A new poll has found that most Americans support banning police use of chokeholds, while a majority are opposed to renaming military bases...
A new poll has found that most Americans support banning police use of chokeholds, while a majority are opposed to renaming military bases that are named for Confederate generals.
The ABC News/Ipsos poll of 727 statistically representative U.S. adults was conducted this week and released on Friday.
The poll found that nearly two-thirds of Americans, or 63 percent, support 'banning the use of chokeholds by police officers'.
That included a clear majority of all demographic groups, with the highest support from black Americans at 71 percent.
A mural depicting George Floyd is seen in Berlin. Floyd's death in Minneapolis prompted a renewed discussion over police tactics, including chokeholds
Republicans were split on the question, with 51 percent supporting a ban and 48 percent opposing one.
Earlier this week, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that bans police from using chokeholds except for in instances when their lives are at risk.
Meanwhile, the poll found that 56 percent of Americans oppose 'changing the names of U.S. military bases that are named after Confederate leaders'.
Independents are more opposed to renaming bases than supportive, with 59 percent opposed to the move.
The majority of African Americans support renaming the bases, however, with 67 percent in favor of the move.
Fort Bragg in North Carolina is named for Confederate General Braxton Bragg, and is one of 10 military bases named for Confederate officers
Earlier this month, Trump vowed that he would never allow bases such as Fort Benning and Fort Bragg to be renamed.
In all, 10 military bases are named for generals of the Confederacy, most of whom were respected U.S. military officers before the nation split in the Civil War.
The third question on the poll examined attitudes toward reparations for slavery, finding that the vast majority opposed paying reparations to the descendants of slaves.
The poll found 73 percent of people think the federal government should not 'pay money to black Americans whose ancestors were slaves as compensations for that slavery'.
Only about one in eight white Americans support reparations compared to three-quarters of African Americans.
Democrats are split on reparations, with 54 percent in favor and 45 percent opposed.
The vast majority of Republicans oppose the move at 94 percent, and 82 percent of Independents were also opposed.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez calls for slavery reparations at the National Action Network's annual convention last year. Reparations do not have widespread support, a new poll shows
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said last week that he was in favor of paying slavery reparations to African Americans and Native Americans if studies found direct cash payments to be a viable option.
'If, in fact, there are ways to get direct payments for reparations, I want to see it,' Biden said during a virtual town hall meeting. 'But why are we waiting around for the study? We can deal with this stuff.'
Trump has previously said that he thinks the concept of the federal government giving reparations to the descendants of slaves is 'unusual' and 'interesting' but he doesn't 'see it happening.'
THE 10 BASES NAMED FOR CONFEDERATE GENERALS
Camp Beauregard, Louisiana
National Guard training facility. Initially named Camp Stafford. Renamed for Confederate general P. G. T. Beauregard in 1917
Beauregard was West Point superintendent when his native Louisiana seceded in 1861 but quit to join the rebels, firing the first shots at Fort Sumter and commanding them at Shiloh. He advised surrender in 1865. Unusually advocated integration in later life.
Fort Benning, Alabama/Georgia
'Home of the Infantry.' Named in 1917 for plantation owner Henry L. Benning, who argued for secession from 1849, and railed against 'black governors, black legislatures, black juries, black everything.' No military experience but rose to general and was one of the last to surrender at the ceremony at Appomattox Court House.
Fort Bragg, North Carolina
Home of Special Operations Command. Named for General Braxton Bragg when it opened in 1918
Slaveowner former U.S. Army officer who joined the Confederates and rose to general but oversaw a string of defeats, culminating in Chattanooga when he resigned. Widely disliked by his men for his quick temper and obsession with discipline; historians have said his losses were a key part in Grant's victory.
Fort Gordon, Georgia
Base for Army Signal Corps and Cyber Corps. Named for Major General John Brown Gordon when it opened in 1917
Despite no military training Gordon rose to major general, on the back of personal courage and tactical ability. Led the last charge of the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox. Generally - but not definitively - acknowledged as the KKK's leader in Georgia, then anti-Reconstruction governor and senator. Died in 1904 hailed as 'the living embodiment of the Confederacy.'
Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia
Training and maneuver center. Named for General A.P. Hill when it opened in 1940
Hill was a career Army officer who quit just before Virginia seceded and immediately joined its forces. Distinguished brigade and division commander but blamed as Third Corps commander for part of the Gettysburg defeat and lead the rebel retreat. Killed in action a week before the Confederate surrender, after saying he did not want to outlive the Confederacy.
Fort Hood, Texas
Headquarters of III Corps. Named on opening in 1942 for General John Bell Hood
Kentucky native Hood resigned his Army commission and volunteered for the Confederates in Texas, quickly becoming brigadier-general but failed as an army commander and was relieved of command after defeat at Nashville.
Fort Lee, Virginia
Headquarters of Combined Arms Support Command. Named on opening as a camp in 1917 for General Robert E. Lee
Slaveowner Lee, the Army's most brilliant officer, turned down a Union command to join the rebels despite opposing secession. He had victories in the Seven Days Battles and the second Bull Run, but led the rebels to the pivotal defeat at Gettysburg. Held off Grant from complete victory then personally surrendered at Appomattox as General in Chief. After the war backed the end of slavery but said black people 'lack intelligence.'
Fort Pickett, Virginia
National Guard training site. Named for Major General George Pickett on opening in 1941
Pickett, raised on a plantation, resigned his Army commission a month after joining the Confederacy. Best known for the bloodbath of Pickett's Charge which led to defeat at Gettysburg, he also ordered 22 Union soldiers executed after defeat at New Bern, North Carolina. Fled to Canada for a year after Confederate defeat fearing he would be prosecuted for the crime. His wife's hagiography of him was a key part of the 'Lost Cause' movement of the 1890s onward - which itself led to the bases' Confederate names.
Fort Polk, Louisiana
Home of the Joint Readiness Training Center. Named on opening in 1941 for General (and bishop) Leonidas Polk
Polk quit a brief Army career to become an Episcopal priest but was estimated to have as many as 400 slaves in the 1850s. So keen on secession that he set up a Confederate church, his brief military experience earned him commission as major-general. Led troops at a series of defeats including Shiloh and was regarded as a poor tactician disliked by those he led. Killed by shellfire at Atlanta after being spotted personally by Sherman.
Fort Rucker, Alabama
Home to Army Aviation Center of Excellence. Renamed from Ozark Triangular Division Camp in 1942 for Brigadier General Edmund Rucker
Rucker volunteered as a private and rose quickly, playing a key role at the Confederate victory at Chickamauga but was captured and freed in a prisoner swap organized by Nathan Bedford Forrest. Was with Forrest when Union prisoners were systematically massacred at Pillow Hill, and worked with him after surrender, when Forrest established the KKK.
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