The story many Americans inherited about the Confederacy is tidy and also deeply misleading. It frames the Civil War as a tragic misunderstanding rooted in honor or regional pride, casting the Confederacy as a defender of a way of life rather than slavery.

The Confederacy was founded to preserve slavery. Secession documents stated it explicitly, speeches affirmed it, the Confederate constitution protected it, and leaders openly described slavery as the cornerstone of their government. These facts weren’t hidden or disputed at the time. What followed wasn’t confusion or forgetfulness, but deliberate replacement.

The phrase "Reconstruction failed" is often repeated as a simple historical fact. Yet, this statement reflects a political judgment rather than an accurate assessment of what Reconstruction accomplished. After the Civil War, the United States embarked on a bold experiment that challenged its own foundations. Reconstruction treated formerly enslaved people as citizens, expanded voting rights, and built public institutions. It forced the nation to confront whether democracy wou

The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) has recently made headlines with its response to the Charlie Kirk resolution.

In 2025, the Pentagon shocked the nation by announcing it would restore a massive portrait of Confederate General Robert E. Lee to the West Point library. This nearly 20-foot tall portrait shows Lee on horseback, with a Black enslaved man holding the reins.

In December 2023, a monument notorious for its offensive imagery was removed from Arlington National Cemetery. This 32-foot bronze statue, laden with Lost Cause symbolism, depicted smiling enslaved individuals and celebrated Confederate heroes, all while suggesting the South fought nobly for freedom through a Latin inscription.