BLOG 6: Robert E. Lee

Although Robert E. Lee was the general of the Confederate army, something most people would oppose, he wrote the “Letter to His Son” quite proficiently or possibly just admirably. His letter is probably enough to make a person respect the Confederate cause. Lee states that he does not want civil war to “take the place of brotherly love and kindness” (Lee). Lee also says he will “draw my sword on none” “save in defense” (Lee). He contends to his principles, he is prideful, and he is “willing to sacrifice everything but honor for its [the Union’s] preservation” (Lee). It is pretty obvious that Lee’s philosophy is that each person should live by their principles and stand by their people, even in the worst times.

Thoreau’s ideas expressed in “Civil Disobedience” are right alongside with Robert E. Lee. They both basically say that people have to do what they believe regardless of the legality or consequences. This is a slightly more bold idea, but they are not far off from it. Thoreau says that people should be able to govern themselves, and that unjust laws could be broken. He says “but if it is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then, I say, break the law” (Thoreau). That is pretty much what Lee did when he left the Union.

Some of Emerson’s ideas also coincide with Robert E. Lee. As Patricia Brugman says, “Emerson states that the strong individual is the result of strong, personal truths” (Brugman). According to this, everyone who follows their deep truths is a strong individual, so Lee would be considered a strong individual to Emerson. But Emerson also says “Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string” (Emerson). If everybody had the same truths then the Civil War would not have gone the way it did. The Union had a different idea about secession than the Confederacy, and, when the war was about slavery, their ‘truths’ differed once again. Robert E. Lee would probably say that strong individuals live by strong truths, but they are not necessarily the same from person to person. Regardless, their ideas, along with Thoreau’s, all have some commonality.

Brugman, Patricia. "Work in Emerson's 'Self-Reliance'." McClinton-Temple, Jennifer ed. Encyclopedia of Themes in Literature. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2011. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=&iPin=ETL0379&SingleRecord=True (accessed January 31, 2012)

Emerson, Ralph Waldo. "Self-Reliance." Ralph Waldo Emerson Texts. Web. 13 Feb. 2012. .

Lee, Robert E. “Letter to His Son.” Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 385. Print.

Thoreau, Henry David. "Thoreau's Civil Disobedience - with Annotated Text." The Thoreau Reader. Web. 25 Jan. 2012.