a Quora about Robert E. Lee
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Eric Farmer
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Bachelor's in History, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs
(Graduated 2024)Tue
How do supporters of Robert E. Lee reconcile his role in defending the Confederacy with his reputation as a noble and honorable leader?
President Dwight Eisenhower had a portrait of Robert E. Lee in the White
House during his tenure as U.S. President. One American citizen wrote to
him, asking why Eisenhower, a patriot, scholar, and hero of the American people, would lionize Robert E. Lee.
Dear Mr. President:
At the Republication Convention I heard you mention that you have the
pictures of four (4) great Americans in your office, and that included
in these is a picture of Robert E. Lee.
I do not understand how any American can include Robert E. Lee as a
person to be emulated, and why the President of the United States of
America should do so is certainly beyond me.
The most outstanding thing that Robert E. Lee did, was to devote his
best efforts to the destruction of the United States Government, and I
am sure that you do not say that a person who tries to destroy our
Government is worthy of being held as one of our heroes.
Will you please tell me just why you hold him in such high esteem?
Sincerely yours,
Leon W. Scott
President Eisenhower responded with a clear defense of his veneration of Robert E. Lee, noting the virtues of the Confederate general as well as
the serious question of the Constitutionality of the Confederate cause.
Dear Dr. Scott:
Respecting your August 1 inquiry calling attention to my often expressed admiration for General Robert E. Lee, I would say, first, that we need
to understand that at the time of the War between the States the issue
of secession had remained unresolved for more than 70 years. Men of
probity, character, public standing and unquestioned loyalty, both North
and South, had disagreed over this issue as a matter of principle from
the day our Constitution was adopted.
General Robert E. Lee was, in my estimation, one of the supremely gifted
men produced by our Nation. He believed unswervingly in the
Constitutional validity of his cause which until 1865 was still an
arguable question in America; he was a poised and inspiring leader, true
to the high trust reposed in him by millions of his fellow citizens; he
was thoughtful yet demanding of his officers and men, forbearing with
captured enemies but ingenious, unrelenting and personally courageous in battle, and never disheartened by a reverse or obstacle. Through all his
many trials, he remained selfless almost to a fault and unfailing in his
faith in God. Taken altogether, he was noble as a leader and as a man,
and unsullied as I read the pages of our history.
From deep conviction, I simply say this: a nation of men of Lee’s
calibre would be unconquerable in spirit and soul. Indeed, to the degree
that present-day American youth will strive to emulate his rare
qualities, including his devotion to this land as revealed in his
painstaking efforts to help heal the Nation’s wounds once the bitter struggle was over, we, in our own time of danger in a divided world,
will be strengthened and our love of freedom sustained.
Such are the reasons that I proudly display the picture of this great
American on my office wall.
Sincerely,
Dwight D. Eisenhower
When people today defend Robert E. Lee, it is typically by first trying
to understand the period of time he lived in, the values of his culture,
and those noticeable elements that have almost universally been held as virtues throughout most of human history. Lee was a man, and thus had
his faults and wrong ideologies, but he was also, by most accounts, a
great man who valued his “country” as he saw it, his family and friends, his soldiers, and his faith. Admiration for him was widespread, as even
in Europe Lee garnered praise as a noble man and a great captain.
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