94% of Americans Support Learning from History, Rather than Trying to Erase its Wrongs

According to recent polling, the majority of Americans are against erasing the history of the Confederacy from public spaces. That is, most Americans are against removing the “controversial” statues of historical figures such as General Robert E Lee or Stonewall Jackson—to say nothing of other slave-holding historical figures, like President George Washington.

The polls were conducted by Rasmussen Reports by random telephone and online samples. They found that fully 94% of of likely voters agree with the sentiment that it’s better to learn from the wrongs of the past, rather than erase them—4% of likely voters were in favor of erasing the wrongs, 2% were undecided.

Of course, we must remember the caveat here: we’re looking at likely voters—this does not necessarily reflect the views of many progressive millennials, who are relatively unlikely to vote. Nevertheless, it the poll is hopeful.

What Do Americans Think About Removing “Racist” Historical Monuments?

Now to look at how this foundational belief manifests itself:

(i) Some 50% of American likely voters agreed with President Trump’s tweet that it’s “sad to see the history and culture of our great country being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments.” Of the remaining half, 37% disagreed with the President, and 12% were undecided.

Sad to see the history and culture of our great country being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments. You….. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 17, 2017

(ii) Americans were also more likely to think that removing said monuments would do more to harm race relations (39%) than to help them (28%).

(iii) A solid 88% of likely voters oppose removing the names and legacies for George Washington and Thomas Jefferson (on account of them holding slaves) from public places, by removing statues in their honor.

(iv) An even higher number of American likely voters, 90%, said that they were against closing or altering the Mount Rushmore monument because of its historical context—that is, conflict with Native Americans and the supposed glorification of slaveholders.

The takeaway from these findings is that most Americans are not necessarily on board with the mainstream media’s progressive agenda. Most people simply want their history and culture to be left alone—there is little appetite for the radical agenda.

Likewise, this is bolstered by evidence that the vast majority of Americans support free speech over political correctness.