Behind the Bastards Part Two: Robert E. Lee: A Lifetime of Failure
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Feb 15, 2024 The podcast explores Robert E. Lee's career in the army and his violence towards enslaved workers. It also discusses West Point's engineering education, Lee's personality and demeanor, Jonathan Edwards' views on race, the dilemma of judging people from the past, Lee's military career in the Mexican-American War, the controversy surrounding his legacy, and the hosts' personal projects.
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West Point's Engineering Focus
- West Point in the early 1800s focused primarily on engineering to train officers for managing artillery and formations in warfare.
- This approach resembled a top engineering school rather than a modern small-unit tactics military academy.
The 'Nice' Slave Owner Myth
- George Washington Park Custis, Mary Custis' father, owned many enslaved people but was known as a "nice" master while maintaining ownership of children born to enslaved women.
- This highlights the moral failure of the system despite the paternalistic attitudes of some slave owners.
Lee's Brutality Over Finances
- After inheriting Arlington plantation, Lee prioritized making it profitable to pay family debts, forcing enslaved people to labor and breaking up families.
- He showed a harsh, profit-driven slave master side once financial goals were threatened.