The following e-mail coorespondance was sent to the editor of the Toothpick regarding the Stone Mountain carving of Lee, Davis, and Jackson. Though the following does not directly involve Arkansas during the Civil War, many men from Arkansas filled the ranks in and around the area the carving was etched into the side of Stone Mountain. The email was sent from email@example.com to firstname.lastname@example.org and email@example.com:
Your article said that in 1954 “The Confederate memorial became a potent symbol of defiance and white supremacy.” You need to read Abraham Lincoln’s speech at the fourth debate with Stephen Douglas where he described the White race as superior to the Black race. Racism was pervasive in the North and still is.
The carvings on Stone Mountain are a tribute to the men who led the South in its quest for independence. The right of secession is codified in our Declaration of Independence and is the founding principle of our country. Most secessions in history have been peaceful. The outrageous tariffs forced on the South meant that this region was paying 85% of the federal tax revenues. That is why the South left the Union and why Lincoln invaded. Money. Read his 1861 Inaugural Address.
The “lost cause” as you refer to it was an attempt to preserve the vision of Thomas Jefferson. Lincoln saw the vision of Karl Marx. His policies started us on the road to socialism and mercantilism.
Southerners and Native Americans were in the way.
Stone Mountain is our Masada and no one will defile it. I am happy to furnish a list of books and reference materials which may help you to understand my viewpoint.