52% of Americans in favor of conserving Confederate history: PRRI poll

A Public Religion Research Institute poll has found that a slight majority of Americans are in favor of preserving Confederate history in the country. Support for the conservation of the "history and legacy" of the Confederacy came in at 52 percent, while 44 percent said they were opposed to efforts to uphold its legacy.

In regards to monuments, only 9 percent of Americans said the monuments commemorating Confederate figures should be "destroyed," while 26 percent said they should be "left in place as-is." The vast majority were in favor of keeping them in place "with added information on the history of slavery and racism," or moving them to museums, at 35 and 28 percent, respectively.

According to the poll, which was conducted online between March 13 and 15 among 5,784 adults in all 50 states, respondents' views differed based on their political affiliation, location, age, and race. Over 80 percent of Republicans were in favor of preserving Confederate history, compared to just 30 percent of Democrats. Nearly 60 percent of those in Southern states agreed that the history should be preserved, up 8 percent from the national average. The poll had a margin of error of +/- 1.52 percent.

41 percent of Gen Zers said the United States should preserve the legacy of the Confederates, while all other generations had above 50 percent support. Black Americans were least likely to be in favor of the move, with only 25 percent saying it was a good idea. Members of that racial group were most supportive of removing or destroying monuments, 25 percent, or placing them in museums, 39 percent. Meanwhile, a full 90 percent of respondents said they were in favor of initiatives to "tell the truth about slavery and discrimination."

The results come amid a growing push in certain areas of the country to preserve Confederate history, with a school board in Virginia voting to revert to the original Confederate names for two public schools, and 192 House Republicans voting to reinstate a Confederate monument at the Arlington National Cemetery.