October 31, 2017 - In the last week, historians have strongly condemned recent White House comments relating to the cause of the Civil War. Speaking about the decision by a Virginia church to remove plaques celebrating Robert E. Lee and George Washington, White House chief of staff John Kelly stated that "Robert E. Lee was an honorable man" and that it was "the lack of an ability to compromise" that led to the Civil War. Edna Greene Medford, professor of history at Howard University, told CNN that this premise is "too simplistic," noting that "Kelly's comments marginalize the central issue of the war, which was the expansion of slavery." AHA executive director Jim Grossman questioned whether a compromise was even possible: "What compromise was available once states had made it clear that they would secede from any nation that would interfere with their right to own human beings?"