In 1807, Robert Edward Lee was born in Stratford, Virginia only to be destined for greatness from a young age. He was able to fulfill his destiny during the United States Civil War. Lee rose to the rank of General of the Confederate Army and scored multiple victories for the Confederates. However, the strong efforts of Lee and his men could not withstand the Union Army. Lee was forced to surrender in 1865, officially ending the Civil War. Putting his days on the front line behind him, Robert Lee became Washington College’s president. Lee died in 1870 from pneumonia. In an effort to memorialize Lee’s gallant efforts, Washington College was renamed Washington and Lee University. Robert E. Lee continues to a prominent wartime hero throughout the years and his views on slavery remain controversial because he owned slaves despite viewing slavery as an evil. Lee said his childhood was far from ordinary. “I was born in …show more content…
Although not a direct cause of the Civil War, slavery can be classified as one. Many southerners fighting in fact were not slave owners. However, they believed that the Northern states had no Constitutional right to forcefully free their slaves. Lee acquired slaves from his wife’s estates in Arlington. George Washington Custis, Mary Lee’s father, stated in his will that his slaves should be set free five years after he passed. According to one of Custis’s slaves, they were supposed to be set free immediately, but his successors failed to do so because it was not stated in the will. Lee’s stance on this slavery issue goes against his sentiment. Lee concluded with, “I believe, in this enlightened age, who will not acknowledge that slavery as an institution is a moral and political evil... I think it is a greater evil to the white than to the colored race”. Despite owning slaves, he viewed slavery as an abomination of mankind making his view