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| Visions and Voices of a Nation Divided | Visions and Voices of a Nation Divided |
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| WASHINGTON — In the pursuit of justice, what is unjustified? Are there limits to what may be done in service to a righteous cause? Abstract philosophical questions, perhaps, but also political ones. And in thinking about the Civil War, the answers affect our understanding of that bloody conflict. | WASHINGTON — In the pursuit of justice, what is unjustified? Are there limits to what may be done in service to a righteous cause? Abstract philosophical questions, perhaps, but also political ones. And in thinking about the Civil War, the answers affect our understanding of that bloody conflict. |
| This is one reason the Library of Congress exhibition “The Civil War in America,” which opened late last year in honor of the war’s sesquicentennial, is so fascinating. It doesn’t explicitly ask questions about means and ends, but we can’t help thinking about them as the letters, diaries, documents and images accumulate. | This is one reason the Library of Congress exhibition “The Civil War in America,” which opened late last year in honor of the war’s sesquicentennial, is so fascinating. It doesn’t explicitly ask questions about means and ends, but we can’t help thinking about them as the letters, diaries, documents and images accumulate. |
| The war left 620,000 dead (the most recent scholarship suggests as many as 750,000) and much of the South in ruins. But it also resulted in the elimination of an institution now understood as an absolute evil: slavery. In the quest to abolish that evil, what would have been unjustified? John Brown’s prewar terrorism had ardent supporters; Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman’s ruthless march to the sea was viewed as a successful Union strategy. | The war left 620,000 dead (the most recent scholarship suggests as many as 750,000) and much of the South in ruins. But it also resulted in the elimination of an institution now understood as an absolute evil: slavery. In the quest to abolish that evil, what would have been unjustified? John Brown’s prewar terrorism had ardent supporters; Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman’s ruthless march to the sea was viewed as a successful Union strategy. |
| Judging from recent films the idea of the ends justifying the means is now widely associated with the battles fought. Quentin Tarantino’s “Django Unchained” takes place just before the Civil War but celebrates a once-enslaved black man exacting vengeance against an evil plantation owner who makes Simon Legree look genteel. | Judging from recent films the idea of the ends justifying the means is now widely associated with the battles fought. Quentin Tarantino’s “Django Unchained” takes place just before the Civil War but celebrates a once-enslaved black man exacting vengeance against an evil plantation owner who makes Simon Legree look genteel. |
| And Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln” is appealing not just because of Daniel Day-Lewis’s performance but also because the president is shown as both saintly in his quest — pressing for the elimination of slavery in the 13th Amendment — and ruthless in his righteousness, allowing arm-twisting, lies and bribery in his pursuit of the legislative good. In both films hints of excess in service to virtue are readily cheered and all opposition made to look corrupt and worse. | And Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln” is appealing not just because of Daniel Day-Lewis’s performance but also because the president is shown as both saintly in his quest — pressing for the elimination of slavery in the 13th Amendment — and ruthless in his righteousness, allowing arm-twisting, lies and bribery in his pursuit of the legislative good. In both films hints of excess in service to virtue are readily cheered and all opposition made to look corrupt and worse. |
| But this vision of heroism does not do full historical justice to either the Civil War or Lincoln. We may like our heroes unchained, prepared to transcend ordinary restrictions, but history is another matter. What were the ends sought? How were they pursued? And what effects did that have? The Library of Congress exhibition tries to see the conflict from different perspectives. Its displays of over 200 items, we are told, “attest to the valor, sacrifices, emotions and accomplishments of those in both the North and South whose lives were affected by the bitter conflict of 1861-65.” | But this vision of heroism does not do full historical justice to either the Civil War or Lincoln. We may like our heroes unchained, prepared to transcend ordinary restrictions, but history is another matter. What were the ends sought? How were they pursued? And what effects did that have? The Library of Congress exhibition tries to see the conflict from different perspectives. Its displays of over 200 items, we are told, “attest to the valor, sacrifices, emotions and accomplishments of those in both the North and South whose lives were affected by the bitter conflict of 1861-65.” |
