Why Americans killed each other in such great numbers
He says that it was because we couldn't compromise, even though we are really good compromisers. If we had compromised I'm not sure slavery would have ended so soon. By compromising, and not fighting the war, we wouldn't have had all those new inventions to spur on the Industrial Revolution. Without the IR, the slaves wouldn't become obsolete tools, and the South would still have slavery. Killing each other so much is the price to pay for ending slavery.
What happened to Lee at Gettysburg
He says it's because Lee was so high on fighting after the first day that he coulnd't stop fighting. I think this shows that being cocky can mess up even the best general's thinking. Lee probably didn't think too much about Pickett's Charge because he was so eager to crush the northern line. Longstreet was cool and calculating and would've saved the South had Lee listened to him.
Lincoln
He calls Lincoln mysterious and a great writer. I think it's mysterious that Lincoln could step outside himself and look at himself from a third person point of view. This would give him a good view on both sides of the subject, and thus make him a better, non-biased writer.
How the war changed us
I think he's right when he says it made the nation "is" instead of "are". The Civil War tested the strength of our gov't and Constitution, by seeing if they could keep the nation together during turmoil. It brought first the Northern states, then the southern, and finally all the states together. It made a loose collection of states into one nation with a strong government.
