Robert E. Lee (AMPU)

Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1862) was an American soldier and politician who served as the 13th President of the United States from March 1857 until 1861.

From 1857 to 1860, Lee fought the armies of the Republicans in the. After his defeat in 1860, he surrendered to the Republican forces and effectively handed power to House Speaker Thaddeus Stevens, who served as Acting President until the inauguration of Ulysses S. Grant. Lee was tried, convicted, and executed for high treason in October 1862. Hereditary property rights were abolished and Reconstruction saw the most widespread redistribution of wealth in the nations' history.