Book Review: ‘Lincoln's Peace' offers lessons for these times from the Civil War
Had the Union maintained a larger and stronger post-Civil War occupying army, could it have banished all the residual slavery practices and prevented the formation of the Ku Klux Klan and other hate groups that crawled out from the Confederacy ruins?
And how different might the outcomes have been in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan had we thought harder about what we were going to do to resolve the issues that triggered armed conflict?
As Michael Vorenberg notes in 'Lincoln's Peace,' the end of a war does not necessarily signal the outbreak of peace.
But we Americans are an impatient people; we like to smash our way to victory and go home as quickly as possible, buoyed by the belief that we have vanquished evil, installed goodness and inspired World War Il liberation-of-France-level jubilation.
Never mind that scenario hasn't happened since; we haven't paused enough to learn. And the Civil War is the conflict that keeps on teaching.
In January, for example, Knopf published Richard Carwardine's 'Righteous Strife: How Religious Nationalists Forged Lincoln's Union,' which explores the roles of faith-based nationalism during the Civil War and traces Christian nationalism to present-day issues such as abortion and gender identity.
The most potent lesson in Vorenberg's 'Lincoln's Peace' is to carefully consider all the issues at stake in planning what to do after the fighting stops.
Abraham Lincoln wanted to 'let them (the defeated Southern states) up easy' but as Vorenberg shows in great detail, enough unrepentant Southerners merely switched to other tactics to keep Blacks powerless, in poverty and subjugated in every way to the white majority.
Lincoln's successor, Andrew Johnson, fervently wanted to declare victory and move on and he prevailed in that strategy, reducing the occupying Union Army force until it was ineffectual.
If the book has a fault, it's the meticulous detail and profusion of names, even of minor characters who could be named by title alone. In an interview, Vorenberg said he wanted a timeline and list of characters, but publisher Knopf demurred. (Note to Knopf: Take his advice next time.)
Without dwelling on it, 'Lincoln's Peace' mentions multiple times another failure during the Civil War that reverberates today: Newspapers during the Civil War often presented starkly different accounts of the war, depending on whether they published in Southern or Northern cities.
Now 160 years after the Civil War, many of our fellow citizens accuse our legacy news media of also contouring their reporting to mesh with their own institutional viewpoints and those of their perceived audiences.
Vorenberg and Carwardine's books remind us of the cost in lives in failing to resolve — peacefully and diplomatically — arguments with deep social and moral implications.
A clear conclusion is that it will take Lincoln's ideals and general decency to get us out of the strife we Americans have created for ourselves today.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Los Angeles Times
17 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
Trump is undermining California's EV goals. The state has a new plan to fight back
From Donald Trump's first day back in office, he vowed to unravel California's sway over the nation's auto-emission standards by eliminating the state's progressive zero-emission mandates. He made good on that promise within the first several months of his second term. After a series of controversial congressional votes in May, Trump signed legislation that effectively nullified several of California's auto-emission standards, including the state's landmark regulation to ban selling new, gas-only cars statewide by 2035. Several weeks later, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order reaffirming California's commitment to its emissions goals, and effectively sending state agencies back to the drawing board in light of a newly antagonistic federal government. Their task: to reassert California's climate leadership and identify policies to boost zero-emission vehicle sales. At stake isn't just sales numbers for car and truck manufacturers, but California's ambitious climate agenda and the health of millions of its residents. Without the federal rebates and subsidies to support widespread adoption electric vehicles, the state will almost surely fall short of its greenhouse gas reduction targets and remain in violation of federal air quality standards. Unless, that is, Sacramento steps in, in a big way. On Tuesday, state officials delivered an eight-page report to the governor's office detailing several strategies to do just that. It focuses on boosting zero-emission vehicle adoption and reducing tailpipe emissions in communities dealing with some of the nation's worst air quality and most rapidly intensifying effects from global warming. In Southern California, alone, about 1,500 residents die annually due to exposure to unhealthy levels of air pollution, according to Liane Randolph, chair of the California Air Resources Board, one of the agencies that authored the report. 'Clean air efforts are under siege, putting the health of every American at risk,' Randolph said. 