ROBERT E. LEE'S DEFINITION OF A GENTLEMAN

My Archives ^ | 19th Century | General Robert E. Lee in a letter to one of his sons

[LadyJD]

LEE's DEFINITION OF A GENTLEMAN

"The forbearing use of power does not only form a touchstone, but the manner in which an individual enjoys certain advantages over others is a test of a true gentleman. The power which the strong have over the weak, the employer over the employed, the educated over the unlettered, the experienced over the confiding, even the clever over the silly-the forbearing or inoffensive use of all this power or authority, or a total abstinence from it when the case admits it, will show the gentleman in a plain light. The gentleman does not needlessly and unnecessarily remind an offender of a wrong he may have committed against him. He cannot only forgive, he can forget; and he strives for that nobleness of self and mildness of character which impart sufficient strength to let the past be but the past. A true man of honor feels humbled himself when he cannot help humbling others." --Robert E. Lee

[Aric2000]

Give that man a cigar, he got it right the VERY first time, too bad a majority of people wish to IGNORE this fact and continue on with thier Deification of the traitorous Lincoln. The war was fought over states rights and the true meaning and writings of the constitution by the founding fathers. Nothing less, nothing more....

[Non-Sequitur]

And in what way did the North not adhere to the Constitution?

[Non-Sequitur]

Then why did all their Declarations of the Causes of Secession talk of slavery and nothing more? And in what way did the North violate the Constitution? And I'm talking about the Constitution as it is, not what you think it should mean.

[Aric2000]

I am absolutely correct when it comes to the South as well, the war was not over slavery, Lincoln made it that to have a moral stand against the south.

As I said before, to the victor goes the writing of history, too bad you are too close minded to look at actual facts instead of propaganda.

[Aric2000]

Let's see where to start, OK, we'll start with Lincoln and A Couple of the unconstitutional things that he did.

1: Suspended the writ of Habeus corpus, since this is a guarantee of the constitution, PERIOD, it was unconstitutional for him to do this.

2: Military tribunals for civilians, this again is unconstitutional.

3: Imprisoned those who disagreed with him, including a governor, court justices, etc. again, unconstitutional

4: created the state of West Virginia, again, unconstituional, and imprisoned those who disagreed with him.

Lincoln was NOT a hero, and the excuse that it was war is immaterial, he trampled on the constitution in order to save it, a means to an end, and that was wrong. What he did was tyrannical, and unconsitutional, he GAVE himself powers that he did not have.

Secession as a state right was taught at West Point almost up to the civil war. A state has every right to secede from the union if a majoriy of it's citizens wish it to do so. The confederacy legally withdrew from the Union, and Lincoln went to war over it.

The war was unconstitutional, his actions were unconstitutional, and that makes lincon a traitor to the constitution.

There's plenty more where that came from, but I do not have time to go over it with you right now. There is a thread all about this and I will find the appropriate link and mail it to you if you are interested in actual facts and not Northern propaganda.

Thanks to Lincoln, the constitution is all but ignored by the Federal government. He got away with it, and therefore they feel that they can. The supreme court USED to go over laws and rule on them without being asked, but because of Lincoln and his imprisoning, this ceased to happen, the executive branch pretty well neutered the Judicial branch.

Lincoln Destroyed the very constitution this nation was founded upon, and that makes him the BIGGEST traitor to this country since Benedict Arnold and Actually, what Abe did was MUCH worse. At least Arnold had some loyalty to a country!!!

[clamper1797]

I have in my 2 score and 10 years come to realize that what I had been taught in my younger years about Lincoln and the Civil War may in fact be tainted by victor revisionism. I would VERY much like to find a comprehensive and unbiased account ... (NOT PROPAGANDA) of the events that lead up to Fort Sumner, the war itself, why the north did NOT even try to end the war after a few battles but instead decided to "teach the south a lesson" ei Shermans Georgia/ Atlanta march and the restoration. Is there a good place to look for this ?????

[clamper1797]

"[groan] [ugh]" -- John Wilkes Booth as he lay dying in agony in a burning barn after breaking his leg and being hunted down like a rabid dog.

What he said was ... "Useless useless"

[TADSLOS]

"Teach him that he must deny himself"

R.E. Lee, when asked for a blessing for a boy

[Aric2000]

Hop over? Oh I see, so the constitution means NOTHING to you either, I see. OK, then our conversation is over.

YOU DO NOT "hop over" the constitution, if you ignore it, then you are a traitor to it, PERIOD.

I have taken an oath to the constitution, have you? Lincoln did as well, but he broke that oath and became a traitor to the very document that he was sworn to protect. Lincoln was a tyrant and a traitor, and hopefully somewhere along the road to the future, the sheeple will realize that.

The lies have been told long enough, it is time for the truth to prevail, and you are not the one spouting it.

Lincoln destroyed the US when he destroyed the South, and the constitution. Because, the monster and unconstitutional government we have now, I place firmly at Lincolns feet.

He was a TRAITOR!! And that fact will become clearer as historians look closely at the facts and finally come to the same conclusion.

[wardaddy]

Having been goaded into participating in these refighting the WBTS threads for the past week much more so than I normally would, I can only come to one conclusion:

It's very easy too see why we had to fight that war to begin with. It is simply amazing to me how folks still 141 years later are so caught up in this topic...and that's coming from an acknowledged "Dixie Defender". I think we should have a FReeper reenactment....maybe with rubber bullets.

[Aric2000]

Lincoln got away with it and ruined any chance of the judicial branch stepping in and dealing with any unconstitutional law on its own. Therefore the others that have followed him have continued on this track.

He may not have done the deed, but he is indeed the one that made it possible. By ignoring the constitution, he has made it so others felt that they could as well, and they did, they have, and they continue to do so.

And it ALL started with Lincoln, he got away with it first and began the ball rolling for what we have now.

He was a traitor, as are many of our government officials now. The oath means nothing, because it means nothing to break it, and Lincoln was the first to break it.

It lays at his feet, he destroyed the constitution and destroyed the United States of America as it was supposed to be.

[NC_Libertarian]

I would like to see a discussion of the great General Lee on this thread.

[Non-Sequitur]

You hyperbole is getting the best of your. Let's look at them one by one:

1: Suspended the writ of Habeus corpus, since this is a guarantee of the constitution, PERIOD, it was unconstitutional for him to do this.

The Supreme Court has never ruled his actions unconstitutional and your saying so doesn't count. As recently as a few years ago the current Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, William Rehnquist, stated this fact.

2: Military tribunals for civilians, this again is unconstitutional.

Your basis for this is what? And has anyone told George Bush that?

3: Imprisoned those who disagreed with him, including a governor, court justices, etc. again, unconstitutional.

What governor, what court justice was ever imprisoned on Lincoln's order?

4: created the state of West Virginia, again, unconstituional, and imprisoned those who disagreed with him.

Not unsurprisingly you are displaying a shocking lack of knowledge of the Constitution. The President does not create a state. That power lies with the Congress. The people of western Virginia organized themselves into a Virginia legislature loyal to the Union, were recognized as the legitimate legislature, petititoned for statehood, and had it granted. All within the framework of the Constitution you apparently have never read.

[Aric2000]

Poor Non-sequitor, sucked into that grand history as written by the North. Study a littel bit please, then come back and talk to me.

And I carry a copy of the constitution in my back pocket at all times, what's your excuse?