Wednesday, August 12, 2009

History is powerful

I recently finished Battle Cry of Freedom by James McPherson, a history of the civil war. The narrative began with a highly abbreviated description of the Mexican-American war. A striking similarity to our present time immediately drew me into the story: one political party believed that use of troops had spread American freedom and democracy; the other believed American values would have been better spread by being a good example than by military force. The way differences over the Mexican-American war fed into increasing polarization on other issues also felt eerily familiar.

The political situation of the 1850s soon went well beyond our present-day experience, but it continued to tell a powerful story. The experiences of Americans during those years was vividly brought to life. My school history classes had focused on the outcome of the war; reading Battle Cry of Freedom taught me why it was fought in the first place, from the motivations of the leaders to the soldiers to the women and non-soldiers who supported the cause behind the battle lines.

I had been taught that of course the North won, it had a stronger industrial base. McPherson argues that the two sides were evenly matched. Having read through battle after battle where a chance event caused one side or the other to gain advantage, I'm convinced and awed at how easily the war could have gone the other way. I don't think I've ever before read a book that long (900 pages!), but it was a surprisingly easy read, and I'm glad did.

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