Beyer Tries Again To Remove Robert E. Lee's Name From Arlington House

ARLINGTON, VA — For the second year in a row, Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) and Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) introduced legislation to remove Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee’s name from the official designation at Arlington House, the historic mansion where he lived before the Civil War.

Beyer and Kaine’s legislation, introduced in both the House of Representatives and Senate, would repeal statutes that memorialized Lee and add a formal historic site designation to the name, making it “the Arlington House National Historic Site.”

The mansion, surrounded by Arlington National Cemetery and administered by the National Park Service, was built by Martha Custis Washington’s grandson, George Washington Parke Custis, as the nation's first memorial to George Washington, and named “Arlington House.”

Custis' daughter married Robert E. Lee and lived in the home until the Civil War, during which the site was chosen to serve as a national military cemetery in part to prevent Lee from returning.

As the Civil Rights movement was gaining momentum in the 1950s, though, Congress passed legislation designating the house the “Custis-Lee Mansion” to memorialize Lee. Congress renamed the site in 1972 to add Lee’s name and designate it as a memorial to him.

"Today, our country and our Commonwealth continue to grapple with the history of racism and slavery," Beyer said in a statement. "Symbols have power, and as we engage in a long-overdue reexamination of public symbols, we must show that we do not condone the enslavement of human beings or armed rebellion against the United States government."

Beyer noted that Robert E. Lee himself opposed erecting Confederate monuments. “It is therefore fitting and just that Congress redesignate Arlington House to more fully reflect the history of the house, which is what our legislation would accomplish,” he said.

The bill was co-sponsored by Virginia Reps. Bobby Scott, Gerry Connolly, Abigail Spanberger, Jennifer Wexton, and Jennifer McClellan, all Democrats, and by D.C. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton.

"Who we choose to honor on our public buildings is a reflection of our nation's values. If we continue to honor Confederate leaders who fought to preserve slavery, then we send a mixed message about our commitment to equality," Kaine said in a statement. "That's why I’m joining Congressman Beyer in leading this bill to remove Robert E. Lee’s name from Arlington House."

Beyer said he met with descendants of both Lee and of people enslaved at Arlington House who support renaming the landmark.

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