personally incensed by the tearing down of statues in 2017 ( and I'm not even American) , for the very argument of erasure of history, you've demonstrated that this is not a new debate and much more complex than just a "woke mob reaction."

In my humble opinion if you tear down a Statue I think you should put a small plaque where the statue was saying who the person and what they did and why there was a statue and why it was torn down but I dont know what's best

The Gettysburg Address is one of the most enlightening speeches in history. If you ever get the chance, read it aloud from the transcript carved on the wall of the Lincoln Memorial. It is a fantastic experience.

"I think it wiser, moreover, not to keep open the sores of war, but to follow the example of those nations who endeavored to obliterate the marks of civil strife, and to commit to oblivion the feelings it engendered." - Robert E. Lee

That Gettysburg Address always hits me in the feels. Social media today is so filled with hollow words, it is easy to make the mistake of thinking those words spoken in the past were also hollow. They were not. I love America, I love our democracy, even if that sometimes means different things to different people. Our history is not pure, nor is it unadulterated. It is mixed, with much good met by much bad, but I think the most important thing is that our forebears made mistakes and we can recognize them as such in order to make tomorrow better than yesterday.

"Stop obsessing over Hannibal's recent formation for a minute" LOL I feel personally attatcked

I, a german student of History am actually crying when hearing the Gettysburg Address. And as a german, who is proud of his country's way to democracy with tow dictatorships and the crime of a genocide in the last century, which shall nerver be forgotten, can, no, must encourage the people, my brothers and sisters, in the United States: remember your dark history and remember it well, but also remember the light of the words of your 16th president and they shall shine on your way to a better future.

Honestly, dressing up as Union soldier and flipping off confederate monuments is a Chad move

I’ve been a soldier for 20 years now. I’m deeply conservative, and a massive history nerd. I definitely disagree with a few of your points on some of your videos, and occasionally I can see your liberal bias, but overall, sir you do a fantastic job of discussing the Civil War, I think. And for years I’ve found it hugely ironic and annoying how many bases and streets America after the names of men who by definition, DID betray and wage war upon the US and its Constitution.

This is by far the best video I've seen on this subject. You do great work, sir.

My great-great-great-grandfather fought for the Union at Gettysburg in the Michigan 24th “Iron Brigade” regiment. God I wonder what he would think seeing the rebels glorified by so many, not even just in the South. I see the Confederate battle flag flown in rural northern Michigan, in the heart of Yankee country. How’d we let this be their legacy?

"States rights unless those states disagree with me" ~ ancient conservative proverb

If history can teach us anything, it's that humans can and WILL argue over the same like 4 topics until the end of time.

If a statue/symbol is used to remember imperfection instead of glorify it, I’m fine with it staying around

I came into this with a "meh keep them up / preserve history" viewpoint which I no longer hold, so I guess all I can say is gg well played.

The Confederacy existed because of the outcome of a free and fair democratic election. The Confederacy didn't stand for American values, it stood for might makes right. Man that hits hard in 2023 damn.

I was against the removal of the statues too. Until...I read about them and realized most of those statues were erected during the Jim Crowe days...🙃 put them in museums.

I Hungary, they took all the "heroic" statutes of Lenin and Stalin and moved them to one place and turned into into a tourist trap. "Come see TONS of communism!"

"I think it wiser not to keep open the sores of war but to follow the examples of those nations who endeavored to obliterate the marks of civil strife, to commit to oblivion the feelings engendered," Robert E. Lee

Putting a flag on the moon always seemed crazy to me.

States rights to do what?

You know I've seen a lot of your videos and I have to say - this video, and your Gods and Generals video...this is when I've actually seen you ANGRY. Not just educational, not just understanding, but ANGRY. Especially when you were discussing the pro-violence and pro-lynching southern leaders. Hell, you practically spat Benjamin Tillman's name...which is understandable, the man was a one-eyed snake. Kudos, man.

Not gonna lie, the witchfinder general comment killed me at the end

7:24 Even more ironic 2 years after the video was published, with republicans banning books from school libraries about Rosa Parks. _Actually_ trying to rewrite or erase history.

"confederate soldiers were american soldiers" WERE THEY??? i mean the whole thing about the confederacy is that they stopped being part of the united states of america