---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Flag committee chairman Miles did not…"
description: "\"“Flag committee chairman Miles did not agree with that sentiment. He opposed adoption of this design and wrote:\"There is no propriety in retaining the ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b0/clint-johnson-34159_civil-war_flag-committee-chairman-miles-did-not-ag_276744.jpg"
---

#  Flag committee chairman Miles did not agree with that…

![“Flag committee chairman Miles did not agree with that sentiment. He opposed adoption of this design and wrote:&quot;There is no propriety in retaining the ensign of a government which, in the opinion of the States composing this Confederacy, had become so oppressive and injurious to their interests as…” quote by Clint Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b0/clint-johnson-34159_civil-war_flag-committee-chairman-miles-did-not-ag_276744.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b0/clint-johnson-34159_civil-war_flag-committee-chairman-miles-did-not-ag_276744.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b0/clint-johnson-34159_civil-war_flag-committee-chairman-miles-did-not-ag_276744.jpg)

> ““Flag committee chairman Miles did not agree with that sentiment. He opposed adoption of this design and wrote:"There is no propriety in retaining the ensign of a government which, in the opinion of the States composing this Confederacy, had become so oppressive and injurious to their interests as to require their separation from it.It is idle to talk of 'keeping' the flag of the United States when we have voluntarily seceded from them.””

[Clint Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-johnson/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The speaker argues that retaining a former nation's flag is inappropriate after secession, viewing it as oppressive and harmful to the new confederacy's interests.

**In simple terms:** Keeping the old flag is unjust after breaking away.

Key Takeaway

Reject symbols of oppression after separation.

Themes

politics identity symbolism

Mood

controversial analytical

Type

historical political

When to use this quote

- political rallies
- public debates
- educational curricula
- museum exhibits

Key Concepts

history civil war nationalism

Questions to Reflect On

- Should symbols be preserved for history?
- How do flags shape collective identity?

A Different Perspective

Symbols can still hold personal meaning for some; change may be resisted.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Civil war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-war/) [Confederacy Oppressive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confederacy-oppressive-2693395/) [Ensign Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ensign-government-2693394/) [Flag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flag/) [Flag Committee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flag-committee-2693393/) [Flag Of The United States](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flag-of-the-united-states-216043/) [Keeping Flag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/keeping-flag-2693391/) [Retaining Ensign](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/retaining-ensign-2693392/)

## Related quotes

> [“When the day comes in which the Kingdom of God will bear rule, the flag of the United States will proudly flutter unsullied on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brigham-young/when-the-day-comes-in-which-the-kingdom-of-god-will-bear-rule-the/)

[Brigham Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brigham-young/)

> [The flag of the United States has not been created by rhetorical sentences in declarations of independence and in bills of rights. It has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/the-flag-of-the-united-states-has-not-been-created-by-rhetorical/)

[Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/)

## More by Clint Johnson

> [“Anyone who studies the history of American commerce or warfare should be interested in Burning Springs, nicknamed "Oiltown." This was the site of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-johnson/anyone-who-studies-the-history-of-american-commerce-or-warfare-should/)

[Clint Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-johnson/)

> [“A young women asked Lee what he would do. Lee replied, "I shall welcome him into my home, show him all the courtesy which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-johnson/a-young-women-asked-lee-what-he-would-do-lee-replied-i-shall-welcome/)

[Clint Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-johnson/)

> [“Awakened by artillery fire, the frightened Confederate recruits ran out of town, some still in their bedclothes. The Federals gave this embarrassing retreat the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-johnson/awakened-by-artillery-fire-the-frightened-confederate-recruits-ran/)

[Clint Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-johnson/)

> [“A South Carolina native, Miles was a lawyer, a mayor of Charleston, and a congressman. He was one of his state's "fire-eaters," a term…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-johnson/a-south-carolina-native-miles-was-a-lawyer-a-mayor-of-charleston-and/)

[Clint Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-johnson/)

> [“Richmond's newspaper questioned how a senior general could not even get two of his own generals to cooperate with him. They nicknamed him "Granny"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-johnson/richmond-s-newspaper-questioned-how-a-senior-general-could-not-even/)

[Clint Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-johnson/)

> [“Jones described what followed in his official report: All the oil, the tanks, barrels,engines for pumping, engine-houses, and wagons- in a word, everything used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-johnson/jones-described-what-followed-in-his-official-report-all-the-oil-the/)

[Clint Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-johnson/)

> [“Floyd did not accept the blame for his defeat. He blamed his fellow general Henry Wise for not committing some of his regiments to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-johnson/floyd-did-not-accept-the-blame-for-his-defeat-he-blamed-his-fellow/)

[Clint Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-johnson/)

> [“Not knowing how mant troops Jenkins truly had, Johnson refused to surrender "unless forced to do so by an exhibition of your boasted strength."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-johnson/not-knowing-how-mant-troops-jenkins-truly-had-johnson-refused-to/)

[Clint Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-johnson/)

> [“When Mr.Cunningham ran outside during the battle shouting "Hurrah for Jeff Davis!", a Union shot clipped his ear. Mr.Cunningham ran back inside his house.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-johnson/when-mr-cunningham-ran-outside-during-the-battle-shouting-hurrah-for/)

[Clint Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-johnson/)

> [“Lincoln replied:"There is a difference between secession against the Constitution and in favor of the Constitution.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-johnson/lincoln-replied-there-is-a-difference-between-secession-against-the/)

[Clint Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-johnson/)

> [“After the war, Lee described Traveller in a letter:"Fine proportions, muscular figure, deep chest, short back, strong haunches, flat legs, small head, broad forehead,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-johnson/after-the-war-lee-described-traveller-in-a-letter-fine-proportions/)

