Western Kentucky University TopSCHOLAR® Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Honors College at WKU Projects 2010 To Live and Die in Dixie: Robert E. Lee and Confederate Nationalism Jacob A. Glover Western Kentucky University Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.wku.edu/stu_hon_theses Part of the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Glover, Jacob A., "To Live and Die in Dixie: Robert E. Lee and Confederate Nationalism" (2010). Honors College Capstone Experience/ Thesis Projects. Paper 267. http://digitalcommons.wku.edu/stu_hon_theses/267 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by TopSCHOLAR®. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors College Capstone Experience/ Thesis Projects by an authorized administrator of TopSCHOLAR®. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Copyright by Jacob A. Glover 2010 ABSTRACT Robert E. Lee is undeniably one of the most revered figures in American history, and yet despite the adoration awarded to the man over the years, surprisingly little scholarly research has dedicated itself to an inquiry into his nationalistic leanings during the four most important years of his life—the Civil War. In fact, Lee was a dedicated Confederate nationalist during his time in service to the Confederacy, and he remained so for the rest of his life, even after his surrender at Appomattox and the taking of an oath to regain his United States citizenship. Lee identified strongly with a Southern view of antebellum events, and his time in the Confederate army hardened him to the notion that the only practical reason for waging the Civil War was the establishment of an independent Southern nation.