Taking down the statues of traitors

Statue of Jefferson Davis

The Mayor of New Orleans on removing Confederate statues:

After the Civil War, these statues were a part of that terrorism as much as a burning cross on someone's lawn; they were erected purposefully to send a strong message to all who walked in their shadows about who was still in charge in this city. 

Should you have further doubt about the true goals of the Confederacy, in the very weeks before the war broke out, the Vice President of the Confederacy, Alexander Stephens, made it clear that the Confederate cause was about maintaining slavery and white supremacy. 

He said in his now famous 'corner-stone speech' that the Confederacy's "cornerstone rests upon the great truth, that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery---subordination to the superior race---is his natural and normal condition. This, our new government, is the first, in the history of the world, based upon this great physical, philosophical, and moral truth."

A statue of Alexander Stephens is still in the Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Jefferson Davis continued to defend slavery after the Civil War.

See also How Robert E. Lee Got Knocked Off His Pedestal.

Thanks to Daily Kos.