In his book, The Confederate Battle Flag, John Coski claims that it makes sense

In his book, The Confederate Battle Flag, John Coski claims that it makes sense to think of the
Confederate battleflag as a “Second American Flag.” Do you agree with that argument? Why or
why not? Use specific historical events and trends to illustrate your points. Hint: Even if you do
not agree with Coski’s argument, you must show that you understand it
Discussion, John M. Coski, The Confederate Battle Flag: America’s Most Embattled Emblem
During the Civil War, why did some white southerners begin to object to the original “Stars and Bars,” leading
to the adoption of what most people today call the “Confederate flag?”
What did Confederate veteran Carlton McCarthy say the battle flag symbolized, or didn’t symbolize? What did
it mean to him? Does Coski fully accept that answer?
Was there ever a time when the battle flag was separate from the Confederate “Cause” itself? The “Cause”
What was it? – slavery?; constitutional liberty? something else?
What did southerners of the Civil War era say the war was about? (This may not have a one-word answer!)
What did they think they were fighting for? Could these two questions have different answers?????
When southerners displayed the battle flag in the immediate postwar period, what were they doing? Did they
think they were threatening the union? Were they trying to reimpose slavery?
Maintain white supremacy? Show that they had not forgotten their comrades and loved ones?
During Reconstruction, if northerners objected to the Confederate flag, why did they object? Did they see it as a
symbol of treason, or of racism?
How was the flag used towards the end of Reconstruction and in the 1880s, up until World War II?
Did the UCV and UDC approve?
What was the northern response to the flag in this time period (end of Reconstruction through WWII)?
Why did southern servicemen display the Confederate flag during World War II?
Coski says that after World War II, the flag transformed from a symbol of the status quo to a symbol of protest.
What does he mean by that? How was it a symbol of the status quo before?
If Confederate veterans could come back to life and observe the debates we have today on the Confederate flag,
what would they find strange or puzzling?
Ch. 12 – What does Coski say was common about the outcome in all 4 statewide Confederate flag debates
(South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi)?
Why does Coski call the Confederate flag the “Second American Flag?” Is he right?
Try to list all the meanings the flag has had: How many of those messages/meanings are “American;”
how many of them are only “southern,” but not “American?”
What solutions does Coski propose? Do they seem reasonable to you?