“If Lincoln had negotiated, he would not have achieved his current historical reputation.”
Academics criticize “elementary school level nonsense”
Former U.S. President Donald Trump has been criticized for disparaging former President Abraham Lincoln, saying the American Civil War was negotiable.
According to CNN on the 7th (local time), former President Trump said this at a campaign rally held in Newton, Iowa the day before, saying, “The Civil War was a truly exciting and terrible war.”
Former President Trump criticized, “There were too many mistakes, and frankly, some things could have been negotiated,” and “Everyone died, too many people died.”
He said that many soldiers were injured in the war and that “nothing good came from it” and that it was “a difficult war for America.” He put it down, saying that if President Lincoln had negotiated, he would not have achieved the historical reputation he has now.
However, he did not mention how the war could have been prevented if he had been president.
This remark came about a week before the Iowa Caucus, the first Republican primary, scheduled for the 15th, and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, a rival candidate, was also recently criticized for not mentioning slavery as the cause of the Civil War. Former Governor Haley later reversed his statement, saying, “The Civil War was, of course, because of slavery.”
Former Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney fiercely criticized these remarks on social media, saying, “Which part of the Civil War was negotiable?” and “How can Republicans who supported the former president defend these remarks?” .
Republicans traditionally praise President Lincoln for his contributions to preventing the South from secession from the Union and abolishing slavery, and consider him a hero.
Historians also pointed out that former President Trump’s remarks were inaccurate. James Grossman, executive director of the American Historical Association, said in an emailed comment to the Washington Post, “(Slaves) were treated inhumanely in the South, and the states that declared secession left the Union to maintain slavery.” “This cannot be a ‘negotiation,’” he criticized.
David Blight, a history professor at Yale University, also fiercely criticized the statement, calling it “elementary-level nonsense and historically ignorant.”
Professor Blight said, “The Civil War was the most important and divisive event that ever occurred in the United States,” adding, “It had epic and terrible significance, but Trump’s remarks reduce it to a kind of political joke.”
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.