The Monumental Triumphs: Report on Race, War, and Monuments

This report analyzes Kirk Savage's 'The Monumental Triumphs,' focusing on the role of monuments in post-war America. The report examines the book's structure, which begins with an introduction and then moves on to discuss slavery and its association with pro-slavery states. It also highlights the significance of emancipation through sculpture, using examples like the statues of Abraham Lincoln and Robert E. Lee. The report emphasizes the book's strengths, such as its concise writing and historical accuracy. It also provides some critical analysis, suggesting that further exploration of racial discrimination could strengthen the argument. The report concludes by noting that the book's primary goal is to show how the creation of monuments could help the nation recover from the war and stand against racism. The report is a didactic analysis of the book and the key arguments made.

Running head: THE MONUMENTAL TRIUMPH
THE MONUMENTAL TRIUMPH
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Standing Soldiers, Kneeling Slaves is an amazing composition that shows the post-
war America to put into vehement effort to get reunite through a unique project of
reorganizing the sculptures (Savage). The author, Kirk Savage who also happens to be a
professor of Art and Architecture argues that the reconstruction of the monuments were not a
movement of art but also an endeavor to commemorate the nation once again.
The novel having an introduction is segmented into five chapters where he starts with
his argument and moves on to explain the content the readers should expect from the book.
The next chapter is replete with imagery where slavery is at the centre of discussion. He has
focused especially on a particular state, South Carolina State House for its pro-slavery
association (Savage). Chapter three highlights the significance of emancipation through the
art of sculpture. The next two chapters are mostly symbolic where he carefully chooses two
different monuments and the problems that were the consequences during the post-war
culture (Savage). The former chapter deals with how the free blacks have contributed to the
foundation of the memorials of Abraham Lincoln while the next chapter concentrates on the
statute of Robert E. Lee, which happens to the first ever statue to be established on Richmond
(Savage). It is undeniable that the contrasts he creates in these two chapters build the platform
of his argument. The final chapter concludes with the enormous corpus of tradition of
building the statues in post-war era as a form of reconciliation. Throughout the book, he
shows how building the statue of black people was a progressive approach to get back the
glory of United States.
The best part of the novel is that it is tightly written and well researched. The book
does not seem to digress with unnecessary information. It focuses on a very sentimental yet
important issue that needs to immediate acre and attention. He chooses a topic on which he
has extreme and supreme control hence the way he weaves the information, they result in
forming a garland threaded with the same kind of flowers. The book is filled with pictures

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along with the presentation of the source and right amount of information to grasp the
attention of the reader. Since the novel does not have any storyline to offer he incorporates
the pictures to make it interesting. The novel has offered the readers with real examples to
make it authentic confirming to the historical background. If the book would have focused a
little more on how the racial discrimination had been a vicious side of the society then the
importance of the argument could have been clearer.
The book is definitely didactic in nature because of prioritizing of the issue of evil
social conduct; namely, racism. It shows how the Americans have expected that by the act of
making the monuments of black people can bring unity and the long lost glory during war.
However, making statutes alongside the whites can be a good start yet it is not everything a
society can do. The system of law should act without any bias and the mass should be
educated on the evil effects of racism. This way the nation can stand up against racism.

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References
Savage, Kirk. Standing soldiers, kneeling slaves: Race, war, and monument in nineteenth-
century America. Princeton University Press, 2018.