• Violence at Charlottesville has shone a light on the controversy surrounding Confederate monuments on public grounds.
• There were 1,503 Confederate symbols displayed in public spaces in the US as of 2016, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
• Local governments have begun to quietly remove certain Confederate memorials.
Charlottesville, Virginia erupted in violence over the weekend, after mob of white nationalists, neo-Nazis, and alt-right adherents descended on the college town.
At the center of the storm was a statue — an equestrian monument of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. The City Council of Charlottesville is attempting to remove the statue from the park.
The "Unite the Right" rally was ostensibly a protest against this move. In the wake of the violence, municipalities around the US are quietly and quickly working to remove the monuments, which have become a lightning rod for controversy.
US President Donald Trump blasted the decision to remove monuments commemorating figures like Lee and Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson in a fiery press conference Tuesday, Sonam Sheth reported for Business Insider.
"I wonder: Is it George Washington next week, and is it Thomas Jefferson the week after?" Trump said. "You know, you really do have to ask yourself — where does it stop?"
In 2016, the Southern Poverty Law Center reported that there are 1,503 Confederate symbols displayed in public spaces throughout the country. The US is dotted with parks, military forts, fountains, and roads bearing the names of men who chose to secede from the Union and form the Confederate States of America.
Looking through SPLC's list, it's clear that most of the statues, monuments, and busts are dedicated to general groups of Confederate soldiers, veterans, or dead.
But some historical individuals, like Lee, make several appearances on the list. Some of the figures commemorated are more controversial than others, but all served the Confederacy in some capacity.
Business Insider took note of Confederate figures who are commemorated with more than one statue, monument, memorial, or bust on public land, according to the SPLC.
Here are the backgrounds of the men whose statues are now at the heart of a nationwide controversy:
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Jefferson Davis: 10 statues, busts, and monuments on public land
Before the Civil War, Davis served in Congress and worked as President Franklin Pierce's War Secretary. He resigned in 1861 and became president of the Confederate States the following year.
Despite initially being popular in the South, Confederate losses and Davis' government's ineffectiveness quickly eroded public good will, according to the Civil War Trust. By the time Davis was captured by the Union, his popularity in the South was virtually nonexistent.
However, the Lost Cause ideology ultimately adopted Davis as a central figure. This post-war ideology served to erase slavery and celebrate the Confederate cause as heroic.
Years after the war, Davis published a book — "The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government"— defending the Confederacy. The book endeared him to Confederate proponents and improved his image.
Robert E. Lee: 9 statues, busts, and monuments on public land
Lee, the commander of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, is at the center of the recent violence in Charlottesville.
However, the man himself was opposed to Confederate monuments.
ABC reports that, after the war, Lee himself "resisted efforts to build Confederate monuments in his honor and instead wanted the nation to move on from the Civil War."
Despite losing the war, Lee became an icon in the North and South alike, thanks to the Lost Cause ideology.
As a result, Lee has been venerated since the Civil War. His decision to support a slave state has been minimized. Despite some major military blunders, he is remembered as a military genius.
Thomas 'Stonewall' Jackson: 6 statues, busts, and monuments on public land
For adherents to the Lost Cause, "Stonewall" Jackson is an important figure, representing the bravery and nobility of the Southern cause.
Jackson remains one of the most famous Confederate generals to this day. He was one of the South's best tactical commanders and became a "military celebrity" in his own time, according to the Civil War Trust. His death, due to a pneumonia contracted after being injured by friendly fire, hurt Confederate morale.
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