“That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.” – Richard Henry Lee, Patriot and Father to Robert E. Lee
Please pay attention to the wording here. Richard Henry Lee was an “Anti-Federalist”. His understanding of each state being free and independent was the original understanding under the Articles of Confederation that founded this nation prior to the Constitution creating a stronger federal bond between the states under the federal government located, of course, in Washington, D.C. This is the understanding that was among the controversies, that included slavery, leading to the Civil War. It is not as though the South en masse suddenly rebelled against the Federal government (Union). This was what led to the idea that states could elect to secede from that Union. It is sickening to read, over and over again, the simplistic notion that the South was suddenly betraying the United States, almost as sickening as the institution of slavery itself. To suddenly completely discount men such as Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson, is to get our nation’s history totally wrong in favor of an ill-informed narrative. Yes, we were right in preserving the Union. But many of the men on the opposing side had strong philosophical convictions too. This is why Lincoln ended the war as he did, insisting that our nation have malice toward NONE.
