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| Yes | 34% | 128 votes | Total: 377 votes | |
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Add to FavoritesThe issue of whether or not General Robert E. Lee of Virginia should have been tried for treason against the United States of America is tricky. Article 3, Section 3 of the US Constitution clearly defines what treason is: "Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort."
According to the US Constitution, General Robert E. Lee, despite his allegiance to Virginia first and foremost, was an American citizen and not only gave aid and comfort to the Confederacy but also helped the Confederacy wage war against the United States. However, two things to consider. The first being that within the same portion of the Constitution, it also states that "no Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the testimony of two Witnesses to the save overt Act, or on Confession in open court." Granted, there probably would have been a number of people who would have been more than happy to appear in court and give eye-witness accounts proving that Lee in fact waged war against the US and also gave comfort to its enemies; but then again, in those times there was a code of honor between generals and armies, and it is probably unlikely that an individual such as General Grant would have bore witness against Lee as a traitor.
Second, there is the whole state's rights debate; and whether or not states could secede from the Union. There is no article within the US Constitution that declares whether a state could or could not secede from the Union; therefore, it could be argued that the union of states is not permanent and that the Confederacy was well within its rights to secede since there was no Constitutional law prohibiting secession. Therefore, though General Lee was an enemy combatant against the United States, he was not necessarily fighting against his country (the US) as much as he was fighting for his country (the Confederacy); and this could explain why no Confederate leader was ever tried for treason. It could further be argued that General Lee and the Confederacy were holding to the ideals set forth in the Declaration of Independence: "...it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government..."
With a literal interpretation of the Constitution, I feel that Robert E. Lee and other Confederate leaders should have been tried for treason; but since the issue of secession was, and still is, Constitutionally ambiguous, I don't think any prosecution would have succeeded in trying them for treason and would only have further infuriated those angry with the outcome of the Civil War.
Learn more about this author, Palmer Blevins.
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No
Prosecuting Robert Edward Lee for treason would have been a futile effort on the part of the United States Government. In fact, a trial would have opened a new front in the battle to calm discontent still simmering across the reunified nation. Lee had lived his entire life in pursuit of the virtues of honor, integrity, and duty. He was revered in the former Confederacy and respected in the north for his high character and military prowess. To convict Lee as a traitor would have been a monumental task and one the evidence would not have allowed.
Robert E. Lee was a man of impeccable character. The Lee family was well known throughout Virginia and the United States for their patriotism and devotion to duty. Lee's father, Light Horse Harry Lee was a Revolutionary War hero and former Governor of Virginia. Young Robert would follow his father in military service to his country. He graduated second in his 1829 West Point class without a single demerit on his record. Lee served 32 years in the Army of the United States, distinguishing himself to his superiors in the Mexican-American conflict of 1846-1848. By 1861 Lee was regarded as one of the most outstanding soldiers in the Army, and by many accounts, the best the nation had to offer.
As the call for secession grew louder, Robert E. Lee spoke against it. He believed secession was counter to the dreams of the founding fathers. Americans living in the 19th century placed loyalty to their state ahead of loyalty to the collective union of states. In his letter to Winfield Scott, resigning from the United States Army, Lee wrote, "save in the defense of my native State I never desire again to draw my sword." For Lee the choice was difficult, but clear. Duty and honor required him to follow the lead of his native state, the Commonwealth of Virginia.
After Confederate forces in the field were vanquished and the Confederate Government dissolved, Robert E. Lee pledged allegiance to the United States. As a result of the high regard former Confederates had for Lee, his immediate call for reunification helped quell pockets of resistance to Yankee rule in the South. He applied for a complete pardon and signed an oath of allegiance to the government in 1865. His actions no doubt led the way for other former Rebels to pursue reunification and resolution over dissolution and further conflict.
A trial to convict Robert E. Lee for treason would have been the "trial of the 19th century." The Government of the United States would have found it very difficult to pursue a conviction of Lee. If a conviction had come, the repercussions would have been devastating to a nation reunified in name only. Resentments found in most southern homes would have grown only deeper if Lee had been relegated to a northern prison in the years following the War Between the States. The Reconstruction Era would have gone on longer and proven more difficult had Lee been deemed a traitor by the victorious Union. In the end, the benefits of a conviction would not have outweighed the destructive power accompanying that result. Robert E. Lee deserved better. Duty and honor would compel the United States to allow this great American to live the remainder of his life in peace.
Learn more about this author, Scott Shaddox.
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