Confederate Obelisk

Confederate Obelisk. . The Atlanta Ladies Memorial Association (ALMA) formed in 1866 with a purpose to “preserve and foster the memory of our Confederate Dead.” The federal government did not fund Confederate burials after the war. Volunteer groups, often organized by women, assumed responsibility for Confederate burials and commemoration. Their efforts shaped public memorialization of the Confederate dead and the Confederate cause for future generations. ALMA arranged for the interment of unknown soldiers at Oakland and commissioned two monuments, the Confederate Obelisk and the Lion of Atlanta., The 65-foot tall Confederate Obelisk is made of Stone Mountain granite. ALMA laid the cornerstone in 1870 on the day of Confederate General Robert E. Lee's funeral. The obelisk ranked among the city's tallest structures when completed. Roughly 15,000 people, almost half of Atlanta's population, attended the dedication ceremony on Confederate Memorial Day, April 26, 1874. The obelisk became a gathering place for future Confederate Memorial Day ceremonies., The struggle for equality , As white Southerners built monuments to honor their dead, African Americans continued to fight for their civil rights. From 1865 to 1870, three amendments to the Constitution (the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments) were ratified in an effort to establish freedom and political equality for African Americans. State laws and federal court decisions weakened the power of these amendments. In 1896, the Supreme Court upheld racial segregation laws in Plessy v. Ferguson. The segregation of public spaces, including Oakland, continued until the early 1960s., Caption: Postcard circa 1910., Learn more about Confederate monuments, the Civil War, and other Oakland history at oaklandcemetery.com.