Wednesday, August 05, 2020

Washington—AND Lee(?)—University

Treason against the United States shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court.  (Article III, Section 3)

THE WAR OF SOUTHERN AGGRESSION began at Fort Sumter.  Appomattox was not the end.  And 750,000 deaths were not enough.

     So many self-styled “conservatives,” who consider themselves “strict constructionists,” love to celebrate the Confederacy.  Yet the Souths so-called “heroes” committed the only crime defined in the supreme law of the land, because it is a threat to the life of the Republic.  But, supposedly, they fought for “States rights.”  

     The Articles of Confederation were replaced “in order to form a more perfect Union”—by continuous effort.  Therefore, whatever the difference of opinion on a particular issue, those of us who take the oath to uphold the Constitution must condemn anyone or anything that glorifies division.

     The War of Southern Aggression is not a noble cause.  One cannot cling to those who attempted constitutional murder.  The statues, schools, roads, and holidays must go.  Patriots do not celebrate traitors.

     George Washington’s endowment rescued Liberty Hall Academy, and it was renamed in his honor.  But after the War of Southern Aggression and Robert E. Lee’s tenure as president of Washington College, the name was changed to Washington and Lee University.  A fitting tribute to the Father of the Country would be to join his name to that of Billy Lee, the man who rode up to New England with him to review the troops of the North and South for the first time.  He was by the Generals side throughout the war, and the Commander in Chief of the Continental Forces remembered him in his will.  His skin was dark.  Thus, Washington and Lee University would indeed form a more perfect Union.

(c)2020 Marvin D. Jones.  All rights reserved.

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