Monumental Harm

"The fraught subject of Confederate monuments in prominent public spaces receives the most forthright, well-informed, and unemotional treatment in this book that I have encountered anywhere. Whether or not one agrees with Hartley's argument that these products of the Cult of the Lost Cause symbolizing slavery and White supremacy should be relocated to private land, museums, or Confederate cemeteries, the reader will understand the issue better than ever before."—James M. McPherson, author of Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era

"Monuments to White supremacy have a deleterious impact on American society. Informed by historical accounts, the imperatives of racial justice, and his own legal expertise, Roger Hartley surveys the problematic presence of Confederate monuments in American public spaces and convincingly makes the case for their removal and relocation."—Erika Doss, author of Memorial Mania: Public Feeling in America

"Constitutional law professor Roger Hartley's book is a clear and practical exploration of the Confederate monuments controversy. A law brief of sorts for the removal of the hundreds of Confederate statues that still stand, Monumental Harm compellingly argues that opponents should pay less attention to monument defenders' motives and instead focus on the very real harm that Confederate statues inflict on American society today. Hartley shows monument opponents how to make their case—and win."—Blain Roberts and Ethan J. Kytle, authors of Denmark Vesey's Garden: Slavery and Memory in the Cradle of the Confederacy

"More than a history of Confederate monuments, Roger C. Hartley's Monumental Harm steers readers through some of the toughest questions in the debate over whether these monuments should remain or be removed. Anyone hoping to better understand this divisive debate will profit from reading this book."—Kevin M. Levin, author of Searching for Black Confederates: The Civil War's Most Persistent Myth

"The problem of Confederate monuments has been the starting point for a national and international reconsideration of the memorial landscape. Roger C. Hartley's lucid analysis provides a valuable guide to addressing the legacy of the Lost Cause and a framework for thinking about protests against other public monuments."—Thomas J. Brown, author of Civil War Monuments and the Militarization of America

"Monumental Harm is an important book. It deserves a readership beyond those who normally follow the emerging currents of Civil War historiography."—Civil War Times

"unique... Hartley relies on the racist history of building the monuments as justification for their removal. He chronicles the erection of the monuments and the motives of those who built them, arriving at the conclusion that contextualization and relocation will not achieve the goal of erasing their racist connotations. This argument is both clever and persuasive."—Choice Reviews

"Hartley has expertly outlined the pitfalls of an overly simplistic approach to removing or destroying Confederate monuments. Yet he also provides a historically sound foundation that communities can use in what will continue to be a highly politicized topic."—The Journal of the Civil War Era