Fabian Donato • Feed
avatar
Fabian Donato @reliablenarrator.bsky.social

Southern military officers like George Thomas, David Farragut, Montgomery Meigs and Winfield Scott had no problem remaining loyal to the Union Why did Lee?

aug 29, 2025, 3:42 pm • 17 0

Replies

avatar
Publius @josey76.bsky.social

His reasoning is pretty famous actually. He said “I’m a Virginian first” back in the days when people viewed their statehood as more important than their nationality

aug 29, 2025, 3:57 pm • 0 0 • view
avatar
Yastreblyansky @yastreblyansky.bsky.social

States' rights rationalization going back to Patrick Henry and George Mason is always the same reactionary impulse. What they mean is they hate the Constitution and want to go back to the Articles. Not a coincidence that they called themselves "Confederacy".

aug 29, 2025, 5:52 pm • 5 0 • view
avatar
Publius @josey76.bsky.social

I think this is a fair criticism of a lot of folks who supported the confederacy. I’m not aware of Lee ever advocating for a return to the Articles of Confederation

aug 29, 2025, 6:11 pm • 0 0 • view
avatar
Yastreblyansky @yastreblyansky.bsky.social

I don't suppose he explicitly thought about it at all, but the states' rights style is inspired by it, as you can see from the confederate constitution: constitutioncenter.org/blog/looking...

n other ways, the Confederate constitution was closer to the Articles of Confederation, which preceded the U.S. Constitution—it was focused on states’ rights and limited federal power in many respects. The Confederate preamble begins, “We, the people of the Confederate States, each State acting in its sovereign and independent character.” The U.S. Constitution starts with the more familiar, “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union.” Confederate states had the ability to impeach federal officials, collect more taxes, and make treaties with each other under certain circumstances. They could also create lines of credit. When it came to elected officials, the Confederate constitution limited the president to one, six-year term in office in a person’s lifetime. The vice president didn’t have term limits. The president also had use of the line-item veto in budget matters.
aug 29, 2025, 6:27 pm • 0 0 • view
avatar
Angry Rutabaga @streamlass.bsky.social

"Economic anxiety" (his rich in-laws were slavers)

aug 29, 2025, 3:51 pm • 19 0 • view
avatar
valabama.bsky.social @valabama.bsky.social

Martha Washington's grandson was Lee's father-in-law, IIRC.

aug 29, 2025, 7:56 pm • 3 0 • view
avatar
valabama.bsky.social @valabama.bsky.social

And another presidential in-law connection: Jefferson Davis' first wife was the daughter of President Zachary Taylor.

aug 31, 2025, 2:01 pm • 1 0 • view