Great article, but I still think he basically chose tribe over country. Not the American thing to do.
He was loyal to his state. That meant a lot more back then.
He obviously chose country over country, CSA over USA.
Think about it, his Father, Light Horse Harry Lee, was about as Virginia as it gets. The concept of "United States" was more like "united States".
Still, he did take up arms against the union. But on his birthday, I won't say anything negative about him.
My own great-great grandfather and his eldest son left their home to fight what was perceived to be an invasion from hostile forces.We cannot fairly judge 19th century thought from our 21st century, we weren’t there.Americans owe Lee a debt of gratitude.There were those advocating guerrilla warfare as the war was winding down, Lee rejected this and instructed his men to go home,and become good citizens. Lee spent his last years at Washington University (now Washington and Lee Univ.)educating young men so Virginia could rebuild.We should all live our lives with such devotion to duty and selfless service. As a native of the Commonwealth of Virginia, I revere Gen. Lee.
There was a time long, long ago, when Americans understood that the fundamental building block was the state. This time long ago, these people considered themselves “Virginians” or “Pennsylvanians” first, and American’s afterward. They were proud to be Americans but also proud to be “Virginians”.
From a modern perspective, the US federal government has been allowed so much power and abuse of power over the separate, sovereign states, progressively crushing their authority for over 150 years or possibly more, that the modern American is generally clueless as to how vital the states were to people at the time of the Civil War and before.
(I hate the term Civil War as the war was most certainly not a Civil War. The South was not trying to control this nation, but trying to separate from this nation. It was a rebellion for southern freedom from US oppression, not a civil war for control of the USA. But I digress...)
For a small example of how important the separate states used to be, look only at the electoral college. Many modern Americans think national elections should be based on the popular vote. But we were not intended to be a raw democracy, with it’s mob rule. We were meant to be a republic. The foundation of that republic was the state. So, voters do not elect national office-holders. The separate states elect national office-holders, and the candidate who gets the most votes from the separate states, via the electoral college, wins the election. In this manner, states with tiny populations have a disproportionate strength relative to their populations. The wisdom of the founders is never-ending.
Back to Lee. You say he followed his tribe. He followed his state. Lee was already a national hero, having captured the abolitionist John Brown.
Lee believed that slavery was immoral and sinful...
“Robert E. Lee vigorously opposed slavery and as early as 1856 made this statement: “There are few, I believe, in this enlightened age, who will not acknowledge that slavery as an institution is a moral and political evil.”
“Robert E. Lee was offered command of the Union Army, but he chose instead to remain loyal to his state of Virginia, which voted to join the southern cause.
“On April 17, General Winfield Scott, Virginia-born hero of the War of 1812 and captor of Mexico City in the Mexican War, offered command of the U.S. Army to Robert E. Lee. Lee declined on the grounds that he could not participate in what he called “an invasion of the southern states.” Scott said that if Lee could not command U.S. troops he should resign his commission. He did, explaining, “If Virginia stands by the old Union, so will I. But, if she secedes (though I do not believe in secession as a constitutional right, or that there is sufficient cause for revolution), then I will still follow my native State with my sword, and if need be with my life.”
“Lee believed he was defending Virginia, not slavery.”
http://www.vahistorical.org/sva2003/confederates.htm
Interestingly, many Virginians sympathized with the north, so much so that part of Virginia seceded from the main state and became West Virginia. More interestingly, had Virginia stayed with the Union, Lee would have commanded Lincoln’s Army.
It is not that far-fetched to believe that Virginia could easily have joined the Union rather than the Confederacy. Viginia was the 8th state to secede from the Union, long after South Carolina’s initial move. Central to the decision of Virginians to secede from the Union, was their outrage over Lincoln’s behavior violating the Constitution, which they viewed as tyrannical behavior.
http://www.virginiavignettes.org/?p=93
Robert E. Lee did not follow his tribe, as you believe. He followed his state because his loyalty to his state was paramount, as was true of most people living in the 1960s. This was a no-brainer for most. Yes, brother fought brother but for the most part, people fought for their states during the “Civil War”, not against them. Lee did the same. He basically had no choice. As Virginia went, so did he.