The American System

I went to see the film Lincoln at a small theater in a rural area of Missouri.  At several points there was loud applause as the film's recalcitrant Democrats were browbeaten, bribed and shamed into supporting an end to slavery. No moment got more chuckles and cheers than when one of the Republican senators bemoaned the necessity of lowering himself to the point of actually speaking to a Democrat.

Clearly, the Republicans in the audience were excited to see their party so elevated in the film. Amused to see Democrats so clearly in the wrong. Proud to see their team taking tough positions in a noble cause.

As well they should be. President Lincoln's political maneuvering to pass the thirteenth amendment was praiseworthy. Is praiseworthy. Even if the Republican Party later abandoned minority voters in a moment of chilly realpolitik, the party's efforts and the president's sagacity still shine brightly 150 years later.

So brightly, in fact, that it's often difficult to see other aspects of the administration that had a tremendous impact on the United States: like an economic system that would define the nation and set the pace for the world over the next 100 years.