Then why did R.E. Lee say this on 2 October 1965 after the war was over???
“I, Robert E. Lee of Lexington, Virginia, do solemnly swear in the presence of almighty God, that I will henceforth faithfully support, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and the Union of the states there under, and that I will, in like manner, abide by and faithfully support all laws and proclamation which have been made during the existing rebellion with reference to the emancipation of slaves, so help me God.”
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~gabrantl/lee-amnestyoath.html
Maybe because of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that got passed the year before? LOL
1.) By the end of the war, there was no doubt that the states were not sovereign and were merely part of the Federal Government. Before the war, men like Lee felt that a State was a country. The Civil War changed all that. I'm not defending Lee's decision, nor am I saying he made the correct decision. I'm merely saying that I do not think he was a traitor in that he saw Virginia as the country to which he was loyal. After the war, he found out that Virginia wasn't diddly anymore.