We cannot continue to glorify a war against the United States of America fought in the defense of slavery,” Cooper had argued in 2017. “These monuments should come down. Our Civil War history is important, but it belongs in textbooks and museums — not a place of allegiance on our Capitol grounds.” But the governor had also made it clear that the ends don’t justify the means. A 2015 enacted [law] by bipartisan majorities in the General Assembly had forbidden state or local officials from removing public monuments except under limited circumstances.