Robert E. Lee is one of the most confounding figures in American history. Lee betrayed his nation in order to defend his home state and uphold the slave system he claimed to oppose. He was a traitor to the country he swore to serve as an Army officer, and yet he was admired even by his enemies for his composure and leadership. He considered slavery immoral, but benefited from inherited slaves and fought to defend the institution. And behind his genteel demeanor and perfectionism lurked the insecurities of a man haunted by the legacy of a father who stained the family name by declaring bankruptcy and who disappeared when Robert was just six years old.
Commission Earned
That’s quite a spin.
ReplyDeleteBack then, Americans identified first with their state, not primarily with the federal government. Lee was highly respected, and in 1861 President Lincoln, through Francis P. Blair Sr., sounded him out for command of the Union army. Lee declined and soon chose to follow Virginia after it seceded.
Amen.
DeleteAmerica didn't become a federal corporation until after the war. People didn't identify primarily as "Americans" but as "Virginians", "Pennsylvanians", etc..
Actually, Lincoln betrayed the constitution.
ReplyDeleteThat is incorrect. At the time, Americans from both the north and the south thought that the states did have the right to leave the union.
DeleteYea well, American's opinions aren't based on Constitutional reasoning.
DeleteNeither is the SCOTUS.
DeleteThe hierarchy of power in the United States Constitution is first the individual, then the State (local), and the lowest rung is the Federal government. President Lincoln reversed it totally. The individuals came in last under his tyranny. If you think I am wrong explain why some reporters who were US citizens were imprisoned for saying the Union was wrong and Lincoln was to blame. If you measure by looking at upholding the ideals of the Founding Fathers, Lincoln was the worst President this country has ever had to date
DeleteAgree, the Tyrant was the worst followed closely by FDR. As the government grows individuals freedoms vanish. Red or Blue they don't care about you.
DeleteThe description posted with the book cover is just another example of yankee propaganda and lies, disparaging the South, and Her Sons...
ReplyDeleteSadly, some folks eat it up like dogs eating vomit...
For those who desire truth, I offer the book, "The South Was Right" by brothers,
James and Walter Kennedy... Pelican Publishing Company 1996
Agree, retrospective bile.
DeleteJpaul
THIS...^^^^^
DeleteAnother agreement. Guelzo is the wrong author for this subject.
DeleteHey, maybe that civil war wasn’t about slavery (an already dying institution)
ReplyDeleteMaybe it was more about Boston, NY , Philly bankers & tariffs & squeezing every $ out of the south Maybe
The Civil War was fought over slavery in the same sense that the Revolutionary War was fought over tea being thrown into Boston Harbor.
DeleteAs a Confederate American, this does it for me. Bye.
ReplyDeleteFragile.
DeleteNot fragile, just tired. I've been hearing this shit all my life.
DeleteWell, the south wanted a war, they started the war and then they got the war. Just didn't quite turn out like they thought it would.
DeleteNo mention that Robert E. Lee was a devout Christian. SAD
ReplyDeleteLight Horse Lee stained his family's honor?
ReplyDeleteWhat you meant to say was that as a Revolutionary War hero and a signer of the Declaration Of Independence, he was serious about his pledge to put his life liberty and fortune on the line.
Robert E Lees father was not the only founding father to go bankrupt in the service of his country.
Asshole writers. More revisionist shit!
Total revisionist propaganda.
ReplyDeleteEvidence our country has been on a rapidly accelerating decline for decades. The vandalism / desecration and ultimate destruction of his monument in Richmond. Truly despicable acts, done by truly despicable people.
Deletehistory is created by authors, kinda like news nowadays. who the hell you gonna believe.
ReplyDeleteWell, after that description, I won't be buying that book.
ReplyDeleteDoubtful the author could carry Lee's water.
ReplyDeleteThese past few days with all this South will rise again nonsense is right up there with flat earthers, gravity doesn’t exist, and men never landed on the moon conspiracy thinking.
ReplyDeleteYet there seem to be enough of you out there to investigate this further. I’m asking for a recommendation for a good book or two that helps explain your position in a modern context. What does a Confederate position mean today and what role does it play in the future of these United States?