'California is continuing to fight back and will not give up on cleaner air and better public health. We have a legal and moral obligation.' The report comes amid a statewide slump in electric vehicle sales, expiring federal clean-vehicle subsidies and widespread economic uncertainty from Trump-imposed tariffs. In the document, California officials argued that one of the most important ways to counteract federal actions is to find state funding to restore subsidies for zero-emission vehicles. Trump's 'One Big Beautiful Bill' will end federal tax credits for zero-emission vehicles — up to $7,500 for car buyers — on Sept. 30. Because electric vehicles generally cost more than their gas-powered counterparts, government incentives were critical in encouraging Americans to buy cleaner cars. Not long after Trump's election, Newsom committed to restore funding for a state rebate program if Trump eliminated the federal tax credit. The previous state program, which ended in 2023, provided $1.49 billion in funding for more than 594,000 electric, hydrogen or plug-in hybrid vehicles, according to the state Air Resources Board. That offered thousands of consumers up to a $7,500 rebate for purchasing or leasing a new zero-emission vehicle or plug-in hybrid, and the initiative prevented drivers from burning more than 456 million gallons of fuel, according to estimates. A new round of state subsidies for zero-emission vehicles would likely require state lawmakers to introduce new legislation or to create a specific allocation for that purpose in California's budget bill next year. Daniel Villasenor, a spokesperson for Newsom's office, said the state's cap-and-trade program — the state's leading climate program that generates $4 billion annually — could be the source of new zero-emission vehicle incentives. 'The Governor and his team are reviewing the recommendations set forth in the report,' Villasenor said. 'As the Governor said when he signed the executive order, California will continue our world-leading transition to cleaner cars.' Last year, more than 1.75 million new cars were sold in California; over 25% of those were zero-emission or plug-in hybrids, according to state data. As of June 30, about 900,000 cars have been sold in 2025, and 22.3% are zero-emission or plug-in hybrids. Tesla registered only 76,000 new cars statewide, well off its pace last year, when it sold around 200,000. Adrian Martinez, director of the nonprofit Earthjustice's 'Right To Zero' campaign, said government subsidies are critical for California to not only meet its clean air and climate goals, but to also stay economically competitive. 'It's smart for California to think about how they can [counteract] some of the reckless behavior of the federal government,' Martinez said. 'It's incredibly important right now, because there's huge environmental need for these zero emission vehicles. But there's also huge economic benefits from facilitating and advancing electric vehicles, including a lot of jobs in California.' State officials have advised the governor's office to consider other financial inducements to zero-emission drivers, such as free or reduced costs to drive in lesser-congested toll lanes on California highways. Electric car owners, who are permitted to drive alone in carpool lanes with a state-issued decal, are poised to lose privileges on Sept. 30 without federal authorization. The report calls on the California Public Utilities Commission to explore financial incentives to make electric-vehicle charging less expensive as electricity prices have risen substantially. It also broadly proposes expanding and maintaining the state's electric-vehicle charging networking, which has been plagued by broken charge ports, long wait times and too few stations. In addition, state officials stressed the need to lead by example. The state operates a fleet of more than 35,000 vehicles, and it is essential, the report says, that new vehicles purchased be zero-emissions. 'One of the opportunities is whether or not the state fleet might be able to move even faster [than our requirements],' Randolph said. 'I think it's a wonderful opportunity for sate fleets to show how zero-emission vehicles can be deployed.' Beyond incentives and demonstrating its own purchasing power, environmental advocates say California and local regulators must continue to adopt innovative regulations within their own authority. California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta sued the federal government moments after Trumped signed legislation that overturned California's auto emissions standards, including the Advanced Clean Cars II — the regulation that which would have banned the sale of new gas-only cars by 2035. As Bonta continues to fight for the landmark rule, Newsom's executive order in June instructed the California Air Resources Board to begin drafting the state's next major regulation in the coming months: Advanced Clean Cars III. There aren't specifics, at this point, so it's unclear if it is intended to build on existing regulation or act as an alternative measure if Trump succeeds in defeating Advanced Clean Cars II. In either case, state officials are signaling that California does not intend to shelve its environmental agenda. 'The world is accelerating forward toward cleaner vehicle technologies, and is going to watch the U.S. fade into the rearview mirror because this administration is choosing to quit the race,' Randolph said. 'This report shows California is still going to keep up the momentum.'
