In my latest piece at the Emerging Civil War Blog, I examine the legacy of General Robert E. Lee on the 156th anniversary of his death. I’m not the first to do so, and I certainly won’t be the last. But I try to approach the subject from a balanced perspective. Lee should be understood as a complex and consequential American historical figure, not as either heroic myth or modern scapegoat. Erasing his memorials does not erase the history that produced him, and reducing him to a symbol to be torn down does nothing to illuminate the full, messy, contradictory history that made him significant in the first place.
Check it out:
What are your thoughts?