Renewable Revolution

Second Confederate Flag

According to "William T. Thompson of Savannah, the creator of the second Confederate flag, the emblem he devised would be "hailed by the civilized world as the white man's flag." As rediscovered by Jonathan Wilson, history professor at Syracuse University, Thompson declared in explaining his design, "As a people, we are fighting to maintain the heaven ordained supremacy of the white man over the inferior or colored race."  

The Confederate Flag Stars and Bars Deconstructed
 

SNIPPETS:
Flags first emerged in human history as banners of war. They would convey allegiances of battle combatants and provide a standard under which wavering or scattered troops could rally.

The earliest flags were simple colors, until the introduction of commonly understood icons to convey meaning. The flag of Denmark, for example, one of the oldest national flags in Europe, prominently features a cross in white on a red background, a Christian symbol.

Given how many Europeans nations share a common Christian heritage, Dannebrog, meaning "the flag of the Danes" or "the red flag," isn't the only national banner to incorporate the cross. Switzerland, Norway, Finland and others European countries include it as well into their own designs.

The Saltire

The Confederate flag incorporates a variation on the cross in its design. Known as the saltire, the diagonal cross represents the crucifixion of St. Andrew, who insisted to his Roman executioners he was unworthy of the same death as Jesus Christ. The apostle is the patron saint of Scotland, which is why the cross is used on the Scottish national flag.


Scottish Flag

The Confederate flag deliberately takes its cue from the Scottish flag, owing to the Scottish background of many Southerners in 19th-century America. In this one regard, the flag does carry echoes of a religious and cultural heritage, but there's more to the story.



Original Confederate Flag

Stars

In addition to the saltire, the Confederate battle flag also contains 13 stars in its modern incarnation.

The original Confederate national flag, seen here, similarly incorporated stars into its design. It began with seven, each one representing the original Confederate states: South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas. As new states joined the Confederacy, more stars were added. The stars in other words are a token of membership to a rebel nation that no longer exists.



Did the Klu Klux Klan employ the Stars and Bars as a symbol of Southern pride, history and heritage? I DON'T THINK SO.

The Real Meaning

Stars and Bars boosters typically claim the flag is a symbol of Southern pride, history and heritage. Nothing contained within the flag itself necessarily discounts that argument.

However, flags don't just appear out of nowhere (except for maybe the Danish flag). These banners have designers. According to William T. Thompson of Savannah, the creator of the second Confederate flag seen here, the emblem he devised would be "hailed by the civilized world as the white man's flag." As rediscovered by Jonathan Wilson, history professor at Syracuse University, Thompson declared in explaining his design, "As a people, we are fighting to maintain the heaven ordained supremacy of the white man over the inferior or colored race."

Those words reveal the flag's racist origins -- and why the Ku Klux Klan employed it as a symbol, and why Dylann Roof posted pictures of himself with the banner to identify with the white supremacy movement.


Full article here:
http://news.discovery.com/history/us-history/confederate-flag-stars-and-bars-deconstructed-150626.htm

Agelbert NOTE: Despite the OVERWHELMING EVIDENCE of what the confederate flag is REALLY ALL ABOUT, you will continue to have folks that claim that Germans who want to fly the swastika Southerners who want to fly the Stars and Bars are just doing it for pride, history and heritage...

UH HUH, SURE.