Yahoo
35 minutes ago
- Yahoo
WAGOP chair compares Ferguson's rhetoric on immigration stance to Confederate leaders
Washington Republican leaders sharply criticized Governor Bob Ferguson's response to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi's August 13 letter, which demanded the state end what Bondi called 'sanctuary state' policies that obstruct federal immigration law. WAGOP Chairman and State Rep. Jim Walsh issued a statement Tuesday saying Ferguson's position risks public safety and undermines federal authority. 'The current governor's response to Attorney General Pam Bondi's letter of August 13 demanding that he end his unlawful 'sanctuary state' policies is disappointing but entirely predictable,' Walsh said. 'Bob Ferguson puts essential functions of state government at risk in order to perpetuate a foolish political fight with the federal government.' Walsh criticized Ferguson's emphasis on 'values' in defending the Keep Washington Working Act, the 2019 state law limiting local law enforcement's cooperation with federal immigration agencies. He said Ferguson's rhetoric echoes Confederate leaders who resisted federal authority during the Civil War. 'These justifications didn't end well for Davis and Stephens then; they aren't likely to end well for Ferguson now,' Walsh said. Republicans argue that the state's restrictions prevent federal immigration officers from targeting dangerous individuals in prisons and jails. 'If Ferguson is really interested in 'keeping Washingtonians safe,' he would cooperate with the Feds and give them access to our jails and prisons—where they can focus on locating and deporting gang members, drug dealers, sex traffickers and other hardened illegal alien criminals,' Walsh said. The statement also accused Ferguson and other Democratic officials of ignoring the impact of illegal immigration on sex trafficking in the state. 'The dirty secret of Bob Ferguson's 'sanctuary state' policies is that they have enabled the steady growth of sex trafficking in Washington,' Walsh said, alleging that traffickers use Interstate 5 to move children into sex slavery. Walsh urged Ferguson to 'rise above his petty partisan politics' and work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal agencies. 'That cooperation will actually make our communities safer,' he said. The Republican statement came hours after Ferguson, joined by Democratic lawmakers and immigrant rights groups, rejected Bondi's threat of criminal prosecution. Ferguson has maintained that Washington will not redirect local law enforcement resources away from community safety to carry out federal immigration enforcement. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Will we get tariff rebate checks? What the Trump administration says
**Related Video Above: Third stimulus checks were processed in 2021 (WJW/AP) – United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that although Congress is currently weighing the possibility of sending the American people more money due to tariffs, those checks wouldn't be coming anytime soon. During an interview on CNBC's Squawk Box on Tuesday, Bessent said the revenue from import tariffs will first be put toward the U.S. national debt. Puppy dies after being left in hot car while owner went shopping: sheriff Rumors spread online Friday that the U.S. government planned to issue stimulus checks to taxpayers in certain income brackets. But Congress has not passed legislation to authorize such payments, and, according to the IRS, no new stimulus or rebate checks will be distributed in the coming weeks. The claim is that the Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department have approved $1,390 stimulus checks that will be distributed to low- and middle-income taxpayers by the end of the summer. But this claim is false. Noting how S&P Global on Monday affirmed its AA+ credit rating on the United States, Bessent said that he thinks there will be rebate checks in the future, 'But President Trump and I are laser-focused on paying down the debt.' According to Bessent, during the interview, the tariff revenue is rising higher than expected. 'I've been saying that tariff revenue could be $300 billion this year,' he said. Exotic Flower busted twice selling drugs near school: police The American Worker Rebate Act was introduced in July. Its plan would share tariff revenue with qualified Americans through tax rebates. The proposed rebates would amount to at minimum $600 per individual, with additional payments for qualifying children. Rebates could increase if tariff revenue is higher than expected. Taxpayers with an adjusted annual gross income above a certain amount — $75,000 for those filing individually — would receive a reduced rebate. Neither the Senate nor the House had passed the American Worker Rebate Act as of Tuesday. It was read twice by the Senate on July 28, the day it was introduced, and referred to the Committee on Finance. Bessent said on Tuesday that the Trump administration's plan is to start paying down debt, but then plan to use the money, 'as an offset to the American people.' Bessent did note that he hopes there could soon be lower interest rates for Americans to help relieve financial stress. It is important to note that a stimulus check and a rebate check are not the same thing. A rebate is a refund of something already paid for, while a stimulus is simply money given to pump up the economy. The U.S. Senate is currently on break for the summer and is back in action on Sept. 2. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