[Clint Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-johnson/)

> [“Federal Officer: "The arms piled on the ground were not worth 10 cents a ton.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-johnson/federal-officer-the-arms-piled-on-the-ground-were-not-worth-10-cents/)

[Clint Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-johnson/)

> [“Lee replied: "Tell your friends it is unworthy of them as women, especially Christian women, to cherish feelings of resentment against the North. Tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-johnson/lee-replied-tell-your-friends-it-is-unworthy-of-them-as-women/)

[Clint Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-johnson/)

[Explore all 14 Clint Johnson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-johnson/)

## More Civil war quotes

> [“Time overlaps itself. A breath breathed from a passing breeze is not the whole wind, neither is it just the last of what has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-kesey/time-overlaps-itself-a-breath-breathed-from-a-passing-breeze-is-not/)

[Ken Kesey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-kesey/)

> [“Whatever happened in those more than one hundred years, from the time my great-great-great grandfather studied law to the time when my own father…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwenn-wright/whatever-happened-in-those-more-than-one-hundred-years-from-the-time/)

[Gwenn Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwenn-wright/)

> [“AUSTRALIA, LIKE THE UNITED STATES, experienced a different path to inclusive institutions than the one taken by England. The same revolutions that shook England…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daron-acemo-lu/australia-like-the-united-states-experienced-a-different-path-to/)

[Daron Acemoğlu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daron-acemo-lu/)

> [“These are all good things, I said. But no one knows where your country is or who you are. You don't have a familiar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-shteyngart/these-are-all-good-things-i-said-but-no-one-knows-where-your-country/)

[Gary Shteyngart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-shteyngart/)

> [“Thinking about the weather was one way of shutting out of his mind the appalling bloody human mess sprawled out over the bed of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ellis/thinking-about-the-weather-was-one-way-of-shutting-out-of-his-mind/)

[Mark Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ellis/)

> [It cost about 75 cents to kill a man in Ceasar's time. The price rose to about $3,000 per man during the Napoleonic wars;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer-bone/it-cost-about-75-cents-to-kill-a-man-in-ceasar-s-time-the-price-rose/)

[Homer Bone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer-bone/)

> [Alabama soldiers, all I ask of you is to keep up with the Texans!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-e-lee/alabama-soldiers-all-i-ask-of-you-is-to-keep-up-with-the-texans/)

[Robert E. Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-e-lee/)

> [“ “In the South, football is confused with religion, chivalry, the Civil War, and women.” -Diane Roberts, The Quotable South ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-ford/in-the-south-football-is-confused-with-religion-chivalry-the-civil/)

[Deborah Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-ford/)

> [“By the following morning, September 15, Jackson had positioned nearly fifty guns on Maryland Heights and at the base of Loudoun Heights.  Then he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-river-editors/by-the-following-morning-september-15-jackson-had-positioned-nearly/)

[Charles River Editors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-river-editors/)

> [Strange, (is it not?) that battles, martyrs, blood, even assassination should so condense - perhaps only really lastingly condense - a Nationality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/strange-is-it-not-that-battles-martyrs-blood-even-assassination/)

[Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/)

> [You must study to be frank with the world: frankness is the child of honesty and courage. Say just what you mean to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-e-lee/you-must-study-to-be-frank-with-the-world-frankness-is-the-child-of/)

[Robert E. Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-e-lee/)

> [“Civil wars...are the best wars for the writer...because they have a way of continuing long afterwl wars between nations are resolved; because, with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/civil-wars-are-the-best-wars-for-the-writer-because-they-have-a-way/)

[Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/)

> [I am out of money,we are all out of money,but we dont need money down here- Dont need anything but Men , Muskets, Ammunition,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-connolly/i-am-out-of-money-we-are-all-out-of-money-but-we-dont-need-money-down/)

[James A. Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-connolly/)

> [Affirmative action was designed to recognize the uniquely difficult journey of African-Americans. This policy was justifiable and understandable, even to those who came from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-webb/affirmative-action-was-designed-to-recognize-the-uniquely-difficult/)

[Jim Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-webb/)

> [“Only twenty - nine years in the entire human history had been without warfare, and now here he was too, travelling between the episodes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadeem-aslam/only-twenty-nine-years-in-the-entire-human-history-had-been-without/)

[Nadeem Aslam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadeem-aslam/)

[Browse all 1,714 Civil war quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-war/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Flag committee chairman Miles did not agree with that sentiment. He opposed adoption of this design and wrote:\"There is no propriety in retaining the ensign of a government which, in the opinion of the States composing this Confederacy, had become so oppressive and injurious to their interests as to require their separation from it.It is idle to talk of 'keeping' the flag of the United States when we have voluntarily seceded from them.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Clint Johnson"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-johnson/flag-committee-chairman-miles-did-not-agree-with-that-sentiment-he/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Civil war"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-johnson/flag-committee-chairman-miles-did-not-agree-with-that-sentiment-he/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b0/clint-johnson-34159_civil-war_flag-committee-chairman-miles-did-not-ag_276744.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b0/clint-johnson-34159_civil-war_flag-committee-chairman-miles-did-not-ag_276744.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b0/clint-johnson-34159_civil-war_flag-committee-chairman-miles-did-not-ag_276744.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Flag committee chairman Miles did not agree with that sentiment. He opposed adoption of this design and…” — Clint Johnson",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Clint Johnson",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-johnson/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Flag committee chairman Miles did not...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-johnson/flag-committee-chairman-miles-did-not-agree-with-that-sentiment-he/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-johnson/flag-committee-chairman-miles-did-not-agree-with-that-sentiment-he/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