| The war, it explains, “unfolds between two opposing ideologies,” with the Union opposed by a “confederacy of slaveholding states true to their own interpretation of the U.S. Constitution.” It is as if this show, presented by a national institution in the nation’s capital (with Cheryl Regan as exhibition director), wants to avoid — even after 150 years — any hint of partisanship. | The war, it explains, “unfolds between two opposing ideologies,” with the Union opposed by a “confederacy of slaveholding states true to their own interpretation of the U.S. Constitution.” It is as if this show, presented by a national institution in the nation’s capital (with Cheryl Regan as exhibition director), wants to avoid — even after 150 years — any hint of partisanship. |
| At first it seems as if the exhibition will try to seesaw between sides, creating a kind of symmetry. The American Civil War Center in Richmond, Va., does something like that, shading the conflict with hints of relativism. And there remain important differences between Northern narratives and those of many Southern museums. But at the Library of Congress the lineaments remain clear. | At first it seems as if the exhibition will try to seesaw between sides, creating a kind of symmetry. The American Civil War Center in Richmond, Va., does something like that, shading the conflict with hints of relativism. And there remain important differences between Northern narratives and those of many Southern museums. But at the Library of Congress the lineaments remain clear. |
| Slavery, of course, is at the center. In honor of the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation its first draft, handwritten by Lincoln, will be on display until Feb. 18. Shown here too is an extraordinary map published by the United States Coast Survey in 1861, shaded to show the concentration of the country’s 3,952,838 slaves in Southern counties. It was said to have been consulted by Lincoln throughout the war; its darkened regions, stained by slavery, coincide with ports and rivers and plantations. | Slavery, of course, is at the center. In honor of the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation its first draft, handwritten by Lincoln, will be on display until Feb. 18. Shown here too is an extraordinary map published by the United States Coast Survey in 1861, shaded to show the concentration of the country’s 3,952,838 slaves in Southern counties. It was said to have been consulted by Lincoln throughout the war; its darkened regions, stained by slavery, coincide with ports and rivers and plantations. |
| We see too how American political life was affected by slavery. Political compromise could be a tightrope walk. On display are Lincoln’s emendations to his first Inaugural Address delivered in March 1861. We learn that the address carefully avoids “alienating the South,” as the exhibition puts it. Lincoln explicitly repudiates any interference with the practice of slavery where it existed. And this was after the Confederate States of America had already been declared. | We see too how American political life was affected by slavery. Political compromise could be a tightrope walk. On display are Lincoln’s emendations to his first Inaugural Address delivered in March 1861. We learn that the address carefully avoids “alienating the South,” as the exhibition puts it. Lincoln explicitly repudiates any interference with the practice of slavery where it existed. And this was after the Confederate States of America had already been declared. |
| The exhibition leads us chronologically through the resulting maelstrom. The 1862 Congressional Directory here reminds us not only of the legislature’s half-empty chambers but also of the free play of Northern interests in passing major laws that year, including the Homestead Act (providing settlers free farmland west of the Mississippi) and the Pacific Railroad Act (leading to the transcontinental railroad). | The exhibition leads us chronologically through the resulting maelstrom. The 1862 Congressional Directory here reminds us not only of the legislature’s half-empty chambers but also of the free play of Northern interests in passing major laws that year, including the Homestead Act (providing settlers free farmland west of the Mississippi) and the Pacific Railroad Act (leading to the transcontinental railroad). |
