The Civil War still matters

A timely piece for the sesquicentennial

Why does the Lincoln Memorial present such an imposing presence in Washington, D.C.?

Novelist Robert Hicks tackles the story of why the Civil War that was directed by President Abraham Lincoln should remain important for 21st Century America.

Hicks wrote an op-ed piece, "Why the Civil War Still Matters," in the July 2 edition of the New York Times. He looks at a number of aspects of the war. 

<http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/03/opinion/why-the-civil-war-still-matters.html>.

Essentially, Lincoln's major goal was to keep the union together, and that was in doubt until the Battle of Gettysburg. 

Hicks argues that everything that our nation has accomplished since 1865 is tied to the war.

The Civil War is something that should resonate with those of us who live in Pa. We should be visiting Gettysburg this year for the sesquicentennial of that bloody battle. (This week would not be the best time to visit, but early fall would be a beautiful time to admire the contribution of Gettysburg to our nation.) 

Still, there is an even more important reason that the war matters. "If the line to immigrate into this country is longer than those in every other country on earth, it is because of the Civil War," Hicks contends.

Despite all of the problems in the U.S. right now, people from all over the world still want to immigrate into our country from more countries than Mexico. That resonates with me since three of my grandparents immigrated to the U.S. from Ireland in the 1900s. 

Slavery was a black eye to our country, but we were able to rise above it and ensure that blacks became citizens of this country despite some of its divisions. 

The importance of the success of the Civil War is something that Lincoln could not foresee. Hicks writes, "For if you have chosen to throw your lot in with this country, the American Civil War is at the foundation of your reasons to do so." That makes more sense now than in the 19th Century.

The war divided our country, and still does to a certain extent, but we have grown as a nation because of that battle, Hicks argues.

The key to Lincoln's success, and the reason that he is often listed as the greatest president, is that Gettysburg decided the war …  and Pickett's Charge decided the battle of Gettysburg, sending Robert E. Lee and his Confederate troops back a loser. 

The Union was the ultimate goal for Lincoln. He wanted to keep the nation, one that had been wracked by violence because of slavery, together as one nation. Hicks notes that  "… the Civil War sealed us as a nation."

The American presidents who are consistently ranked the highest in polls by historians are those who have guided the country through major conflicts: George Washington in the Revolutionary War, Lincoln in the Civil War, and Franklin D. Roosevelt in World War II.

In my English Comp classes, I assign a reading that shows that Gen. Lee, along with Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, also deserves credit for keeping the union together. It is entitled "Grant and Lee: A study in Contrasts" by Bruce Catton, one of the most prolific writers about the Civil War. You can read that essay at this site: <http://faculty.ucc.edu/english-chewning/catton.htm>.

Catton explains that both Grant and Lee had a tremendous love for their country, despite Lee's work as the Confederate military leader. Once the war ended, Lee wanted the division to end. 

Hicks also argues against the revisionist historians who say that slavery was not one of the causes of the war.  "…  pro-Southern revisionists have been relegated to the dustbin of history — a reflection of the more inclusive society we have become."

Hicks may be overly optimistic about how contemporary America regards the war, but his piece is worth a read -- as is Catton's essay.

Time will tell.