XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, alt.military, rec.arts.tv   
   XPost: alt.atheism, alt.survival   
   From: nowomr@protonmail.com   
      
   Gen. Robert E. Lee owned slaves   
   By ARIJETA LAJKA   
   Published 5:16 PM EDT, June 12, 2020   
      
   CLAIM: Gen. Robert E. Lee, who led the Confederate States Army in the   
   Civil War, “opposed both secession and slavery.” He did not own slaves.   
      
   AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. According to historians, not only did Lee own   
   slaves, but he also fought in court to keep working slaves from his   
   father-in-law’s estate. Claims casting Lee as an anti-slavery figure are   
   tied to a false narrative known as the Lost Cause, which says the   
   Confederate experience in the Civil War was not about slavery, but state’s   
   rights.   
      
   THE FACTS: As protests following the death of George Floyd lead to a   
   reexamination of historical injustice, there’s been a campaign calling for   
   monuments celebrating the Confederacy to be taken down. False posts   
   emerged on Facebook claiming that Lee “opposed both slavery and   
   secession.” The false post was shared tens of thousands of times.   
   Other news   
   Chicago White Sox's Luis Robert Jr. (88) celebrates in the dugout after   
   hitting a two-run home run in the sixth inning of a baseball game against   
   the Atlanta Braves, Sunday, July 16, 2023, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John   
   Bazemore)   
   White Sox stop Braves’ series win streak at 11   
   Linn Grant of Sweden poses with the winner's trophy after the final round   
   of the Dana Open golf tournament at Highland Meadows Golf Club, Sunday,   
   July 16, 2023, in Sylvania, Ohio. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)   
   Linn Grant wins first LPGA title at Dana Open, beating Allisen Corpuz by 3   
   shots   
   A member of Atlanta Braves training staff checks on pitcher Kolby Allard   
   (49) in the second inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox   
   Sunday, July 16, 2023, in Atlanta. Allard left the game. (AP Photo/John   
   Bazemore)   
   Braves lefty Kolby Allard exits game with shoulder tightness, leaving   
   possible void in rotation   
   St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Jack Flaherty throws during the first   
   inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals Sunday, July   
   16, 2023, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)   
   Flaherty wins 4th straight start and Cardinals beat Nationals 8-4   
      
      
   Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, died after a white Minneapolis police   
   officer pressed his knee against his neck for several minutes as he   
   struggled to breathe.   
      
   John Reeves, a historian and author of the book, “The Lost Indictment of   
   Robert E. Lee: The Forgotten Case Against an American Icon,” said the   
   claim about Lee is false.   
      
   “Between owning a handful of slaves from his own family and then managing   
   his father-in-law’s 200 slaves, Lee was very, very involved with slavery   
   during his life up until the end of 1862,” he said.   
      
   Reeves explained that Lee worked the slaves for about five years in order   
   to pay off legacies associated with his father-in-law’s estate. “He was   
   utilizing the slave labor in order to pay the legacies,” Reeves explained.   
      
   Lee wanted to work the slaves beyond the five-year limit stated in his   
   father-in-law’s will. Lee fought in court to keep the slaves working   
   because he didn’t know if he would be able to pay off his legacies.   
      
   Wesley Norris was born a slave on the plantation that Lee managed after   
   his father-in-law died. Norris testified during the court fight that Lee   
   beat him when he tried to run away. “Every one of the facts in Wesley   
   Norris’ account has been shown to be true,” Reeves noted.   
      
   Advertisement   
      
   The Lost Cause ideology imagines Lee as a gifted military general who   
   wasn’t fighting for slavery but was fighting for state’s rights.   
      
   Defenders of Lee point to a portion of a letter he wrote to his wife where   
   he refers to slavery as a “moral & political evil.” But it is taken out of   
   context. In the rest of the letter, Lee underscores that the “subjugation”   
   of the slaves needs to go on longer and only God can free them.   
      
   “If you judge him by his actions, he separated families through sale, he   
   beat slaves who ran away,” said Ariela Gross, professor of law and history   
   at University of Southern California. Gross focuses on race and slavery in   
   the United States. “He was completely engaged in the work of slave holding   
   and supporting slavery.”   
   ___   
      
   This is part of The Associated Press’ ongoing effort to fact-check   
   misinformation that is shared widely online, including work with Facebook   
   to identify and reduce the circulation of false stories on the platform.   
      
   Here’s more information on Facebook’s fact-checking program:   
   https://www.facebook.com/help/1952307158131536   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)