| The show’s documents are also dense with voices, offering a history told from above and below as well as from North and South. (A companion volume takes a similar approach in a detailed timeline of the war.) An 1861 diary of a plantation proprietor in South Carolina suggests that merely by being exposed to Northern forces “the Institution of Slavery has received a blow that it will never recover from.” From days of privation in 1863 we see a Confederate cookbook with recipes for imitation oysters and apple pie without apples. | The show’s documents are also dense with voices, offering a history told from above and below as well as from North and South. (A companion volume takes a similar approach in a detailed timeline of the war.) An 1861 diary of a plantation proprietor in South Carolina suggests that merely by being exposed to Northern forces “the Institution of Slavery has received a blow that it will never recover from.” From days of privation in 1863 we see a Confederate cookbook with recipes for imitation oysters and apple pie without apples. |
| We glimpse free black citizens in the midst of war. A letter from Frederick Douglass’s son Lewis, who was a member of the all-black 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, was written after fighting a “terrible” and “desperate” battle over Fort Wagner in Charleston Harbor. And in an 1868 book Elizabeth Keckley, a former slave and dressmaker for Mary Lincoln, describes establishing the Contraband Relief Association to help the 40,000 slaves who fled to freedom in Washington. | We glimpse free black citizens in the midst of war. A letter from Frederick Douglass’s son Lewis, who was a member of the all-black 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, was written after fighting a “terrible” and “desperate” battle over Fort Wagner in Charleston Harbor. And in an 1868 book Elizabeth Keckley, a former slave and dressmaker for Mary Lincoln, describes establishing the Contraband Relief Association to help the 40,000 slaves who fled to freedom in Washington. |
| “Contraband” was the term given to slaves who escaped rebel territory. In a seeming paradox, by being regarded as war-won booty, escaped slaves could be “confiscated” and thus freed. That concept helped shape the Emancipation Proclamation. | “Contraband” was the term given to slaves who escaped rebel territory. In a seeming paradox, by being regarded as war-won booty, escaped slaves could be “confiscated” and thus freed. That concept helped shape the Emancipation Proclamation. |
| The proclamation shows how Lincoln shaped the war. He acted not as we see him in Spielberg’s “Lincoln,” prepared to jettison propriety for the sake of principle, but as someone scrupulously legalistic. The proclamation is not inspiring, and it isn’t meant to be. It is a strategic document, a tactic, not a moral standard. It frees slaves only in rebel states and regions. It was announced in advance as an incentive to end that rebellion (in which case slaves would have remained slaves). Slaves in loyal border states like Delaware or Kentucky were unaffected. | The proclamation shows how Lincoln shaped the war. He acted not as we see him in Spielberg’s “Lincoln,” prepared to jettison propriety for the sake of principle, but as someone scrupulously legalistic. The proclamation is not inspiring, and it isn’t meant to be. It is a strategic document, a tactic, not a moral standard. It frees slaves only in rebel states and regions. It was announced in advance as an incentive to end that rebellion (in which case slaves would have remained slaves). Slaves in loyal border states like Delaware or Kentucky were unaffected. |
| Lincoln wrote the proclamation not as president but as commander in chief, which gave him some control over rebel property. The only way to abolish slavery, in his view, was through the use of law. When the capital’s slaves were freed in 1862, we learn here, a Baltimore slave trader was hired to determine compensation to owners. | Lincoln wrote the proclamation not as president but as commander in chief, which gave him some control over rebel property. The only way to abolish slavery, in his view, was through the use of law. When the capital’s slaves were freed in 1862, we learn here, a Baltimore slave trader was hired to determine compensation to owners. |
| This meticulousness was necessary because for Lincoln the Union as a legal and social structure was paramount. The abolition of slavery did not trump the Union, but the Union would make it possible to abolish slavery. | This meticulousness was necessary because for Lincoln the Union as a legal and social structure was paramount. The abolition of slavery did not trump the Union, but the Union would make it possible to abolish slavery. |
| In a handwritten draft here of Lincoln’s 1863 letter to James C. Conkling, meant to be read publicly, Lincoln says that it shouldn’t matter if his friend did not want to fight “to free negroes”: | In a handwritten draft here of Lincoln’s 1863 letter to James C. Conkling, meant to be read publicly, Lincoln says that it shouldn’t matter if his friend did not want to fight “to free negroes”: |
