NPR

Confederate Statues Were Built To Further A 'White Supremacist Future'

President Trump hasn't mentioned it as he's defended the memorabilia over the past week, but historians say the statues were originally built to send a clear message to black Americans.
Crews worked to remove the statue of Supreme Court judge and segregationist Roger Taney from the front lawn of the Maryland State House late Thursday night. Taney wrote the 1857 Dred Scott decision that defended slavery and said black Americans could never be citizens. / Baltimore Sun / Getty Images

As President Trump doubled down on his defense of Confederate statues and monuments this week, he overlooked an important fact noted by historians: The majority of the memorials seem to have been built with the intention not to honor fallen soldiers, but specifically to further ideals of white supremacy.

More than 30 cities either have removed or are removing Confederate monuments, according to a list , and the president that in the process, the history and culture of the country was being

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