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Abstract
This study examines the portrayal of Robert E. Lee in the popular northern press from the end of the Civil War in 1865 until immediately after his death in 1870. Through this examination of the postbellum northern press two distinct images of Lee emerge—one of Lee as a traitor and one of Lee as a hero. In examining these portrayals of Lee this study examines how the northern press framed Lee in terms of his involvement with secession, the Civil War, and Reconstruction. These articles demonstrate the difficulty the press had in reconciling the positive image of Lee with the unpopular image of the Civil War. Using scholarship on the Southern cavalier myth, the Lost Cause, and American hero creation as theoretical frameworks, this study analyzes these articles to show the genesis of the creation of Lee as an American hero.
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Cayce Myers
Cayce Myers is an assistant professor in the department of communication at Virginia Tech University. His research focuses on nineteenth-century press and public relations.