Being born and raised in the Mississippi delta, I am surprised to learn that there are schools in Kentucky that use(d) the Confederate flag and the rebel as symbols for the mascot. As we all know, Kentucky was not part of the Confederacy.

It may be because many don't automatically think of the confederate flag to mean they support slavery. There are other meanings of the flag that are ignored by society today. History is full of several meanings to certain things, not just one. Some think of the flag as being proud to be from the south. As was mentioned in another thread, do Britain's think the American flag is associated with terrorists? That is basically what some thought of the columnist when they rebelled against the Mother Land.

 

I'm waiting for the uproar of certain religions using the cross as a symbol because shouldn't that be banned also? I mean the KKK used the Cross as a sign of hatred. that is why political correctness has become a joke in my mind.

Being born and raised in the Mississippi delta, I am surprised to learn that there are schools in Kentucky that use(d) the Confederate flag and the rebel as symbols for the mascot. As we all know, Kentucky was not part of the Confederacy.

 

To many, KY was part of the Confederacy for the following reasons:

 

1. Those with Southern leanings failed to get the State Government to secede, so they formed their own government to represent the state.

 

2. KY was a slave state.

 

3. KY was included in the battle flag of the Confederacy with a star as was Missouri even though neither state actually seceded from the Union.

Being born and raised in the Mississippi delta, I am surprised to learn that there are schools in Kentucky that use(d) the Confederate flag and the rebel as symbols for the mascot. As we all know, Kentucky was not part of the Confederacy.

 

 

Some areas of Kentucky were very pro Southern like the Jackson Purchase Region where I live. For the Jackson Purchase, that may not be all that surprising when you consider that the area was a large farming area and near the Mississippi River which was the super highway of the day for commerce via New Orleans so ties to the South were directly linked to much of the areas economy. During the Civil War, the Jackson Purchase strongly supported the Confederate cause. The Jackson Purchase has even been called "Kentucky's South Carolina". On May 29, 1861, a group of Southern sympathizers from Kentucky and Tennessee met at the Graves County Courthouse to discuss the possibility of joing the Jackson Purchase to West Tennessee. The Mayfield Convention adopted a resolution for secession, and there is a historical marker in front of the courthouse regarding the convention. The Mayfield Convention was followed by the Russellville Convention, which created the provisional Confederate government of Kentucky. The attempt at joining Tennessee was abandon once Tennessee joined the Confederacy. The central star of the Confederacy represented Kentucky.

 

I am not a familiar with other areas of Kentucky but the areas around Hopkinsville and Bowling Green were also very pro Confederacy. I assume, this was due to the same ties as the Jackson Purchase. It would make sense that their economies were tied to agricultural trade that flowed South.

 

After writing all that it now dawns on me that this not really very well tied to the thread topic, sorry about that!

Some areas of Kentucky were very pro Southern like the Jackson Purchase Region where I live. For the Jackson Purchase, that may not be all that surprising when you consider that the area was a large farming area and near the Mississippi River which was the super highway of the day for commerce via New Orleans so ties to the South were directly linked to much of the areas economy. During the Civil War, the Jackson Purchase strongly supported the Confederate cause. The Jackson Purchase has even been called "Kentucky's South Carolina". On May 29, 1861, a group of Southern sympathizers from Kentucky and Tennessee met at the Graves County Courthouse to discuss the possibility of joing the Jackson Purchase to West Tennessee. The Mayfield Convention adopted a resolution for secession, and there is a historical marker in front of the courthouse regarding the convention. The Mayfield Convention was followed by the Russellville Convention, which created the provisional Confederate government of Kentucky. The attempt at joining Tennessee was abandon once Tennessee joined the Confederacy. The central star of the Confederacy represented Kentucky.

 

I am not a familiar with other areas of Kentucky but the areas around Hopkinsville and Bowling Green were also very pro Confederacy. I assume, this was due to the same ties as the Jackson Purchase. It would make sense that their economies were tied to agricultural trade that flowed South.

 

After writing all that it now dawns on me that this not really very well tied to the thread topic, sorry about that!

Good post. About a year ago I read "The Civil War in the Jackson Purchase" by Kentucky author Dan Lee. The book expounds on your points. Very interesting read about a slice of Kentucky that was most decidedly pro-South.

Good info. in the replies above. I consider Kentucky my home now for 18 years, but I still have much to learn about its history.

Just page 3 has summed up everything I was going to say. Valid points, and a good history lesson!