Dear President Trump:

 

Thank you for retweeting the tweet about the Virginia Governor’s plans to order the removal of the Lee monument on Monument Avenue in Richmond, Virginia. We appreciate your awareness of and sympathies to the events that many Americans are deeply saddened to see happening in our country. The Governor did indeed announce on the morning of June 4, 2020 that he wants the Virginia Department of General Services to remove the statue as quickly as possible. The situation in Richmond is even more dire and urgent than what would be indicated by the Governor’s direction regarding the removal of the Lee statue as the mayor of Richmond, along with a councilman, plans to propose removal of all Confederate statues on Monument Avenue. The mayor now has the authority to take this removal action since the Virginia Governor on April 11th of this year signed into law a bill allowing cities to remove these monuments which belong to not only residents of the particular cities but also citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia, Southerners, and indeed all Americans.

 

Confederate history is part of American history. Until the last few years, Americans in their study of the War Between the States realized that both sides strove for peace and healing after the conflict. In fact, the war ended at Appomattox Court House with a “Gentleman’s Agreement.” Just three and one-half years after the war, Confederate soldiers were pardoned by President Andrew Johnson. For generations after the war that divided brother against brother and father against son, there was a respect for the average soldier that fought to defend hearth and home. Historians studiously and objectively analyzed officers’ military strategy on both sides; indeed, American military installations have borne the names of Confederate officers. American Presidents attended dedications of Confederate Memorials and veterans’ reunions:

• President Franklin D. Roosevelt unveiled the Robert E. Lee statue in 1936 in Dallas and delivered a speech in which he described Lee as "one of the greatest American Christians and one of our greatest American gentlemen.”[i]
• A Confederate Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery was authorized by then Secretary of War William Howard Taft and unveiled by President Woodrow Wilson.
• In 1938 on the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, veterans from both sides attended a reunion during which the Eternal Light Peace Memorial was dedicated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
• President Woodrow Wilson was a member of the Matthew Fontaine Maury Association whose purpose was to erect a monument for Maury on Monument Avenue in Richmond.

If those who lived at a time closer to and even contemporaneously with the conflict could approach the aftermath with calm reflection, how much more should we who are generations removed in time strive to understand our past rather than destroy it?

 

Now, due to revisionist history—and even a complete lack of an understanding of history—an angry mob mentality exists among certain people who want to remove beautiful works of art in the form of Confederate monuments. Often the monuments serve as memorials to the dead—lost sons, fathers, and brothers. These monuments have stood without controversy or assault for over a century. Poll after poll in the last few years has shown an overwhelming desire by the majority of people to leave the monuments alone. The people who seek their removal often say they want them to be in a cemetery or museum; they say they do not want them in a public space. Yet we have seen cemeteries repeatedly attacked. We have seen museums burned.  We have seen Confederate flags on private homes and private vehicles come under attack. We know that no place is safe for our history with this lawless element in our midst.

 

Monument Avenue in Richmond, Virginia is a beautiful, tree-lined boulevard named for the fact that it contains five Confederate statues: Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, J.E.B. Stuart, Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, and Matthew Fontaine Maury. The American Planning Association described the street thusly:

"Few streets in the United States can match the splendor imparted by Monument Avenue, and its surroundings in Richmond, Virginia. Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1997, the avenue's linear corridor is an excellent example of the late 19th century Beaux-Arts–inspired urban boulevard design that emphasizes order, symmetry, hierarchy, and planning.

The American Planning Association has selected Monument Avenue as one of 10 Great Streets in America for 2007 given the corridor's historical residential design and craftsmanship, diversity of land uses, and the integration of multiple forms of transportation throughout history — as well as commitment on the part of the community to preserve its legacy."[ii]

Monument Avenue is a U.S. National Historic Landmark District and is on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places and the Virginia Landmarks Register. Over one hundred thousand people came to the dedication of the first monument, that of Lee, in this Confederate capital.[iii]

 

In the rioting, looting, and vandalism that has swept the entire country night after night for the past week, every single monument on Monument Avenue was vandalized with severe amounts of vile graffiti.  Certain politicians, who do not represent the wishes of their constituents, want to remove these monuments as quickly as possible. But the monuments should not be hastily removed as a capitulation to mob rule. We should not be negotiating with terrorists. We should wait for a less heated time and let calmer heads prevail. We should not be like other counties in which certain factions have been allowed to destroy the history of their country. We are better than that. We must be better than that. There must be an understanding of history and respect for different opinions if we are to remain a free country governed by and for the people.  

 

As you well know, the same groups that are demanding removal of Confederate symbols are also increasingly attacking American monuments to colonial figures, Columbus, missionaries, and others. These people seek to sow discord at every turn. Some belong to Antifa which is a misnomer because they themselves are the ones who adhere to fascist tenets—not their enemies. These people—who are so inaccurate in the naming of their group and the mislabeling of the political philosophy of their opponents­—are the same ones who claim that you, Mr. President, and those who stand behind you are white supremacists and racists. As you know, nothing could be further from the truth. And so it is with the Confederate monuments. They do not glorify past wrongs; they show respect and remembrance to the ancestors of Southerners who bravely fought to defend their families and home states. We have an element in our midst that wishes to destroy the very foundation of this country and effect a change to a socialist or communist form of government. Attacking American history and pride of country provides them with a basis to accomplish their goals.

 

Mr. President, please do everything within your power to stop the erasure of Southern history and in particular the dismantling of Monument Avenue in Richmond, Virginia.

 

With utmost concern and sincerest gratitude,

The Undersigned Petitioners

 

[i] Jen Graffunder and Michael Hamtil, Flashback: FDR unveiled Robert E. Lee statue without controversy in 1936, The Dallas Morning News (Sept. 6, 2017), available at https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2017/09/06/flashback-fdr-unveiled-robert-e-lee-statue-without-controversy-in-1936/
[ii] American Planning Association, Monument Avenue: Richmond, Virginia (2007), https://www.planning.org/greatplaces/streets/2007/monumentavenue.htm
[iii] Timothy S. Sedore, An Illustrated Guide to Virginia’s Confederate Monuments 147 (2011).