Thomas Jefferson emblem of white supremacy

[Millhouse]

(08-25-2017, 11:35 AM)PhilHos Wrote: One of my more conservative friends on Facebook posted a story suggesting that Robert E. Lee was actually in favor of freeing the slaves and stuff but that he felt it was his honor to fight for his home state or some such hogwash. I was like, you can't say you were against slavery yet lead the fight for the side that wants to keep it. What, was R.E. Lee channeling his inner John Kerry or something? 

Fighting for Virginia, or as Lee would have it called it his country, was most important to him. If Virginia would have freed the slaves and then joined the Union instead, he would have led all the Union armies on the outset of the war to come. But his loyalties were to Virginia first and foremost, that can't be argued. So that part is correct.

I think though when I see things on Facebook and otherwise on the other part of Lee being in favor of freeing the slaves, it is an attempt to rewrite history so to speak to make him seem more noble and acceptable to today's world. Which is no different than the reason why so many of these Confederate monuments were put up in the 1900s, which was the South's attempt to rewrite a history of 4 years of treason to protect slavery, by saying it was a 'war between the states' and these figures should be glorified, all the while conveniently glossing over slavery.