The entire rest of the book backs up this perspective-one that he, himself, came to gradually, sometimes grudgingly, by looking at the facts and not the myths, legends, and passed-on tales. And they did it for the worst reason possible: to create a nation dedicated to exploit enslaved men, women, and children, forever. Army soldiers than any other enemy, ever. During the bloodiest war in American history, Lee and his comrades killed more U.S. Lee resigned their commissions, abrogating an oath sworn to God to defend the United States. Together, they formed a new “Confederacy,” in contravention of the U.S. Unwilling to accept the results of a fair, democratic election, they illegally seized U.S. Here’s his basic premise, laid out clearly on page 9 of the book:Įleven southern states seceded to protect and expand an African American slave labor system. Following the facts led him to some surprising and, at times, upsetting realizations about the South’s greatest hero. Seidule carried this worldview well into adulthood, but his profession as a military historian-he’s professor emeritus of history at West Point-took him to some places that were, at first, uncomfortable. As a Southerner, Seidule grew up in the shadow of Arlington Manor, immersed in a pro-South view of the world and of the war. Lee and Me: A Southerner’s Reckoning with the Myth of the Lost Cause. I recently had the chance to read Ty Seidule’s new book Robert E.
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