This is Democracy This is Democracy – Episode 293: Ending Wars
Mar 10, 2025
This week features Michael Vorenberg, an associate professor of history at Brown University and expert on the Civil War and Lincoln. He discusses the complexities of ending wars in democracies, including varied perspectives on when the Civil War ended. The conversation dives into Lincoln's vision for reconciliation and how his assassination altered those efforts. Vorenberg also draws parallels between historical conflicts and contemporary issues, emphasizing the importance of recognizing unresolved legacies in today's democratic landscape.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Whitman's Take on War's End
- Whitman's poem "O Captain! My Captain!" reflects on Lincoln's death and leadership.
- It also acknowledges the "pulses of rage" persisting even after the war's end.
The Complexity of War's End
- Appomattox, while significant, wasn't the definitive end of the Civil War.
- The war's true end is complex and depends on how one defines it (military surrender, legal processes, or societal change).
A Serendipitous Discovery
- Archivist brought Michael Vorenberg the wrong box, leading him to a file on the Civil War's end.
- This sparked research revealing the legal end date as August 20, 1866, highlighting the complexity of defining war's end.