Who is Robert E Lee? The statue at the centre of Charlottesville unrest
The town of Charlottesville was overwhelmed with riots when a 'Unite the Right' rally protested the removal of a statue of Robert E Lee from the town centre. Charlottesville Council first voted to remove the statues back in April but, the removal was halted by a court decision. The statues had since become a target of KKK protest and rallies. Violence erupted this weekend when the nationalist rally clashed with a counter-demonstration of left-wing protesters and anti-fascists. The chaos that ensued resulted in the death of 32-year-old Heather D Graham, who died when a car ploughed into the counter-protesters. Some 30 people were reportedly injured in the tragic incident and the violence sparked condemnation from President Donald Trump.
"Racism is evil and those who cause violence in its name are criminals and thugs, including the KKK, neo-Nazis, white supremacists and other hate groups that are repugnant to everything we hold dear as Americans," Mr Trump said in a statement at the White House. Who is General Robert E Lee? Robert Edward Lee was an American general who commanded the Confederate Army forces during the US Civil War between 1862 and 1865. The Civil War broke out in 1861 when a group of secessionist states advocated their right to own slaves and expand territorially. Historical documents show that Lee was exceptionally cruel towards his subordinates, with one slave describing him as the meanest person he had ever met.
GETTY The Robert E Lee statue in Charlottesville sparked violence in the town
GETTY Robert Edward Lee was a Confederate general in the American Civil War
In 1856 he penned a letter where he described slavery a “moral and political error”, while at the same time believing that slaves were better off in America than they were in their homeland.
Racism is evil and those who cause violence in its name are criminals and thugs President Donald Trump
“In this enlightened age, there are few I believe, but what will acknowledge, that slavery as an institution, is a moral & political evil in any country. It is useless to expatiate on its disadvantages,” he wrote. “I think it however a greater evil to the white than to the black race, & while my feelings are strongly enlisted in behalf of the latter, my sympathies are more strong for the former. “The blacks are immeasurably better off here than in Africa, morally, socially & physically.”
GETTY Right-wing nationalists were protesting the removal of the statue
GETTY Left-wing protestors clashed with right-wing nationalists in Charlottesville
Why is the statue controversial? After the Confederate South was defeated in the Civil War, many in the South reinterpreted the conflict and argued that slavery was not the root cause of the war. Robert E Lee was elevated by the Lost Cause interoperation as a Southern hero who fought for the ‘Southern way of life’ and was always opposed to slavery. His Charlottesville statues was erected in 1924, alongside a Congress backed initiative to restore the Lee Memorial in Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia. But after several decades of the civil rights movement making strides towards equality, sentiments grew dissatisfied with evident Confederate nostalgia.
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