Now local and state officials in states like North Carolina, Texas and Tennessee are facing the outrage of liberal and African-American constituencies, who say the statues should have never gone up in the first place, and the fury of some whites who fear their history is being erased.

On Wednesday night, Gov. Terry McAuliffe of Virginia said that Confederate monuments in the state should be taken down, and he urged local and state leaders to move them into museums. Two years ago, Mr. McAuliffe argued in support of keeping the statues in public spaces, saying that “these are all parts of our heritage.”