Questions for Socratic Seminar
-What should be done with the Confederate monuments?
(1)What Should be Done:
- Should the statues simply be taken down?
- Do these symbols of the Confederacy really represent America in the 21st Century, a country that is multiracial, diverse, believes in equality, and wants everyone to be successful?
- How should the statues be taken down, if they are indeed taken down?
- In the middle of the night (so people don’t have to think about it) or in broad daylight (New Orleans example)?
- Concept of Federalism: Should these be local decisions, for instance if they are placed in a city, should there be a local vote by people in the city or a simple city council vote (elected representatives)?
- Do the people of South Dakota have a legitimate perspective that is relevant to making this decision or is this a local decision?
- Should the statues be left alone?
- After all, “people just need to get over the past?”
- Are there “cultural ideas” represented in these Confederate statues worth putting on display in public places?
- Should Confederate statues be placed in Confederate museums where people can appreciate these monuments in private locations?
- Does the presence of Confederate statues in public places really help us “learn” our history?
- Should monuments to Confederacy be modified or supplemented?
- Maybe we should erect statues to slaves?
- Maybe a historical discussion is not relevant …
- After all, a person was killed by white supremacists, so we should do everything in our power to discourage white supremacist ideas. Agree or disagree?
- Germany bans certain historical symbols of the Nazis and Hitler, should we follow their lead?
- On Aug. 11, 2017, in the United States, people were actually chanting …
** “You will not replace us / Jews will not replace us”
** “Blood and Soil,” which was something chanted by the Nazis during WWII
- Are there considerations of aesthetic, artistic tradition?
(2)Relevant Historical Events:
- George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, versus Robert E. Lee and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, are these historical figures similar? Different?
- Do these historical figures celebrate different ideas?
- Are events from the “Antebellum Era” (before the Civil War) relevant to this discussion, regarding what they represent?
- 3/5ths Compromise (African Americans being 3/5ths of a person – 1787)
- Is there a difference between the generations of Thomas Jefferson (3rd President, 1801-1809) versus John C. Calhoun (7th Vice President, 1825-1832, and Senator From South Carolina, 1845-1850)? Think about the events of –Attempts to deal with slavery by Southerners before 1830: (1) Gabriel’s Rebellion, (2) American Colonization Society, and (3) Virginia’s “Haiti Plan.”
- Dred Scott Decision (Supreme Court Decision, 1857)
- Before the Civil War, it was against the law to teach African Americans how to read and write.
- Are events from the “Civil War” era relevant to this discussion, regarding what they represent?
- Alexander Stephen’s “Cornerstone Speech” giving the reason for the founding of the Confederacy.
- Are events from after the “Reconstruction” era relevant to this discussion, regarding what they represent?
- The rise of the K.K.K. and how that is identified with “white supremacy”; is this relevant to this discussion?
- What is the historical context of these Confederate statues?
- When were these monuments actually erected, and is this relevant?
- Jim Crow, Civil Rights Era, and times of great racial turmoil.