There are few, I believe, in this enlightened age, who will not acknowledge that slavery as an institution is a moral and political evil in any Country – Robert E. Lee (1856)
A Land without memories is a people without liberty – Robert E. Lee
The events in Charlottesville this past weekend were ugly and appalling. The news coverage of what occurred on Friday evening and Saturday morning was both graphic and exhaustive and we don’t intend to repeat any of it here. Because of the heat of the moment, what has not been covered much, or well, is the action that sparked this unrest in the first place. The city officials of Charlottesville made a decision to remove a historical memorial to Robert E. Lee that they now deem to be offensive to their constituents. This action is similar to that of a few other southern cities in recent years and not unique to Charlottesville. While their decision in no way justifies the violence of this past weekend, one cannot deny it began a sequence of events that led up to this weekend’s turmoil. So why did the Charlottesville city officials decide that Lee’s memorial must go? And were they really so naïve as to believe there wouldn’t be a strong negative reaction?
The City stated it wanted to remove the memorial because Lee fought for the Confederate army in the Civil War, whose goal was to defend the institution of slavery. Since slavery is such a blight on our country’s past, they deemed it necessary to remove a “monument” that would dignify, or even just remind us, of those who participated in or defended slavery. That all sounds reasonable on the surface. Unfortunately, history cannot be erased or changed, it is what it is. While it would be nice to simply wash away the bad parts of our history, it can’t be done, it’s always there. What is truly ironic in this case is how ignorant the Charlottesville city officials appear to be of the deep historical connections to slavery throughout their own city and state. If they are now going to follow what they believe is a progressive and laudable trend in condemning historical figures and groups for their involvement in the institution of slavery, as well as removing/dismantling physical reminders of the same, there’s a lot more work to do in Virginia than almost anywhere else. The memorial in Emancipation Park (formerly named “Lee Park” until this past June) is far from the only reminder of Robert E. Lee in the state of Virginia. For example, having successfully removed his name from a park and after voting to remove his statue, what might be in store for Washington and Lee University? After the Civil War, Lee became president of this university, located an hour south of Charlottesville, and remained so until his death in 1870.
During his lifetime, Robert E. Lee never purchased any slaves1. On the other hand, another famous Virginian, James Madison, owned over 100 slaves in his lifetime. Madison’s historic home of Montpelier is located just outside of Charlottesville and is a popular tourist attraction. James Madison University is also only an hour’s drive from Charlottesville. And then there’s the very uncomfortable predicament of Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson personally owned far more slaves even than Madison. Plus, there is very strong historical evidence that Jefferson fathered six children by one of his slaves. If the Charlottesville city officials were genuine and intellectually honest in the support of their cause, they would set about removing references and edifices to both Jefferson and Madison as well. Whoops – they can’t do that. Monticello (Jefferson’s home) is the biggest tourist attraction in Charlottesville. Also, Jefferson founded the University of Virginia, which is right smack in the center of Charlottesville – whoops again! History can be cruel.
There’s one more huge historical fact the Charlottesville city officials seem to have overlooked. The state of Virginia itself voted to secede from the union in 1861 and join the other Confederate states in the fight to preserve slavery. If Pandora’s box is going to be opened in Virginia on the subject of who was complicit as regards slavery, the discrediting of Robert E. Lee doesn’t even begin to the close the lid. Do the Charlottesville city officials really want to begin heading down this path? We think not. It would be unnecessarily destructive to the state with exploding landmines all over the place. Do they even realize that Richmond Virginia was the capital, and thus the epicenter of the Confederacy? If so, then why did they embark on this course?
We think it likely is one of two scenarios. Possibly they became convinced a majority of the electorate would be approving of their action to remove the Lee memorial and thus tried to score a quick win for re-election purposes. Alternatively, they may have simply copied the actions of other former confederate cities in an effort to be seen as “politically correct”. If the latter, it seems monumentally foolish not to have considered their state’s own history before acting. Like most poorly-thought out actions performed for political gain, this has rebounded in numerous harmful ways, as evidenced by the events of this weekend.
America is a work in progress. Ideas held strongly in the past have painfully changed and evolved into our present views. Many believe we are more enlightened now than in the days of the Civil War. Our current views may likewise evolve in the future, and we may find it necessary and humane to abandon positions we currently uphold. We learn from the errors of our past. Demonizing sincere, if flawed, leaders of past times such as Robert E. Lee serves no rational purpose and robs us of the chance to thoughtfully evaluate important figures of the past. We must learn from both their strengths and their failings. Men such as Lee, Madison, and Jefferson were not intrinsically evil. If one reads history, it is plain they did the best they could to serve their countrymen whilst wrestling mentally and spiritually with the evils and realities of their day.
The saying goes, if we fail to learn from history, we are doomed to repeat it. If history is removed, hidden, made forbidden to view or thoughtfully evaluate, just because we feel we’ve grown beyond it, we are merely doomed.
1Lee is cited in some text’s as having inherited slaves in 1857 which he then freed in 1862. Lee’s father-in-law, George Washington Parke Custis, did own slaves and stated in his Will that those slaves were to be freed 5 years after his death. Custis died in 1857. Lee, in his role as executor of Custis’s will, carried out the conditions of the will as stated, but never himself “owned” those slaves.
2 Responses
This is an excellent primer on “know your facts before you cast judgement”. Thank you again for making me smarter.
Had a short discussion about this at lunch today with a work colleague. Although the state of Virginia needs to wipe its conscience, so does the state of Rhode Island. Caroline called me over the weekend to tell me that she has today, Monday, off from work. It’s a state holiday and has been so for almost 70 years, the last and only state to still celebrate Victory Day or as Rhode Islanders still say, VJ Day, Victory over Japan.
I was blown away . Obviously it is continually under fire for still being observed and very offensive given that it celebrates the horrific atomic bombing of two Japanese cities but its defenders spout everything from labor laws (holiday time off) to veterans of the war saying that if we are so worriedso about offending the Japanese then we should also get rid of July 4th since that must be pretty offensive to the Brits.
Anyway, my lunch date today is in fact Japanese and was as surprised and amazed as me in regard to the RI state “holiday”. But it gave her a chance to tell me about the Japanese interment camps in Wyoming that you can still go and visit as she and her family did not too long ago. They are there, a symbol of something that we don’t want to be reminded of…. a reflection in a mirror of decisions made irrationally, actions that do not reflect who we are as a country. But there they are, open to the public to view, to educate and to remind us that we are not perfect, not then, not now and we’ll do better in the future.
And I believe that was exactly your point too. Without these reminders, by trying to erase history, we will lose where we have been and how far we have come ..,,,the essence of progress.
Excellent points K. I didn’t know you could still visit the camps in Wyoming. Bad behaviour in our history, is still our history. It takes an open and willing mind to appreciate the lessons that can be learned, good and bad, from our past. You put it perfectly “…to educate and to remind us that we are not perfect, not then, not now and we’ll do better in the future”. Tom