An Exploration of the Relationship Between Nostalgia and Confederate Monuments

Society’s relationship with its past is a passionate one. As time persists, humans have provided a plethora of ways to remember the days before the present. There is the position of the historian, who searches to unlock the patterns of human tendencies, the documentary, which aims to provide an accurate portrayal of the past in real-time, and monuments, which can be found in all walks of life, sending messages based on their creators’ artistic skills. Society will attach itself to certain pieces of the past and become nostalgic for them, and this nostalgia has the ability to transform the memories it surrounds. However, what if this nostalgia changes memories for the worse?

The essence of nostalgia has a significant influence on the Confederate monuments erected by Americans. Nostalgic memories are often called back into humans’ minds with great detail, so the memories’ details are frequently changed over the course of time. The existence of a nostalgic memory will inspire humans to further cement this memory in reality, and they often do so by creating a physical memorial of that memory. Thus, statues are created, much like how the Confederate monuments were erected to preserve the nostalgia of the pre-Civil War South and the features of that era. This nostalgia then transforms as it is passed through this physical medium (the memorial) and projects itself onto those that come into contact with it. In this way, nostalgia about the Confederacy from these statues changes the previously conceptualized narrative about the losers of the Civil War. As Boym would say, the people “lose touch with the present” (3). Viewers’ memories are manipulated by the presence of seemingly noble, courageous, and heroic statues, which gives reason to why the statues were maintained for so long, regardless of the horrid past that surrounds what they actually stand for. A memorial’s lifespan depends on the people it affects, so this nostalgic remembrance of the Confederacy as a country of brave warriors elongates the lifespan of these statues to terms that would otherwise not be possible. However, this same nostalgia can cut the lifespan of these monuments shorter; this is a topic that will be explored later in the paper. The transformative effects nostalgia has on Confederate monuments will be inspected in regards to their conception, their effect on viewers, and their lifespan. In addition, random University of Texas students will be interviewed to further determine the significance of nostalgia in the erection of the Confederate monuments on campus and how the nostalgia the statues present muddles the narrative of the pre-Civil War South.

It is important to delve into how nostalgia created a space for the Confederate statues to exist in the first place. The University of Texas’s Confederate monuments in the South Mall were commissioned around the time of the 1920s. According to Forest & Johnson, many of these statues claimed to have supported what they call the “Lost Cause” which they go on to explain as “… view[ing] slavery as a benevolent system and argues that the Civil War was fought over states’ rights.” (128). So, from this we can conclude that slavery is at least in the conversation of erecting the statues, regardless of whether all sides agree that it was what the statues represent. Nostalgia is used here to call back a concrete American ideal and prominent Constitutional theme: states’ rights. Americans’ have been taught all throughout their lives about the glorious ratification of the Constitution and the individual freedoms it created, one so freedom was in the form of states’ rights. Therefore, it is common sense that this notion of the passing the statues off as memorials of states’ rights would invoke nostalgia and lead to the statues being successfully commissioned. This is a prime example of how nostalgia can transform the memories of the pre-Civil War South, as they changed the context to slavery to states’ rights.

Furthermore, the context of the time period that these Confederate statues were commissioned in is also important to discussing the influence nostalgia has on the birth of these statues.. According to the University of Texas President Gregory Fenves’s Task Force, “the statues were commissioned during a period of resurgent white Southern nostalgia for the social order of the old South embodied by the Confederacy. (3)” This environment of nostalgia that was prevalent at the time was also embodied in each of these statues via the men they represented. This would create a significant surge in positive feedback for these statues due to the growing number of avid supporters in this nostalgic movement. Even further, more specific context is granted by the Task Force when they explain how the time when many Confederate statues began showing up in America also “…paralleled the rise of the Ku Klux Klan and an upswing in discrimination and violence against people of color” (3). This displays the radicalism that the “white Southern nostalgia” encouraged in America, inviting even some of the most discriminatory groups to the forefront of the country. If nostalgia is capable of such a feat, it is no doubt that it had a significant influence in the commissioning of the Confederate statues on UT campus.

When asked why he thought the Confederate Statues at UT’s South Mall were erected, University of Texas student Jacob Read responded, “The South wanted to ‘remember its heritage’. Texas wants to become a country every other month so they’re clearly prouder of heroes who fought for the south instead of what they actually defended.” He points out the fact that Texas has had a face-paced history, moving under the domain of one country to the next, to its own country, to the Confederacy. This constant fluctuation of the status of Texas implies that the statues weren’t really to commemorate its history, because its history could not be solidified by one era. However, this viewpoint is strengthened by the nostalgia it gives to those who are proud to be Texan, so it gains more weight in the eyes of the public. Another student, Emily Lowery, answers the same question and makes a straightforward conclusion, ignoring the veil of nostalgia: “Many felt that they were a representation of Southerner’s desire for slaves.” Other students’ answers in the interviews lean towards this answer as well, and it seems to be the general consensus for those on campus. Here we see the struggle between the reality of the statues’ messages and the convoluted messages that are produced by nostalgic views. What did many of these men have in common? They were slave-owning men, who fought to protect the institution of slavery, that has hindered the lives of students that walk the streets of the very university the statues were erected at, yet still the statues succeeded in getting erected. Nostalgia is the key factor in the conception of these Confederate statues. To conclude, the effect of nostalgia on the erection of the statues can veil a practical sense of what the statues were commissioned for with a narrative that invokes nostalgic feelings such as preserving states’ rights.

