A Condensed History of the Stone Mountain Carving Copyright © 2017 Atlanta Historical Society, Inc. Atlanta History Center 130 West Paces Ferry Road NW Atlanta, Georgia, 30305. www.atlantahistorycenter.com Executive Summary: Condensed History of the Stone Mountain Carving The carving on the side of Stone Mountain has a controversial history that involves strong connections to white supremacy, Confederate Lost Cause mythology, and anti-Civil Rights sentiments. From the beginning of efforts to create the carving in 1914, early proponents of the carving had strong connections to the Ku Klux Klan and openly supported Klan politics. Helen Plane, leader of the United Daughters of the Confederacy and credited with beginning efforts to create the initial carving, openly praised the Klan and even proposed Klansmen be incorporated in the carving. Sam Venable, owner of Stone Mountain, sanctioned Klan meetings on the mountain and remained highly involved with the group for many years. These are just a two of the early carving proponents involved with the white supremacist organization- the carver, Gutzon Borglum, and others were also involved. Given the influence of white supremacists, the Stone Mountain carving effort carried with it Confederate Lost Cause sentiments from its beginning. Efforts at rewriting Confederate history as a moral victory and pining for the supposedly morally superior society of the romanticized Old South were at the center of the motivations behind the carving. Although the carving was not again pursued after the collapse of the initial effort until half a century after it was begun, Lost Cause sentiments remained. Governor Marvin Griffin, an overt supporter of segregation, promised to resume the carving if elected during his campaign for governor. He also supported legislation to change the Georgia state flag to one featuring the Confederate battle flag. Anti-Civil Rights members of the government and the community used Confederate symbolism, including Stone Mountain, to reassert Lost Cause ideology and cling to their “way of life.” In other words, Confederate symbolism was invoked as a last effort at thwarting federally mandated integration. From this controversial history rises an enormous tribute to the Lost Cause of the Confederacy only a few miles from the city of Atlanta. In order to contribute to the dialogue coming from shifting sociopolitical perspectives on the carving, this history surrounding the carving must be understood from an evidence-based perspective. 1 September 29, 2017 Timeline of Stone Mountain Events 1914- Editorial in the Atlanta Georgian prints proposition by John Temple Graves of the New York American to create a Confederate monument on Stone Mountain. Helen Plane, a Georgia United Daughters of the Confederacy leader, proposes a bust of Robert E. Lee be carved on the mountain. November 25, 1915- William J. Simmons and a group of men ascend Stone Mountain and burn a cross, resurrecting the Ku Klux Klan and initiating 16 members. 1916- Stone Mountain Confederate Monument Association (SMCMA) is incorporated with Helen Plane as the founder and first president. Sam Venable, owner of the mountain, stipulates that the carving has to be completed by 1928. Gutzon Borglum is selected as the carver. 1923- Borglum begins carving. 1923- SMCMA begins publishing Stone Mountain Magazine. 1924- Borglum unveils completed carved head of Robert E. Lee. March 17, 1924- President Calvin Coolidge signs a bill authorizing a commemorative coin designed by Borglum. The SMCMA sells the coin to raise funds. 1924- Relationship between Borglum and SMCMA deteriorates. 1925- Borglum is fired and flees to North Carolina. 1925- The SMCMA hires Augustus Lukeman as the new sculptor. April 9, 1928- 63rd anniversary of Lee’s surrender at Appomattox- Lukeman unveils head of Lee atop an unfinished horse. Borglum’s work is blasted off the mountain. Late 1920s- SMCMA goes bankrupt due to the Great Depression and work on the carving halts. 1928- The title to the mountainside is returned back to Sam Venable since the carving is incomplete. Venable grants the Klan unrestricted access to the mountain for rallies and meetings. 1941- Governor Eugene Talmadge attempts to resume the carving, but plans are halted due to World War II. 1946- Dr. Sam Green, a former Klan leader, attempts to resurrect the Klan with a rally at Stone Mountain, but is unsuccessful. May 1954- Brown vs. Board of Education ruling strikes down “separate but equal” doctrine. 2 September 29, 2017 July 1954- Marvin Griffin announces his candidacy for governor of Georgia, campaigning against desegregation and proposing the completion of the Stone Mountain carving. 1956- Governor Marvin Griffin signs into law the new Georgia state flag which includes the Confederate battle flag. 1958- Governor Marvin Griffin signs a law purchasing Stone Mountain and creating the Stone Mountain Memorial Association (SMMA) to oversee the completion of the carving. 