Compare And Contrast The Confederate Flag

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Many people criticize the Confederate Battle Flag because of its tainted history of racism and slavery. But the truth is the South were not the only colonies to own slaves. In fact, Northern colonies auctioned off slaves in the open market all the way from Philadelphia to Boston and New York. It has even been noted in history that many Union generals and heroes such as Ulysses S. Grant and even Benjamin Franklin owned plenty of slaves. Grant even kept his slaves until right after the 13th amendment was billed in December 1865; he was asked about his slaves and why they had not been freed yet to which Grant answered, “Good help is hard to come by these days.” Frankly, the only difference between the Union and the Confederacy was that the Union …show more content…

More so, they even auctioned off slaves to the South. But one thing remains, with the industrialization of the United States followed the minimizing of slavery. The North did not focus on European immigrants for slave work; they would be hired by factories in cities for labor. These were hardworking Europeans who were looking for life in a new world to feed their families. These people were not owned or beaten. In there lies the difference between slavery in the North and in the South. While slavery continued to flourish in the south, the Northern territories began to establish what America is known for today; a land of opportunities. They brought in European immigrants who were paid a measly wage but nonetheless were able to build a life for them outside of the mistreatment and inhumanities that came along with labor in the South. In fact, even former slaves travelled north for opportunities that were not available in the south such as: higher wages, less strenuous work, and a chance for an …show more content…

Whether victors write history or not, facts are facts. In every battle there are sides taken. The Confederacy took the side of wanting to expand slavery to the western territories and wanting to be their own nation with their own rules at a time when America was building their country. To keep this flag up and continuously remind the citizens who have ancestral ties to slavery and crimes committed against their race or even their family of the wounds created at such a time is inhumane to say the least. The Confederate Battle Flag holds the same value as the Swastika in Europe because although their purposes behind the actions committed were different, the crimes were similarly as cruel. Yes, a flag can have many different meanings, but the acts created by people who have used this flag to establish a sense of superiority towards other races other than their own were cruel and unusual, which has destroyed any possibility of this flag ever having a peaceful, non-violent history. As I stated before, although The Battle Flag has a distinct personal meaning to each individual, its roots run deep. And many still remember this flag for what it stood for back then; a symbol of 13 states who wanted to exclude themselves from

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