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  • Essay / The Leadership and Legacy of Benedict Arnold - 1701

    He was a trusted confidant of General Washington. West Point itself would become an American icon. These circumstances have rightly earned Arnold his infamy. What is new about Arnold is contextual: he is a traitor to the republic, at a time when revolutionary zeal insisted on the demonstration of republican virtues. Arnold had betrayed the republic and the American citizens. Additionally, Arnold's professor revealed a weakness in the Republican plan. If one of the heroes of 1775 could go from virtue to treason, how strong was the ordinary American citizen? Given this awareness, it became all the more crucial to condemn Arnold's offense, in order to guard against similar temptation. (Weeks