"Lincoln's Virtues" - The Struggle to End Slavery

As I have read, written and thought about the Civil War one of the things that increasingly concerns me is what I see as an inadequate modern view of the importance of the Civil War and especially its destruction of the institution of slavery. Looking backward almost 150 years, I think there is a tendency to underestimate the difficulty of this accomplishment and at some level almost take it for granted. I feel this is significant because it tends to denigrate Lincoln and give credence to the view that he was either a racist or at the very least prejudice. Furthermore it tends to also lessen the importance of the Union victory and consign the Civil War into the category of one more war with no redeeming features.

Miller's book increased my understanding of how difficult it was to end slavery to the extent that war ie. force was probably the only way it could have ever happened. First there is the unpleasant, but none the less legal realities that Lincoln himself did not feel could be ignored. But probably much more important were the realities of race and economics. Slavery had existed in the world for centuries before the founding of the U.S., but much of that slavery was based upon conquest - the losers in battles and wars or at least part of their population became slaves. That was a condition, however, that could be reversed in a lot of different ways. Slavery based on race was much more difficult because the fundamental premise was that blacks were an inferior race who justifiably be enslaved. With such an attitude firmly entrenched in the U. S. for centuries before Lincoln time, racism was widespread throughout both the north and south. Lincoln and other political leaders had to battle to win elections in societies where the inferiority of the slaves was accepted as a basic truth. Miller's book makes clear among other things how during the Lincoln - Douglas debates, Douglas' came back again and again to an incredibly racist view. Lincoln had to oppose that in a society where many if not most shared that view.

Until reading Miller's book, I never fully appreciated the economic difficulties in ending slavery. Not only were slaves considered property and represented financial value to their owners, but the whole economic system was dependent on slave labor. It was and would have been incredibly hard to convince any people both to willingly take a financial loss and to then find a new way to earn a living. Today we are shocked, and rightfully so, that anyone could in Lincoln's words earn their bread off of the sweat of another man's brow, but that was probably where racism supported economics.

Overcoming both economics and racism peaceably would have been incredibly difficult which may partially explain why it not only never happened, but no realistic scheme was ever devised. In the end the war and the XIII amendment that the war made possible did that difficult, but necessary work. One of the realities of history is that there are few defenders of lost causes - today, no one would ever try to justify slavery so it then can be forgotten that not only did many people defend it, but they were willing to fight the bloodiest war in American history to defend it. Seen in this way Lincoln's accomplishment in getting himself elected, leading the north into war and winning that war, ultimately losing his own life in the process is a great accomplishment - as is those who in whatever way were part of the Union war effort.

I would recommend this book for anyone with a serious interest in Lincoln - to a degree it is somewhat theoretical and philosophical, but it helps get us to a better understanding of this unique man who many, including myself, believe to be our greatest President.

I am moving somewhat backward in my non-fiction reading now, a 700+ page biography of Henry Clay who was reportedly Lincoln's "beau idea of a statesman." I am interested in learning more about Clay, but also about the Whig Party. Like the Federalist party, I think there is some value in learning about the views of these parties who ultimately failed. In any given period of two dominant parties, both contribute at some level and I think it important to understand something about these now somewhat neglected causes. This one will take a while so I think my next book posting will be about my fiction reading - the Palliser novels of Anthony Trollope. After reading about a movie version of Shakespeare's Henry V that sounds very misguided that may be the subject of the next post.