Some people object today when the Confederate battle flag is displayed in various parts of the country, as they claim it was flown over slavery. During the occupation of the Confederate States by the U.S. Army from 1865 until 1877, the display of any Confederate flag and the singing or playing of ''Dixie'' was strictly forbidden. It occurs to me that slavery was a legal institution from 1641 when it was recognized in a legal document in the colony of Massachusetts until the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified on the 6th of December 1865. So, the Stars and Stripes ...