Robert E. Lee statue removed from the Capitol. Par for the course in 2020, but a shame to see no less.

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"The Robert E. Lee statue honors a legacy of division, oppression, and racism a dark period in the history of our Commonwealth and our country," they said. "There is no reason his statue should be one of the two representing Virginia in the U.S. Capitol."

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https://www.politico.com/news/2020/12/21/robert-e-lee-statue-removed-from-capitol-449503

AgBQ-00 said:

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Ghost of Andrew Eaton said:

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tmaggies said:

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Yea go ahead and erase it all.......I am proud of my families confederate history!

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Are you a member of the Lee family?

Nothing is being erased, a correction is being made.

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This is straight from ministry of truth double speak.

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Please explain. I'm all for having a conversation.

BigJim49 AustinNowDallas said:

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He also fought FOR the USA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Was his service to the United States worthy of a statue within the Capitol building? Would officers with a similar service record have a statue within the building?

https://images.app.goo.gl/HMhGmnikkwtVfKzc6

"It's often forgotten that Lee himself, after the Civil War, opposed monuments, specifically Confederate war monuments," said Jonathan Horn, the author of the Lee biography, "The Man Who Would Not Be Washington."
"Lee believed countries that erased visible signs of civil war recovered from conflicts quicker," Horn said. "He was worried that by keeping these symbols alive, it would keep the divisions alive."

Mr. AGSPRT04 said:

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I assume you're Sapper so you are or should be aware of what a Hati-style slave rebellion would have meant for this country. REL answering the call of the USA to efficiently retake the federal arsenal from under the control of a Toussaint L'Ouverture wannabe is a reason to honor the man.

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It was my understanding that Brown wanted to create a series of "forts" within the Appalachian mountains to help runaways escape from slavery.

And I'm not Sapper.

BQ78 said:

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Benedict Arnold has a monument for his efforts at Saratoga. do we need to go pull it down?

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Does it celebrate his service to the British?

BQ78 said:

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It celebrates the man who provided service to the British.

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Not the same thing but you already knew that.

BQ78 said:

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It's not?

I would argue the success of the Mexican War was in a large part due to the efforts of REL, I would say they are quite similar to Arnold before he became a "traitor." REL was a man of higher principles than Arnold but actions are similar.

If anything REL may be more deserving of statues because unlike Arnold who wound up with a foreign power, Lee supported a domestic power. Like it or not the Confederacy was an American power.

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So the statues to Lee have been erected due to his service in the Mexican War? If that's the case, keep them up. But I think you know that isn't why 99% of monuments to REL have been erected.

How many other military leaders have statues within the Capitol building?

BQ78 said:

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Joe Wheeler is in there still from Alabama

Alec Stephens of the Cornerstone speech fame is still in there

Also the the traitor Zebulon Vance from NC.

The ultimate traitor Jeff Davis is still there too.

REL is more deserving than those four.

You got something against military men, typically I find them more honorable than politicians who seem to predominate the statues?

But besides Wheeler you also have Nathanial Greene, Wade Hampton (another traitor), Phil Kearney, Oliver Perry, Lew Wallace, James Garfield and George Washington. Those are who come to mind there are probably others.

All men are flawed, if a flaw makes you unworthy of honor, no one including Mother Theresa deserves a statue.

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First, I have no problems at all with military men whatsoever. I apologize if that is what I communicated but it's not accurate. I believe that any statue should be removed from the Capitol that celebrates the actions of those men serving the Confederacy. If the Jeff Davis statue is only about his dedicated service to the country before the Civil War, I'm all for it. Same with Lee but that usually isn't why statues of Lee and Davis are erected. It's the same reason I'm good with the Sul Ross statue. He's not honored as a Confederate "hero" except for one passing mention that probably should be erased from that statue on campus. Keep it about A&M and A&M only.

I don't think anyone on here is asking for perfection. I'm not against Washington or Jackson statues, as long as they don't memorialize their actions as enslavers. But I do believe that the motivation for erecting a statue is a significant factor in whether it should remain or not. From what I know about Lee statues, he's always in his "Confederate " uniform and that doesn't need to be celebrated in public building.

Lee had a number of quality attributes but his service to the Confederacy isn't even close to being one.

Robert E Lee freed the slaves on this day in 1862 that he inherited from his father in law, two and a half years before the end of the war.

Those slaves were part of his FIL's estate, when he died in 1857 his will declared they be freed within five years.
Lee actually petitioned the courts twice to have that timeframe extended indefinitely and lost. He also called slavery an evil, but was clear he thought that was more to do with its effect on white owners than on the slaves.

So I don't think he was a gung ho slave owner, but he certainly wasn't an abolitionist either.