Skip any Bible-twisting, white superiority junk tho. If that is still part of your platform, your input is DOA.
Why on earth should any of us care what you think? Who should spend any time arguing with you? If you argue with a fool, you have two fools arguing.
DeleteYou are shit out of luck. There is no such thing as a justification for South secession without white supremacy and slavery justification
DeleteNot sure the South will or can rise again, but be sure, the Yankee Empire will fall. It's built on forcing policy against human nature, and the modern GAE especially takes a lot of propaganda to stay afloat. The lie can't last forever.
DeleteMoron, 80 percent of all chemicals are made in Houston, the fastest growing cities are in the south while northern and western cities are bleeding taxpaying citizens.....I don't even have the time to list it all.
DeleteThe south is not going to rise, it has risen, while the north, east and west devolve into liberal shitholes.
Try to pay attention dipshit.
That blurb is a load of manure big enough to fertilize the lower 40
ReplyDeleteI had to follow the link to amazon to make sure it was the authors blurb and not this blogs position.
DeleteIt is the amazon blurb. I hope our revered blogger is not of the same mind.
-----------back 40 and lower 48-----
ReplyDeleteBased on the blurb, the author does not understand Lee adn is clueless about much else. The book isn't worth the paper it is printed on.
ReplyDeleteRelax. The owner of this website, that primarily deals with pictures, and occasional short video clips, puts up lots of things throughout any given year for all of us to look at. It does not mean any endorsement is implied, and I doubt that this current one is any indication of anything. Take a chill pill.
ReplyDeleteto anonymous at 10:04 am. Sir, Madam, or whatever imaginary sex/gender you are:
ReplyDeleteThere is no such thing as "explain your position from a modern context" when we are discussing the past. There are so many misconceptions, lies, and nonsense out there I would need a week just to educate you enough to participate in a discussion.
The idiot who posted second after you is too stupid to address. The Federal states ALL believed in "white supremacy". You idiot- do you think in New York a black man could just walk into any hotel? Did the southern states have slavery? Yes. Did the Union have slavery? yes. Did the Union abolish slavery when the Confederates left when they had complete control of the US congress? no. Did Lincoln abolish slavery in the emancipation proclamation? No. He said if you boys don't come back to the Union we'll take your slaves. Did the Union abolish slavery after Lee's surrender? Again NO! It took 8 more months before the 13th amendment.
I won't even mention the New England sea captains who made their fortunes by shipping slaves from Africa.
That's enough free truth wasted on you- I need a drink.
I never asked for a discussion, and I didn’t ask for a history lesson. I asked for reading material recommendations that would identify a Confederate’s position and place in the modern world.
DeleteMaybe check out the Abbeville Institue. Their goal is to explore what is true and valuable from the Southern position. They try not to be all war, but articles about history are of course inevitable.
DeleteDisagree with the characterization of "traitor". He considered himself a Virginian, serving in the US Army. When circumstance made it impossible to reconcile both, he made a choice. He resigned his commission to defend the state of his birth. As was already mentioned, at the time, folks held a very strong tie to their state.
ReplyDeleteHe paid a heavy price for his dedication to Virginia. What was done to his memorial in Richmond was simply spiteful.
On the South rising again, if everyone else is sinking is the South rising?
ReplyDeleteI am old and estranged from my kids so it does not matter to me
I’m a rebel I reckon but I’m over it. Some of you might consider it whenever you calm down and none of my ancestors owned slaves. Best I can tell, they worked like them though. Check out Tories of the hills for a different perspective.
ReplyDelete"With all my devotion to the Union and the feeling of loyalty and duty of an American citizen, I have not been able to make up my mind to raise my hand against my relatives, my children, my home. I have therefore resigned my commission in the Army, and save in defense of my native State, with the sincere hope that my poor services may never be needed, I hope I may never be called on to draw my sword."
ReplyDelete.
-- Robert E. Lee, letter to his sister, after turning down Lincoln's request to lead the Union army.