Spartans, Confederates, and the Cult of the Loser

State Houses across the country are filled with monuments to losers, traitors, and terrorists. General Robert E Lee and Benjamin Tillman are lauded alongside figures like George Washington. The reasons why are complicated, but they’re bound up in something called The Myth of the Lost Cause. If you’ve never heard of this or don’t understand why it’s so critical to understanding American history well, honey, you probably ain’t from the South.

Here to help us understand what’s going on is Dr. Robert Thompson. Thompson is a historian working for Army University Press and the author of the forthcoming book Clear, Hold, and Destroy which is about the American war in Vietnam.

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