What's your opinion him? Do you believe he was pivotal in the colonies' defeat in the British? What I learned in my history classes is that he contributed greatly to the cause and was one of the main reasons that the colonies won the Battle of Saratoga. He was then unfairly rewarded or recognized and was ultimately left to defect. I can sympathize with him. Here you are, lead into battle against tyranny, and making pivotal decisions that brought the tides of war in your allies' favor, and others receive credit and you are unjustly recognized or rewarded? At the time, he may have realized living under British rule probably wasn't that bad in comparison to fighting and dying for a new government that wouldn't even recognize your sacrifices.
Is being the commander of West Point fort not reward enough for his valor in battle? Should we have made him, King? The man was a bloody traitor. Also, to my knowledge, he died an unpopular pauper in Britain, so he ended up as he should have, in my opinion.
I don't have much sympathy for him, personally. Sure, he led some successes for the Revolution in its early years, so that should have only given him more impetus to stick to the cause and remain loyal. Instead, he betrays the colonies and rats them out. If he had lost his faith in the cause, he could have simply stepped down from power, and that way he could have reduced unnecessary bloodshed.
While many who lose faith in a cause turn to the other side, it is no excuse for the action. I won't claim to know much about Arnold besides the name and that he was a traitor, lack of recognition or reward is no reason to betray those you supported. Alridge Ames thought he was justified in selling American secrets to the Russians, but that still didn't make it right for him to do so. I'm sure Arnold felt justified, whatever his reasons, but it was still wrong.
