Joyce Lee Malcolm
The Tragedy of Benedict Arnold: An American Life
Joyce Lee Malcolm discusses her re-examination of one of young America’s most complicated figures: the war hero turned infamous traitor, Benedict Arnold.
History remembers this proud, talented, and conflicted man solely through the lens of his last desperate act of treason. Yet the fall of Benedict Arnold remains one of the Revolutionary period’s great puzzles. Why did a brilliant military commander, who repeatedly risked his life fighting the British, who was grievously injured in the line of duty, and fell into debt personally funding his own troops, ultimately became a traitor to the patriot cause?
[Recorded February 11, 2021.]
Joyce Lee Malcolm is a professor at George Mason University School of Law. She is the author of The Tragedy of Benedict Arnold: An American Life; Guns and Violence; Peter’s War; and To Keep and Bear Arms. She lives in Alexandria, Virginia.