| “Fight you, then, exclusively to save the Union. I issued the proclamation on purpose to aid you in saving the Union. Whenever you shall have conquered all resistance to the Union, if I shall urge you to continue fighting, it will be an apt time then for you to declare you will not fight to free negroes.” | “Fight you, then, exclusively to save the Union. I issued the proclamation on purpose to aid you in saving the Union. Whenever you shall have conquered all resistance to the Union, if I shall urge you to continue fighting, it will be an apt time then for you to declare you will not fight to free negroes.” |
| This focus on the Union is not a matter of political realism. It is actually a different vision of the war. And Lincoln’s perspective doesn’t readily fit into the moral categories we now use. It bypasses notions of good and evil. So while Lincoln embraces a moral vision, he also demands a structure for pursuing it and generally resists stretching its strictures. A spirit of rigor combines with a populist vision. This is the democratic grandeur of Lincoln. | This focus on the Union is not a matter of political realism. It is actually a different vision of the war. And Lincoln’s perspective doesn’t readily fit into the moral categories we now use. It bypasses notions of good and evil. So while Lincoln embraces a moral vision, he also demands a structure for pursuing it and generally resists stretching its strictures. A spirit of rigor combines with a populist vision. This is the democratic grandeur of Lincoln. |
| For all its virtues Mr. Spielberg’s film makes Lincoln into a different hero. He is first made more saintly by the focus on the 13th Amendment, as if abolition had been his primary goal. And his apparently unsavory manipulations then become a homily: This is what must be done in pursuit of a righteous cause. But that interpretation seems primarily supported by words of Representative Thaddeus Stevens, spoken in the film but actually reported only secondhand more than 40 years later. Stevens supposedly said that the amendment was “passed by corruption, aided and abetted by the purest man in America.” | For all its virtues Mr. Spielberg’s film makes Lincoln into a different hero. He is first made more saintly by the focus on the 13th Amendment, as if abolition had been his primary goal. And his apparently unsavory manipulations then become a homily: This is what must be done in pursuit of a righteous cause. But that interpretation seems primarily supported by words of Representative Thaddeus Stevens, spoken in the film but actually reported only secondhand more than 40 years later. Stevens supposedly said that the amendment was “passed by corruption, aided and abetted by the purest man in America.” |
| But what of the war itself? How is it to be recalled? As a battle of ideologies? As good confronting evil? One of the final items in the exhibition is Frederick Douglass’s 1871 address at the Graves of the Unknown Dead; he objects to being asked to remember “with equal admiration” both “those who fought for slavery, and those who fought for liberty and justice.” | But what of the war itself? How is it to be recalled? As a battle of ideologies? As good confronting evil? One of the final items in the exhibition is Frederick Douglass’s 1871 address at the Graves of the Unknown Dead; he objects to being asked to remember “with equal admiration” both “those who fought for slavery, and those who fought for liberty and justice.” |
| “If I forget the difference,” he asks, “in the name of all things sacred, what shall men remember?” | “If I forget the difference,” he asks, “in the name of all things sacred, what shall men remember?” |
| Lincoln might have dissented. For him there was simply the guiding structure of the Union, which, with all its imperfections and negotiations, was both the means and the end. | Lincoln might have dissented. For him there was simply the guiding structure of the Union, which, with all its imperfections and negotiations, was both the means and the end. |
Follow | Follow Edward Rothstein on Twitter, @EdRothstein. |
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| “The Civil War in America” runs through June 1, and the draft of the Emancipation Proclamation will be on view through Feb. 18 at the Library of Congress, Thomas Jefferson Building, 101 Independence Avenue SE, Washington; (202) 707-8000; myloc.gov. | “The Civil War in America” runs through June 1, and the draft of the Emancipation Proclamation will be on view through Feb. 18 at the Library of Congress, Thomas Jefferson Building, 101 Independence Avenue SE, Washington; (202) 707-8000; myloc.gov. |