Moving forward, nostalgia also strongly influences how the statues effect those that view it. First, a photo of the Robert E. Lee statue provided by Wikipedia user “Daderot” will be analyzed. In this photo, the statue strikes a pose that can be closely correlated to a triumph of good over evil. This is nostalgic due to the large amount of films and television series in today’s media regarding good prevailing over evil such as, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and Naruto. So, this “good conquering evil feel” that the statue radiates is one that can be a very nostalgic feeling for the young adults that walk through the South Mall. Another aspect of the statue is that Lee’s sword is being used as a support and facing the dirt, promoting the feeling that the South harbored non-violent traditions and noble ways. While this is a direct contradiction to the war itself and the horrific reality of the treatment of African slaves, nostalgia also is a factor in transforming the statues meaning. All people grow up with heroes in mind, heroes that lead, protect, and do well by their constituents. The statue of Robert E. Lee aligns himself with the concept of these heroes, presenting himself as a nostalgic image that many respect. Through the creator’s artistic skill, this Confederate statue incorporates nostalgia to present itself on to those who view it. However, even the artist, Pompeo Coppini, has expressed a view that seems to undermine the purity of the statues as he states, “As time goes by, they will look to the Civil War as a blot on the pages of American history… and the Littlefield Memorial will be resented as keeping up the hatred between the Northern and Southern states. (Roush)” Coppini, realizes, as the sculptor of these Confederate monuments, that the statues are not so much celebrating these patriots, as nostalgic perspectives would claim, but actually furthering a divide in the cultures of the United States. This represents the deep schism between what nostalgia presents the statues as and how an objective point of view presents them, and also closely mirrors the partition between modern politics. This point of view is referred to as objective because of the fact that the creator of these statues discusses these statues in a negative light and the only reason for a reputable artist to berate his own work would be to maintain objectivity. To surmise, if Coppini were being subjective, he would obviously have leaned towards promoting his work rather than degrading it. This speaks volumes for the ability of nostalgia to shroud the true meaning of these statues and influence how spectators view them.

When asked how the statues in South Mall conveyed the pre-Civil War South, UT student Michael DiSanto answered with, “As if those guys were heroes.” Thus, nostalgia was able to turn these men, who lost the Civil War, committed inhumane acts, and succeeded from the country on the basis of wealthy plantation owners, into those who could be perceived as a hero. This is a very significant change of context to the statues and represents an important negative effect of how nostalgia interacts with human perception. Boym states that soldiers affected by nostalgia acquired an “indifference towards everything, confusing past and present…” (3). This quote reflects the effect nostalgia has on those viewing the Confederate monuments on UT campus. The viewers of these Confederate statues can often become indifferent towards the negative aspects of what the statues represent in light of the heroism that they seem to portray as they confuse them with the heroes they are familiar with and nostalgic for. This action of disregarding important values and pushing the narrative that one wishes to see become true is an increasingly dangerous epidemic that will only harm society, and, in turn, demonstrates the significant influence of how these statues are viewed.

Finally, nostalgia has a direct correspondence to the lifespan of a monument. That is, the nostalgia of the current era strongly influences if a monument will continue to exist or not. As of August 2017, with the Charlottesville riots, it was seen that there is a growing nostalgia for the era where the Ku Klux Klan was in power and Jim Crow laws prevailed. As this event was portrayed to the nation, the strong negative nostalgia was seen clearly. In response to this, University of Texas President Gregory Fenves came to the conclusion that “…the statues represent the subjugation of African Americans.” (1). With this sequence of events occurring, it is evident how nostalgia can not only be the reason for a monument to come into reality, but it can also be the reason for the removal of monuments. The nostalgia the rioters had in Virginia crossed a certain threshold that made it apparent that the statues were erected for the reason many skeptics were suspicious of long ago: the advancement of white supremacy and suppression of African Americans. Fenves’s decision to remove the statues after being complacent with their presence prior to the events is a specific example of the significant effect nostalgia has on a monument’s lifespan.

In the today’s era, nostalgia can be used to transform and to sway millions of personal opinions, deceiving entire countries. One example that is apparent is how President Donald Trump commentated the events of Charlottesville, Virginia, and his tendency to disregard important facts to focus on the nostalgic details that aid his position. Nostalgia’s ability to cling tightly to specific details and create indifference makes it a powerful weapon in today’s politics, litigation, and social norms.

From this detailed inspection many features of Confederate monuments, it is plain to see how nostalgia influences if they are commissioned, their affect on viewers, and how long they last. It is mostly a negative outcome due to the harmful beliefs of Confederate officials to penetrate today’s society under the guise of pleasant, nostalgic pretense. Nostalgia is an important aspect of human individualism, but can also be used to steal the individuality of thought from those it affects.

Bibliography

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DiSanto, Michael, Personal Interview. 19 April 2019.

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