Lincoln and the Fight for Peace

Lincoln and the Fight for Peace by John Avlon

As the tide of the Civil War turned in the spring of 1865, Abraham Lincoln, accompanied by his young son, took a dangerous two-week trip to visit the troops on the front lines -- seeing combat up close, greeting liberated slaves in the ruins of Richmond and comforting wounded Union and Confederate soldiers alike.

The power of Lincoln's personal example in the closing days of the war offers the portrait of a peace-maker. 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. Grant's famously generous terms of surrender to Robert E. Lee at Appomattox that April was a direct expression of the president's belief that a soft peace should follow a hard war.

While his assassination sent the country careening off course, Lincoln's vision would be vindicated long after his death, inspiring future generations in their own quests to secure a just and lasting peace. As U.S. General Lucius Clay, architect of the post-World War II 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 how Lincoln's character informed his commitment to unconditional surrender followed by a magnanimous peace. Even during the Civil War, 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 an intensity that rivals war. Lincoln's 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.

SIMON & SCHUSTER, HARDCOVER, 1ST EDITION, 1ST PRINTING, 2022