Just over half of the American public supports preserving the history of the Confederacy, a new poll has found. The survey, published by the nonpartisan Public Religion Research Institute on Tuesday, determined that the issue of removing Confederate monuments and erasing the names of Confederate leaders from public buildings remains a divisive, politically-charged subject, even as Americans become more unified in their desire to address the effects of historical discrimination.
According to the poll results, which were published just ahead of the observation of “Juneteenth” on Wednesday, 52% of the 5,500 Americans surveyed support “efforts to preserve the legacy and the history of the Confederacy,” as opposed to 44% who do not. These findings were almost identical to the results of a 2022 PRRI study, showing that attitudes on the issue—which has lingered in public discourse for nearly a decade—are not changing to a noticeable degree.
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Broken down by race, geographic location, generation, and party affiliation, the results vary even more widely.
Roughly 81% of Republican voters favor preservation efforts, compared to just 30% of Democrats. While these numbers are consistent with the 2022 findings, Independents have seen a notable shift, with 52% now supporting preservation. In 2022, just 46% held this position.
Residents of Southern states were, unsurprisingly, more in favor of protecting Confederate monuments than those living elsewhere, with 58% of Southerners and 50% of non-Southerners in support.
By generation, 62% of the Silent Generation, 56% of Baby Boomers, 58% of Gen X, and 51% of Millennials favor the pro-preservation argument. Gen Z, at 41%, was the only age group without majority support for preserving Confederate history.
Similarly, Blacks were the only racial group in which leaving Confederate symbols in place did not have majority support, with just 25% in favor. Support is much higher among Whites (58%), Hispanics (54%), and multi-racial people (55%).
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PRRI also provided a breakdown of the reasons given for each response, giving more nuance to the positions held by the respondents. Approximately 26% of survey takers argue that Confederate memorials should be left in place as-is, while 35% say they should be updated to include information about the history of slavery and racism in America. Another 28% say that the monuments should be removed from public places and rehoused in museums, and 9% argue that the statues should be completely destroyed.
In recent years, efforts to remove and destroy Confederate monuments around the country have been implemented to varying levels of success, earning additional support after the “racial reckoning” of 2020. The latest noteworthy incidents have included the removal of the Arlington Reconciliation Monument, the replacement of stained glass depictions of Confederate Generals in the National Cathedral, and the dismantling and immolation of the infamous Robert E. Lee statue in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Across all categories, 90% of respondents support further discussion of slavery and racism, as well as efforts to “create more inclusive public spaces (79%), recreate or reimagine public spaces to better represent everyone (74%), or repair past damage done by violence or discrimination (72%).”
However, far fewer (50%) are willing to support changing the names of schools, streets, and public buildings that bear the names of Confederate leaders. Democrats (73%), Blacks (64%), and those with college degrees (59%) are most in favor of the renaming proposals. Only 23% of Republicans, 44% of Whites, and 43% of high school-educated people share this position.
Even so, nearly two-thirds of Americans agree on another key point as well: “When it comes to monuments and art in public spaces, everyone will be offended by something.”
Connor Walcott is a staff writer for Valuetainment.com. Follow Connor on X and look for him on VT’s “The Unusual Suspects.”
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