I know about the compromise in 2000 to have the smaller flag flown, but when did the state originally start doing it? Was it a tradition that continued on after the Civil War, or was it something that was done after the war to memorialize the soldiers who fought in it?
We discussed this in class one day (I go to Clemson) and it was put up in 1962 or '63 to commemorate 100 years of the civil war. Allegedly. It is suspected that the real reason had to do with the Civil Rights Movement. So there was actually 97/98 year gap where the flag was not flown.
Georgia did something similar in response to Brown v Board. They replaced the flag designed by a former confederate colonel to honor the confederate fallen with a flag that included the stars and bars, claiming it was about Southern heritage. In response to the court decision Georgia also considered closing all public schools.
Tack-on question - when did the Rebs become the mascot of Ole Miss?