Yet, none of his detractors have sufficiently challenged the idea that his choices were based on what he felt was the most honorable course. Destroying our history is the absolute worst thing we can do in my opinion! Even if were justified by reason and logic, the removal of relics or reminders from our painful past will condemn our followers to repeat that painful history. • While personally against Slavery & Secession told He did apply thereby admitting his role in Rebellion. The men's lacrosse team has won eight national championships and appeared in the NCAA tournament sixteen times. You have the opportunity to present your arguments here, but you choose not to. If you need the reconcile the primary actions for which Lee is celebrated as, maybe not treasonous, rather than, obviously heroic, maybe naming a barracks name after him isn't the right thing to do. Howard. Hitler, Osama, King George III, and all the other enemies of the flag go in one (textbooks) but not ther other (monuments). I don't know for sure, but I'm assuming the Superintendent. That is a fact that cannot be re-interpreted. For transparency you should confirm or deny. We're talking about West Point. If there is to be reconciliation, the South must first confront the fact they subverted the U.S constitution in order to sustain enslaving another human . Freshmen have no leadership responsibilities, but have a host of duties to perform as they learn how to follow orders and operate in an environment of rigid rank structure, while seniors have significant leadership responsibilities and significantly more privileges that correspond to their rank. The inspection process is arduous and considered part of the punishment, but the time spent does not count against the awarded number of tours. I expect that when the decision to remove the monuments comes, we do not hear a peep from those that say we shouldn’t second guess decisions of leadership. [87], After the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy was lifted September 20, 2011, the academy began admitting and retaining openly gay cadets. By all means, look for the evidence of bias. In late August, first class cadets celebrate Ring Weekend, in February they mark their last 100 days with 100th Night, and in May they have a full week of events culminating in their graduation. I did not suggest you or RAY thought slavery was, "a cause worth fighting for." That's an entirely different question and has nothing to do with the argument made by the authors. I read that Lee was indicted as well. Are we to excise our history prior to the 13th Amendment, get rid of the Stars & Stripes, and rejoin Great Britain because some in our history supported slavery or supported compromises to avoid bloodshed over slavery? I thought you were saying that generally people need to declare their political leanings before they post their opinions so everyone knows whether to automatically reject them or not. The best example is Gen. Benjamin O. Davis, Jr.—the academy’s fourth black graduate in the seven decades after slavery ended—who is the namesake of the academy’s newest barracks construction. West Point's student body has a unique rank structure and lexicon. Keep it up! Levying war against the government was the treason. Thank you, Colonel, for standing up for historical truths. At first Lee hesitated, but on the advice of friends and family he eventually accepted the position. [92] Based on the significance both of the Revolutionary War fort ruins and of the military academy itself, the majority of the academy area was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1960. He took an oath to uphold and protect the Constitution of the United States, the only country of which he was a citizen or subject. If you only want to argue that the decision to not charge leaders of the South with treason at the time was a good one, that is a discussion of interest, but not a direct argument against the allegation that the actions they took were treasonous. [105] The cemetery is also home to a monument to Revolutionary War heroine Margaret Corbin.