Washington V Lee - Please, Whitesplain Me

I recently created the video below in which I earnestly ask what the difference is between George Washington and Robert E. Lee. It came about during the debate over removing Confederate monuments and statues. Defenders of Confederate monuments including our president have asked why we should not then tear down statues and monuments to such men as George Washington who also owned slaves. I've asked myself that same question, though with more depth and investigation than Trump, I am sure. At the heart of my curiosity was the question of how different Washington and Lee really were. The question stems from the abundance of moderate to liberal pundits who are finding flowery ways to extoll Washington. They believe the only thing Washington and Lee had in common was that they owned slaves.

Oh. Is that all?

My point is not to defend Robert E. Lee in his attempt to lead an insurrection against the U.S. I am only trying to dig deeper than the license people give Washington out of a feeling of patriotic obligation. So in the video I asked someone to prove me wrong, that if Lee was born 75 years earlier and Washington was born 75 years later, Lee could have been the Father of our country while Washington could have ended up a defeated Civil War general.

I posted the video on Democratic Underground (click here for discussion) where I got lots of whitesplaining (I assume), but no real answers to the questions. All I want is the truth, folks.