Description
A groundbreaking and affecting and powerful The New York Times Book Review history of Abraham Lincolns plan to secure a just and lasting peace after the Civil Wara vision that inspired future presidents as well as the worlds most famous peacemakers
As the tide of the Civil War turned in the spring of 1865 Abraham Lincoln took a dangerous twoweek trip to visit the troops on the front lines accompanied by his young son seeing combat up close meeting liberated slaves in the ruins of Richmond and comforting wounded Union and Confederate soldiers
The power of Lincolns personal example in the closing days of the war offers a portrait of a peacemaker He did not demonize people he disagreed with He used humor logic and scripture to depolarize bitter debates Balancing moral courage with moderation Lincoln believed that decency could be the most practical form of politics but he understood that people were more inclined to listen to reason when greeted from a position of strength Ulysses S Grants famously generous terms of surrender to General Robert E Lee at Appomattox that April were an expression of a presidents belief that a soft peace should follow a hard war
While his assassination sent the country careening off course Lincolns vision would be vindicated long after his death inspiring future generations in their own quests to secure a just and lasting peace As US General Lucius Clay architect of the postWWII German occupation said when asked what guided his decisions I tried to think of the kind of occupation the South would have had if Abraham Lincoln had lived
Lincoln and the Fight for Peace reveals with its graceful prose and wise insights Jon Meacham Pulitzer Prizewinning author of The Soul of America how Lincolns character informed his commitment to unconditional surrender followed by a magnanimous peace Even during the Civil War surrounded by reactionaries and radicals he refused to back down from his belief that there is more that unites us than divides us But he also understood that peace needs to be waged with as much intensity as war Lincolns plan to win the peace is his unfinished symphony but in its existing notes we can find an anthem that can begin to bridge our divisions today
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