Complex sentence: In the period following the war, Lee became a central figure in the Lost Cause interpretation of the war; the idea that Lee had always somehow opposed slavery helped maintain his stature as a symbol of Southern honor and national reconciliation.
Split into simpler sentences: In the period following the war, Lee became a central figure in the Lost Cause interpretation of the war. The argument that Lee had always somehow opposed slavery helped maintain his stature as a symbol of Southern honor and national reconciliation.