The Battle of Gettysburg and the Cost of Liberty

On July 2, 2024, Kim Monson pre-recorded a special Independence Day week broadcast exploring the Battle of Gettysburg, the Civil War’s causes and consequences, Abraham Lincoln’s reading habits and rise to power, and the enduring relevance of the Declaration of Independence with military historian Dennis Busch, Princeton scholar Allen Guelzo, attorney Jon Boesen, and retired Army Colonel Brad Miller. The Battle of Gettysburg and the Turning Point of the Civil War Start listening at 0:42 – Hour 1 Dennis Busch, a West Point graduate, Air Force veteran, and author of The Real Heroes of Omaha Beach, walks listeners through the three bloodiest days in American history. Busch explains that the Civil War’s catalyst was Abraham Lincoln’s inauguration as the first Republican president, which triggered the secession of 11 Southern states over fears that the Republican Party would abolish slavery. The South’s reliance on an agrarian economy propped up by forced labor left it without the industrial capacity to sustain a prolonged conflict, yet the Confederacy’s superior early military leadership, particularly under Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson, prolonged the war for years. Busch details Lee’s bold strategy to invade Pennsylvania and force a quick end to the war, describing how the battle unfolded over three days near the small crossroads town of Gettysburg. The loss of Jackson at Chancellorsville, the timidity of replacement commander General Ewell, and the catastrophic failure of Pickett’s Charge on Day 3 sealed the Confederacy’s fate. Busch recounts the devastating toll: over 46,000 combined casualties, nearly a third of Lee’s general officers killed, wounded, or captured, and roughly 5,000 horses destroyed. He closes with a powerful recitation of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, reminding listeners that the words apply as much in 2024 as they did in 1863. “I can honestly say that Lee was one of the greatest generals this country has ever produced, and yet I can still despise the cause for which he fought. There is no doubt of his greatness as a military commander.” Dennis Busch, Military Historian and Author Lee’s Gamble and Why Slavery Caused the Civil War Start listening at 58:59 – Hour 2 Allen Guelzo, senior research scholar at Princeton University’s James Madison Program and former professor at Gettysburg College, explains why Lee’s invasion of Pennsylvania represented a calculated gamble to shatter Northern public opinion and force the Lincoln administration into negotiations. Guelzo notes that Lincoln’s Republican Party had lost 35 House seats and two key governorships in the preceding November, making Northern voters vulnerable to war fatigue. Had Lee won at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and Ohio voters might have elected anti-administration governors, creating an insurmountable political obstacle to continuing the war. Guelzo addresses the causes of the Civil War directly, identifying sectionalism, federalism, and slavery as the three key factors, but declaring slavery the indispensable cause. He points to Southern states’ own secession resolutions, which openly cited protecting slavery as their motivation. Guelzo also explores Lincoln’s voracious reading habits and how a childhood biography of George Washington planted the seeds of his political philosophy. He argues that reading remains the ultimate subversive activity, noting that tyrants from the Soviets to Orwell’s fictional regime understood that books threaten authoritarian power. “If it can find some way to fight a battle with the major United States force opposing it, which is the Ar...