Letter to His Family

When Robert E. Lee wrote this letter he was torn by the shape of his country. There were already states seceding from the Union when he wrote this letter and he feared that more would soon follow. General Lee did not want violence to be the way this revolt was settled. Lee writes, “I hope, therefore, that all constitutional means will be exhausted before there is a resort to force.”(Lee 385) He knows that a war would not be helpful to this young country at all. It is ironic that he is saying that, and we the reader already know what happens after he writes this letter. General Lee has such big pride in his state, and it is obvious when he writes, “If the Union is dissolved, and the government disrupted, I shall return to my native state and share the miseries of my people; and, save in defense, will draw my sword on none.”(Lee 385) Lee does not want to engage in violence. That is the last thing he wants. He writes, “Secession is nothing but a revolution.”(Lee 385) Lee knows that what the Confederacy is doing, and nothing good will come of it. He says that the constitution is not meant to be broken, but the Confederacy is doing it anyway. In spite of that fact General Lee is still standing by his state of Virginia. His love for his state, and the people in it, is greater then the love of the Union.

Ralph Waldo Emerson seems to disagree with Lee’s decision. In his work “Self-Reliance” he says, “He is weaker by every recruit to his banner. Is not a man better then a town?”(Emerson 322) Emerson believes that you should fight for yourself and not your community. General Lee believes that it would be unforgivable to fight with his friends and family, even if he knows it is for the wrong side. Lee’s love for his state of Virginia, was greater than his love of justice.

Emerson, W. Ralph. "From Self-Reliance." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 97-99. Print.

Lee. E. Robert. "From Letter to His Family." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 97-99. Print.