Robert E Lee as U S President

I don't know if this idea has been posted before, but what if Robert E Lee after the American Civil War became the American President.

Ignoring any miraculous Confederate conquest of the North. The other possibilities involve Lee deciding to side with the North after believing they'll win and it'll be better off to end the war as soon as possible or a combination of right victories for the North and South along with pressure from England and France results in early negiations for the end of the war.

Is this possible? Would Lee be a candidate in order to encourage reunification and help in reconstruction?
 
I don't know if this idea has been posted before, but what if Robert E Lee after the American Civil War became the American President.

Ignoring any miraculous Confederate conquest of the North. The other possibilities involve Lee deciding to side with the North after believing they'll win and it'll be better off to end the war as soon as possible or a combination of right victories for the North and South along with pressure from England and France results in early negiations for the end of the war.

Is this possible? Would Lee be a candidate in order to encourage reunification and help in reconstruction?

Too old / unwell.

By the time the post war president / vice president is resolved (which wouldn't be Lee) Lee will be only a couple of years short of his eventual death.
 
As Derrick Pullem says, he's too old and unwell. To add to that, throughout his life Lee was largely apolitical, and not interested in public officer. IIRC he didn't find politics up to his image of honor.
 

TFSmith121

Banned
IF he remains loyal in 1861 and the war ends quickly, it

I don't know if this idea has been posted before, but what if Robert E Lee after the American Civil War became the American President. Ignoring any miraculous Confederate conquest of the North. The other possibilities involve Lee deciding to side with the North after believing they'll win and it'll be better off to end the war as soon as possible or a combination of right victories for the North and South along with pressure from England and France results in early negiations for the end of the war. Is this possible? Would Lee be a candidate in order to encourage reunification and help in reconstruction?

IF Lee remains loyal in 1861, is given the general-in-chief's post, and the war ends quickly, as in 1862 in a conflict where the rebellion is confined to the Deep South, it's possible - he lived until October, 1870, after all, and that was after what amounted to four years of active campaigning in the field.

The possibility of a "Union" Party candidacy in 1864 as Lincoln's VP is one path; there's a reason Johnson was given the VP in 1864, after all.

Best,
 
Most Hated Man

South of Mason-Dixon, R. E. Lee would be one of the most hated men for his betrayal of the glorious and noble cause of States Rights.
(Plus, in a North Wins Early scenario, Emancipation is kicked down the road a few more years.)
 

TFSmith121

Banned
Depends if the "second round" of secession takes place

South of Mason-Dixon, R. E. Lee would be one of the most hated men for his betrayal of the glorious and noble cause of States Rights.(Plus, in a North Wins Early scenario, Emancipation is kicked down the road a few more years.)

Depends if the "second round" of secession takes place or not; if the likes of Lee remain loyal, it is possible it does not, as in:

State Date of Secession
South Carolina December 20, 1860
Mississippi January 9, 1861
Florida January 10, 1861
Alabama January 11, 1861
Georgia January 19, 1861
Louisiana January 26, 1861
Texas February 1, 1861
Virginia April 17, 1861
Arkansas May 6, 1861
North Carolina May 20, 1861
Tennessee June 8, 1861

If the rebellion is confined to the Deep South and lower Trans-Mississippi, it is quite possible the political dynamics in an alternate postwar 1864 may be very different than they were in, say, historical 1868.

Best,
 
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What about having Robert E. Lee selected as James Buchanan, vice president in 1856, before the south succession in 1861. In 1868, the elderly confederate is nominated as a compromiseto please the south.
 

TFSmith121

Banned
Possible, but seems unlikely; Breckinridge balanced the

What about having Robert E. Lee selected as James Buchanan, vice president in 1856, before the south succession in 1861. In 1868, the elderly confederate is nominated as a compromiseto please the south.

Possible, but seems unlikely; Breckinridge balanced the ticket, appeased Douglas' supporters, and brought a lot more political capital to the campaign then Lee - who was, after all, just one of many lieutenant colonels in the army in 1856 and had no political ambitions or followers...

Best,
 
Depends if the "second round" of secession takes place or not; if the likes of Lee remain loyal, it is possible it does not

My understanding of the situation is that you've got that the wrong way round - that Lee's loyalty was to Virginia over the US, and therefore it was Virginia's secession that triggered his resignation.
 

jahenders

Banned
I don't know if this idea has been posted before, but what if Robert E Lee after the American Civil War became the American President.

Ignoring any miraculous Confederate conquest of the North. The other possibilities involve Lee deciding to side with the North after believing they'll win and it'll be better off to end the war as soon as possible or a combination of right victories for the North and South along with pressure from England and France results in early negiations for the end of the war.

Is this possible? Would Lee be a candidate in order to encourage reunification and help in reconstruction?

I think it's remotely possible if he stays loyal, takes command of Union armies, and wins a quick series of victories. He'd be disliked by some in the South, but Lincoln could still pick him as a VP. For him to become president, though, Lincoln would still need to die (with him as VP). Perhaps Booth still shoots Lincoln, angry at both the South's loss and its treatment after the war.
 

TFSmith121

Banned
Yes and no; Virginia seceded one day before Lee met

My understanding of the situation is that you've got that the wrong way round - that Lee's loyalty was to Virginia over the US, and therefore it was Virginia's secession that triggered his resignation.

Yes and no; Virginia seceded one day before Lee met with Blair, and he resigned his commission two days later. My point is that if the northern tier of states did not secede (Lincoln doesn't call on them for troops, for example), there's enough of a window for Lee to remain in the RA.

After that, there's all sorts of possibilities.

The other option is that Lee is in command in Texas when secession takes place, and resists - unlike Twiggs - and so his actions have an influence on Virginia and the other northern tier.

There were a lot of moving parts to the secession winter, obviously.

Best,
 
Depends if the "second round" of secession takes place or not; if the likes of Lee remain loyal, it is possible it does not, as in:

State Date of Secession
South Carolina December 20, 1860
Mississippi January 9, 1861
Florida January 10, 1861
Alabama January 11, 1861
Georgia January 19, 1861
Louisiana January 26, 1861
Texas February 1, 1861
Virginia April 17, 1861
Arkansas May 6, 1861
North Carolina May 20, 1861
Tennessee June 8, 1861

If the rebellion is confined to the Deep South and lower Trans-Mississippi, it is quite possible the political dynamics in an alternate postwar 1864 may be very different than they were in, say, historical 1868.

Best,

Agreed, if VA stays in the Union for any reason he won't be seen as a traitor to the South. His state wouldn't have left after all.
 

TFSmith121

Banned
Yep; there was a lot going on over the secession winter,

Agreed, if VA stays in the Union for any reason he won't be seen as a traitor to the South. His state wouldn't have left after all.

Yep; there was a lot going on over the secession winter, and in some ways, the upper south secessions were near-run things.

Funny that these sorts of PODs rarely if ever get considered, yet dystopian "CSA wins" and umpteen jillion specious "Britain and France intervene just because" ones get posted about once a week...

Best,
 
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