Any first-time visitor to the US Capitol will be struck by the National Statuary Hall Collection. A few "controversial" ones are now being replaced. Is this a good thing?
Great article. Like naming streets, I think a community or state has the right to change who it honors if a majority of that community supports it. But outsiders should not be able to compel that. Having said that, I would not mind seeing Jefferson Davis in the dustbin of history. Robert E Lee reluctantly decided he needed to defend his home state. Davis enthusiastically led a rebellion against the United States that resulted in 600,000 people dying. Mississippi can do better than that.
Presentism is a scourge, where history is replaced by fleeting fads that will die an inconspicuous death.
Great article. Like naming streets, I think a community or state has the right to change who it honors if a majority of that community supports it. But outsiders should not be able to compel that. Having said that, I would not mind seeing Jefferson Davis in the dustbin of history. Robert E Lee reluctantly decided he needed to defend his home state. Davis enthusiastically led a rebellion against the United States that resulted in 600,000 people dying. Mississippi can do better than that.
I'm no fan of Davis either, but his Senate farewell speech is instructive and reflects most Southern attitudes of the day toward state sovereignty, the right to secede, and nullification. https://jeffersondavis.rice.edu/archives/documents/jefferson-davis-farewell-address