Bibliograph

Robert E. Lee and me, a Southerner's reckoning with the myth of the lost cause, Ty Seidule

Type

Label

Robert E. Lee and me, a Southerner's reckoning with the myth of the lost cause, Ty Seidule

Language

eng

Bibliography note

Includes bibliographical references (pages 457-529)

resource.biographical

contains biographical information

Index

no index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

Robert E. Lee and me

Nature of contents

bibliography

Oclc number

11259018011

Responsibility statement

Ty Seidule

Series statement

Thorndike Press Large Print History Fact and Fiction

Sub title

a Southerner's reckoning with the myth of the lost cause

Summary

Ty Seidule grew up revering Robert E. Lee. From his southern childhood to his service in the U.S. Army, every part of his life reinforced the Lost Cause myth: that Lee was the greatest man who ever lived, and that the Confederates were underdogs who lost the Civil War with honor. Now, as a retired brigadier general and Professor Emeritus of History at West Point, his view has radically changed. From a soldier, a scholar, and a southerner, Ty Seidule believes that American history demands a reckoning. In a unique blend of history and reflection, Seidule deconstructs the truth about the Confederacy--that its undisputed primary goal was the subjugation and enslavement of Black Americans--and directly challenges the idea of honoring those who labored to preserve that system and committed treason in their failed attempt to achieve it. Through the arc of Seidule's own life, as well as the culture that formed him, he seeks a path to understanding why the facts of the Civil War have remained buried beneath layers of myth and even outright lies--and how they embody a cultural gulf that separates millions of Americans to this day. Part history lecture, part meditation on the Civil War and its fallout, and part memoir, Robert E. Lee and Me challenges the deeply-held legends and myths of the Confederacy--and provides a surprising interpretation of essential truths that our country still has a difficult time articulating and accepting

Table Of Contents

My childhood : raised on a White Southern myth -- My hometown : a hidden history of slavery, Jim Crow, and integration -- My adopted hometowns : a hidden history as "Lynchtown" -- My college : the shrine of the lost cause -- My military career : glorifying Confederates in the U.S. Army -- My academic career : glorifying Robert E. Lee at West Point -- My verdict : Robert E. Lee committed treason to preserve slavery -- Epilogue: A Southern soldier confronts the lost cause in the shrine of the South

Classification