The explicit and implicit messages, though, occupied the slippery slope between realpolitik and genocide. [Lincoln] had recently shown that as the vehicle of his people he was pledged to affirm the national will by military force.
p. 344, Lincoln: The Biography of a Writer, Fred Kaplan
- I like the look of the word “realpolitik”
- The wildly different perception and proposed treatment of slaves vs. Indians (put down mostly to Lincoln’s personal/familial history and participation in wars with the Indians) is the most frustrating thing about this book (and era).
Blah blah modern-sensibility-cakes, but come on! It’s gross.
