I enjoyed “How the Seventies Changed America” (July/August), after I recovered from the shock to my babyboomer mentality of seeing that any decade of which I had a clear recollection could be classified as historical. However, there was one statistical point that I considered misleading. Mr. Lemann wrote: “As the country was becoming more fragmented, so was the essential social unit, the family. In 1965 only 14.9 percent of the population was single; by 1979 the figure had risen to 20 percent.”
Throughout much of our country’s history, anywhere from 20 to 25 percent of the population remained single. But the 1950s and 1960s saw, among other postwar anomalies, a steady increase in the percentage of people who married. So while the current percentage of single adults may seem artificially high compared with the peak marrying decades, it is in line with figures for most of the years before that time.
Karen Martin
Cochranton, Pa.
More on Lee
In his fine article “Getting Right With Robert E. Lee” (May/June), I believe Stephen W. Sears missed the point on the character of this Confederate military genius. Like most revolutionary figures of this world, Lee lacked any sense of what future he was fighting for, but only saw what he was fighting against. This may be honorable and gallant in the short term, or in a very limited sense, but Lee fought against what George Washington’s greater vision told him he was fighting for—a stronger union. In short, I look upon Lee as a Shakespearean-type tragic figure, and therein lies his fascination.
Ronn Leeb
Tarzana, Calif.
More on Lee
In the “Correspondence” section of the July/August issue, Ms. Frances O. Bohman states that “R. E. Lee was a slave owner.” Robert E. Lee was only eleven years old at the time of his father’s death, and the family had become next to impoverished. After he was appointed to the United States Military Academy, he was involved in the military almost entirely. Lee married Mary Anna Randolph Custis, and in 1857 her father died. He had asked particularly that all of his slaves be “emancipated at his death,” and they were—by Lee, as executor. In essence, there is no evidence that Robert E. Lee ever owned a single slave.
The writer says also that General Lee should have been executed for treason. A day or two after Appomattox, a cheering crowd approached the White House with a band playing patriotic songs. After a while President Lincoln raised his hand and said to the crowd, “Now let the band play ‘Dixie.’”Apparently Mr. Lincoln didn’t have the animosity in 1865 that Ms. Bohman does in 1991.
Arthur Potts
Frederick, Md.
More on Lee
I find it difficult to understand how someone who chooses to read American Heritage has so little sense of history as to condemn that same magazine for running a story about Robert E. Lee. Whatever one’s feelings about North and South, Lee was a major actor during a crucial part of our country’s history. He was also product of a different time, as was Jefferson Davis, and both men were perceived as heroes by a large segment of the population of the country. To say that historians should ignore those from the past whose views differ from our own is tantamount to destroying much of what has made us what we are today.
