Background of the Monument
To understand the true importance of the Stone Mountain Confederate monument you must understand the concept of Lost Cause Ideology. The Lost Cause Ideology took place during the aftermath of the Civil War, and it was a way to romanticize the south during the war. They did this by saying that slavery was not the primary reason for war. They instead portrayed those who fought for the south were brave and heroic defenders of their state rights. Organizations like the United Daughters of Confederacy were able to achieve this through textbooks, public rituals and other monuments funded or created by the group.
Stone Mountain became one of the most well-known embodiments of this ideology. Grace Elizabeth Hale observed that “Nowhere has the desire to naturalize culture taken a more literal form than in the carving of Stone Mountain” (Hale 1998). The venue for the monument wasn’t just because of the granite face but also because it was the location of the Ku Klux Klans reincarnation on the top of the mountain in 1915 where they set a fiery cross atop the mountain marking the rebirth of the organization. This directly tied the site to the resurgence of white supremacist making the monument inseparable from the politics of racial exclusion. The carving itself was envisioned on a such a large scale, when the final version of it was completed in 1972 it had covered 3 acres of the Stone Mountains face which makes it the largest bas relief carving not only in the country but also in the whole world.
Originally the design of the monument was Robert E. Lee leading a massive army across the mountain, it was meant to capture a vision of “newfound sense of regional and racial serenity in stone” (Hale 1998). Even though this was scaled back in the actual carving it still makes other confederate monuments like tiny which shows the lengths that those in the south went to in order to try and fix their identity through the lost cause ideology.
About the Monument
The memorial depicts three of the Confederates most prominent figures in Robert E. Lee, President Jefferson Davis, and General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson as they are riding horsebacks across the mountain. The Carving was completed and open to the public in 1972 after decades of delays, political disputes, and changes in its design. Its scale makes it one of the most recognizable confederate monuments in the country.
Overtime Stone Mountain went from just the carving in the mountain to a full-scale park, this park included many attractions like festivals and different shows. Overall, the park is seen as “a dynamic landscape for the contestation and production of racial and regional identities, both ideologically and materially” (Essex 2002). This is saying that the sight isn’t just a memorial, it is also a place where people argue over what Southern identity means and where history is packaged for tourists. This blending of commemoration as well as entertainment turning confederate memory into an exhibition.
About the Creator
The idea of the Stone Mountain monument was first commissioned in 1915, sculptor Gutzon Borglum most famously known for sculpting Mount Rushmore was hired to design the monument. However, Borglum had ties to the Ku Klux Klan and he envisioned the monument as a larger way to monumentalize white supremacy and due to many conflicts with the UDC it led to his departure from the project
The final project was completed under the Stone Mountain Memorial Association with lots of support Georgia. Hale describes the monument as “Granite Stopped Time” which means the creators wanted to freeze confederate memories through the making of this monument so it couldn’t be erased (Hale 1998). The involvement of states shows how confederate memory wasn’t just a private project it was a public one that was backed by political powers.
Old Opinions
The monument reflected values of the old south, many white southerners saw it as a proud symbol of their heritage and resistance to Northern dominance. Hale says that it was “originally envisioned as a symbol of a solid white south”(Hale 1998). For the supporters it represented Southern pride and Continuity with southern ancestors. This opinion was primarily shaped by the lost cause ideology while the sheer size of the monument projected permanence as well as authority. The goal was that Southern Identity would be long lasting.
New Opinions
In contrast the new opinion reflects changing attitude towards confederate symbols. To African Americans and many in the north it has represented slavery and racial oppression. Many argue that “It presents a collective memory of the souths history which is now largely commodified”(Essex 2002). This means that the site has turned confederate memory into entertainment. Today opinions seem to be slightly divided, some view it as harmless while others see it as a painful reminder of slavery and racial justice as they question whether monuments that glorify confederacy have any place in modern society.
Controversy Behind the Monument
The Stone Mountain Confederate Monument is one of the most controversial monuments in the country. Due its ties with the Ku Klux Klan, its celebration of Confederate leaders who supported slavery and its origins with the lost cause ideology where they tried to minimize the slavery aspect of the war. Many argue that it glorifies white supremacy and erases the suffering of those who were enslaved. The controversy isn’t just about history, it also is about power, its about who gets to define heritage, or whose stories are told and whose are silenced. In recent years there has been talked to take down the monument especially after events that took place such as the Charleston Church Shooting in 2015 and the 2017 Charlottesville rally. Events like these highlight how Confederate symbols inspire violence and division which makes the argument regarding this argument more urgent.
Should it Be removed
The question of if the monument should be removed is quite the slippery slope. On one hand the monument does represent white supremacy as it celebrates Confederate leaders who fought in order to maintain slavery which make it incompatible with modern values of racial inequality. When they say the monument was made to maintain Confederate memories it more so shoes that the monument was created to exclude rather than unite the nation. On the other hand the park does act as a commodified landscape that is also full of entertainment rather than just the monument so by removing the monument you would take all those qualities away. One way this could be revised is by adding plaques to the monument in order to explain the racist origins. It wouldn’t take away from the racism but it could be used as a learning moment rather than just removing it. Ultimately the struggle on whether to remove it reflects the American struggles over memory, identity, and justice. Monuments aren’t something that is neutral they are always arguing a specific point and regardless of what they do with the monument Stone mountain still forces us to confront the legacies of slavery
Works Cited
BernardEditor, D. B., & RetropolisEmailEmailBioBio, writer for. (2020, July 2). The creator of Mount Rushmore’s forgotten ties to white supremacy. Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2020/07/03/mount-rushmore-gutzon-borglum-klan-stone-mountain/
Essex, Jamey. “‘THE REAL SOUTH STARTS HERE’: WHITENESS, THE CONFEDERACY, AND COMMODIFICATION AT STONE MOUNTAIN.” Southeastern Geographer, vol. 42, no. 2, 2002, pp. 211–27. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/44371145. Accessed 18 Nov. 2025.
Hale, Grace Elizabeth. “Granite Stopped Time: The Stone Mountain Memorial and the Representation of White Southern Identity.” The Georgia Historical Quarterly, vol. 82, no. 1, 1998, pp. 22–44. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/40583695. Accessed 18 Nov. 2025.
Janney, C. E. (2020, December 7). United Daughters of the Confederacy – Encyclopedia Virginia. Encyclopedia Virginia. https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/united-daughters-of-the-confederacy/
