Confederate Monuments Essay

Should we remove Confederate monuments?

There is a debate over whether to remove Confederate monuments. Part of the debate involves what the Confederacy stood for. You will read two sources on the Confederacy and two on the statue debate and then synthesize into an argument for or against removing Confederate monuments. 

Assignment directions

Read TWO of the sources about the Confederacy below AND TWO of the sources about the monuments debate below. Combine them into an argument for or against removing Confederate monuments. 

1. Go through each source and identify key points to support your argument on what the Confederacy stood for and/or the monuments' history and/or the national history since then and/or the politics of today.

2. Organize your paper by argument, not by source. You can use the matrix format we learned about in last week's assignment or some other outline format.

3. Write the synthesis paper, arguing either for removing the Confederate monuments or keeping the Confederate monuments, supported by specific points and facts from the four sources you are using. You are only submitting the synthesis paper.

Use only the information from the four sources you chose (and the Lecture Notes if needed). I want your analysis, not something you found on the Internet on the subject. Be very clear whether something is your idea, the idea of the person or people who wrote the article or document, or the idea of the person quoted in the article or document.  Work alone.

2-4 pages, 12 point font, 1 inch margin all around, double-space. You don't need a title page or Works Cited since you are only discussing the four sources which you will identify in the first paragraph or as soon as you start discussing them. Use proper American English spelling, grammar, punctuation, capitalization, and paragraphs.

Sources

Confederacy Sources

1. South Carolina secession (Links to an external site.)

2. Georgia secession (Links to an external site.)

3. Mississippi secession (Links to an external site.)

4. Texas secession (Links to an external site.)

5. Stephens speech (Links to an external site.)

Monument Debate Sources

1. Washington Post article (Links to an external site.)

2. Vox article (Links to an external site.)

3. Washington Post article -- masculinity (Links to an external site.)

4. AIER article (Links to an external site.)

5. NPS article (Links to an external site.)

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