1964- Carving resumes under Governor Carl Sanders and the city observes the Battle of Atlanta centennial. May 9, 1970- Progress on the carving is unveiled in official ceremony, featuring Vice President Spiro Agnew after President Richard Nixon suddenly cancels his appearance. 1972- Carving is officially completed. 1994- In preparation for the 1996 Olympic Games, Stone Mountain begins exhibit renovations to soften focus on the Civil War. 2002- The Confederate battle flag is removed from the state flag and the Confederate memorial on Stone Mountain is protected by law. 3 September 29, 2017 The Stone Mountain Confederate Memorial The Confederate Memorial Carving at Stone Mountain Park is the largest and most famous symbol of the Lost Cause in America. Below, we trace the development of the monument from United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) President Helen Plane’s proposal to the present day, explaining that it was carved to promote – and continues to represent – the Lost Cause mythology. The Lost Cause mythology sustains a legacy of the Confederacy that was used to bolster the white supremacist policy goals of which the carving is emblematic. White Southerners were indoctrinated with the Lost Cause narrative by their grandparents; parents; schools; Confederate remembrance groups, such as the UDC and the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV); government officials; and academic historians.1 Lost Cause monuments were erected to validate Southern secession and justify the Confederacy fighting the war in defense of States’ Rights – as opposed to the preservation of slavery. In the early years of the project to create the carving, the memorial symbolized the legitimacy of white supremacy and Jim Crow. In later years, it served the related purpose of galvanizing white Southerners against federally mandated integration and civil rights. Lost Cause mythology deliberately ignores the 3.9 million Southerners (approximately 40% of the population of the Confederacy) who were released from bondage as a result of the Union victory. Providing historical context for the carving presents the SMMA with an opportunity to educate the public on how Lost Cause mythology developed and why so many still adhere to it today. Most importantly, the contextualization means the opportunity to tell the complete, nuanced story of all Southerners. The Beginning: Helen Plane, the United Daughters of the Confederacy, and the First Carvings In 1914, John Temple Graves of the New York American wrote an editorial that was printed in the Atlanta Georgian that proposed the creation of a Confederate monument on Stone Mountain. Helen Plane, the Honorary Life President of the Georgia State Division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, was inspired by this idea. She proposed a carving on the side of the mountain of Robert E. Lee as a new Confederate memorial. 1 Notable examples of these Southern apologists include U.B. Phillips, the University of Georgia’s E. Merton Coulter, and members of Columbia University’s “Dunning School” (named after historian William A. Dunning who oversaw U.B. Phillips’ doctoral work). A more accurate historiography that accounted for enslaved people – similar to the view of the Civil War accepted by modern historians – was used by some scholars at the time but was not considered mainstream. 4 September 29, 2017 From the beginning of the efforts to create the Confederate memorial, Lost Cause mythology was widely embraced by the proponents of the effort. Sam Venable, the owner of Stone Mountain, responded to Helen Plane’s 1914 letter asking for support in creating the memorial: “I am in thorough sympathy with the sentiment which underlies the movement to erect this memorial. From my childhood days to the present hour, I have entertained the most profound admiration and reverence for those who consecrated their lives and services to the ‘Lost Cause.’”2 Several years later, the Georgia General Assembly passed a resolution honoring Venable for allowing the monument to be carved on his land. The General Assembly viewed the carving as a memorial to a cause, not to fallen soldiers: “A Resolution …WHEREAS Hon. Samuel H. Venable ... have made a patriotic donation to the Stone Mountain Confederate Monumental Association, a large portion of what is known as Stone Mountain, the largest plain of granite in the world, for the purpose of having carved thereon a colossal statue as a memorial to the Confederacy; which, when completed will be the only monument in the world to a cause.”3 Shortly after Helen Plane’s initial inspiration, on November 25, 1915, a man named William J. Simmons led a group of men up the side of Stone Mountain. With the blessing of Sam Venable, Simmons ignited a cross at the top of the mountain and resurrected the Ku Klux Klan. The ceremony was conducted with white robes and hoods, a stone altar, an open Bible, an unsheathed sword, and a U.S. flag. Nathan Bedford Forrest II administered the oath of Klan membership to the group of 16 initiates.4 After the initiation, a cross was burned.