58% Of White Americans Support Protecting Confederate History And Legacy, Poll Finds

Source: Houston Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers via Getty Images / Getty

The majority of white Americans support preserving the history and legacy of the Confederacy, Americans as a whole are still on the fence.

According to a poll by the nonpartisan Public Religion Research Institute, 58% of white Americans support efforts to preserve the legacy and the history of the Confederacy, while only 25% of Black Americans support the same notion.

The national survey, which began in 2022, examined American attitudes about the legacy of Confederate monuments and memorialization in public spaces. In 2024, PRRI added to the survey and interviewed more than 5,500 Americans to see if their attitudes on the topic changed.

Overall, the poll found that Americans are divided over whether the country should protect Confederate history and legacy. The issue was also highly polarized by party, race, and region.

Americans from Southern states (58%) are more likely than Americans elsewhere (50%) to support efforts to preserve the legacy of the Confederacy.

Age also played a factor as Gen Z (41%) is the only generation without majority support for preserving the legacy of the Confederacy, compared with two-thirds of the Silent Generation (62%), 58% of Gen X, 56% of baby boomers, and 51% of millennials.

While a slim majority of Americans (52%) support efforts to preserve the legacy and the history of the Confederacy, eight in ten Republicans want to preserve the legacy of the “Lost Cause.”

“The Lost Cause of The Confederacy” is defined by Britannica as an interpretation of the American Civil War viewed by most historians as a myth that attempts to preserve the honor of the South by casting the Confederate defeat in the best possible light. Since 2020, “Lost Cause” memorials have been the topic of polarizing discussions as many States have decided to take their Confederate statues down.

Source: The Washington Post / Getty

But, Americans are also still divided over what to do with “Lost Cause” memorials.

One-quarter of Americans (26%) say that Confederate monuments should be left in place as-is while a plurality (35%) say they should remain in place but with added information on the history of slavery and racism. Around three in ten Americans (28%) say that monuments should be removed from public spaces and put in museums, and 9% say they should be destroyed, according to the poll.

When it came to political affiliations, nearly half of Republicans (47%) support leaving the monuments as they are, compared with one-quarter of independents (25%) and 8% of Democrats.

Americans were also heavily divided over what they wanted to see in future memorials.

When asked to pick their top three of 12 potential values that they believe would be the most important in guiding the creation of new monuments and art in public spaces, Americans are most likely to choose service and contributions to the community (48%), patriotism (42%), and the idea of a nation of immigrants (38%), according to the poll.

When it came to supporting efforts to rename public schools or change mascots with racist connotations, Gen Zers (58% and 54%) and millennials (54% and 56%) are the only generations with a majority support.

Click here to read the full report.

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