Today in History: Robert E. Lee

On this day (April 20) in 1861 Robert E. Lee resigned his commission in the U.S. Army so that he would be free to take command of the armed forces of the state of Virginia. One of the major attitudinal differences between the U.S. of today and the U.S. of the mid-nineteenth century is that most Americans of the mid-nineteenth century considered themselves citizens of their state first and of the nation second.