As someone who teaches history, the oversimplification of Robert E. Lee's legacy is troubling.

The idea that Robert E. Lee was a traitor is one which chooses to apply modern lenses to historical problems, which is at best problematic and at worst, irresponsible

We have the benefit of 150+ years of hindsight. At the time, state loyalty was very real and very much dominant over federal loyalty. Lee was not unique in his choice, north or south. It's present in naming conventions("the United States are" was the conventional phrasing)

If you don't believe me, read a history of the Whigs, or the recent NYT best seller "The Field of Blood", an extremely good book which looks at American politics between the revolution and the civil war. Robert E. Lee was...pretty much facing the same dilemma everyone else was.

No, Robert E. Lee is not the angel which the lost causers make him out to be. However, accounts from his men reveal him to be caring and just minded, if somewhat cold and distant. He is flawed, but the idea that a Lee born today would be a new David Duke is pretty laughable.

The hatred for Robert E. Lee always exposes a sadder problem: people think all the southern states were just full of slave owners fighting to keep people in chains.

Most southerners were poor. They didn't own plantations. Often they had a slave because the slave had been payment. Often times, these slaves buying their freedom was encouraged. Poor people, by definition, do not benefit much from slave labor.

The civil war was not "Robert E. Lee and his Racist Batallions." It was a culmination of years of saber rattling, strong identification with states, and poor economic policies. Moreover, it was fought with common values at said time

Unless your takeaway is "everyone in the 1800s was bad" (which would be dumb, because Grant did more for civil rights than pretty much everyone in the 20th century) take time to learn about the complexity of mid 19th century norms before you condemn Robert E. Lee or anyone else.

Keep in mind, by the way, that this defense of Robert E. Lee has been mounted by me, a person who idolizes Ulysses S. Grant *and* William Tecumseh Sherman.