Abraham Lincoln Speaking During one of the Lincoln-Douglas Debates, Charleston, Illinois, USA, September 18, 1858. Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
When Joe Biden met last week with a “select group of scholars” for a “Socratic dialogue” about America’s future, the esteemed historians compared the current crisis facing our democracy with two other historical periods: The years immediately preceding the Civil War, which broke out shortly after Abraham Lincoln’s victory in the 1860 presidential election, and the years before World War II, when proto-fascist or explicitly fascist movements like those led by aviator Charles Lindbergh popped up all over the land....
Originally posted on salon.com