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I agree with the fact that we were divided during the War. Thomas Settle's letter to Vance mentions the infamous Unionist Guerrilla William Owens of Moore County. In fact he was in jail in Pittsboro at the end of the War when he was forcibly taken out of his cell, marched out of town and shot dead. My point with the monuments is that the origin of the majority of them stemmed from an effort to heal from the War which began in earnest after the Spanish American War, in which many Southerners fought. This was a national movement to recognize the soldiers of the South and even included Confederate leaders on U.S. Stamps and coins. The theory that the monuments were erected to intimidate Blacks is baseless and without merit. As far as racial attitudes, they were widespread and not just isolated to the South. Lincoln certainly voiced his opinion on many occasions that he believed in the inferiority of Blacks. Should his monuments come down? I respect your opinion and honestly understand your motives. But I am a historian and I do not believe in removing monuments. It is a slippery slope. This subject always reminds me of the story C.I.A. Officer Mike Ackerman wrote about in his book "Street Man." While stationed in Moscow, he visited a Leningrad museum dedicated to the Russian Revolution. While examining a mural depicting leaders of the Revolution, he soon found himself in a conversation with a Russian Professor. Ackerman remarked that Leon Trotsky, Commissar of Defense at the time of the Bolshevik uprising, was missing from the mural. To Ackerman’s astonishment, the Professor replied that Trotsky had nothing to do with the Revolution. Ackerman countered that Trotsky was the head of the Red Army and was as responsible as anyone for the victory. Later while Ackerman was walking down the street the Professor approached him and whispered "Do you have a moment," to which Ackerman stopped and replied "Yes." Looking around, the Professor whispered "Then tell me about Trotsky."

From: Moving the Confederate statue isn’t erasing history

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