The Edmund Pettus Bridge - which in 2013 was declared a National Historic Landmark - isn't symbolic of the Civil War in a meaningful way. It is, however, the modern-day battlefield where the voting rights movement was born.
Interpretation
The Edmund Pettus Bridge represents a significant site in the fight for voting rights rather than battles of the Civil War.
Douglas Brinkley's quote highlights the importance of the Edmund Pettus Bridge as a pivotal location in the modern struggle for civil rights, specifically the fight for the right to vote. While it may not symbolize historical battles of the Civil War, it stands as a testament to the ongoing battle for equality and justice, marking a significant moment in American history where the movement for voting rights gained momentum.
In practice
During a speech commemorating the anniversary of the Selma marches, one might reference this quote to emphasize the ongoing fight for voting rights.
It's very important that we keep these special, wild places. It defines the United States. Imagine our country without our national parks and our monuments. Here in California, imagine if you didn't have in Southern Cal the Channel Islands or the great Highway 1, Big Sur up to Point Reyes up to the Redwood country.
It's Nixon who created the Environmental Protection Agency. Clean Air and Water Acts. Endangered Species Act. Promoted affirmative action. One could go on and on with Nixon as a New Deal liberal on domestic policy and a hawk, but one with great geo-political skills.
While the old spiritual 'Slavery Chain Done Broke at Last' was sung by blacks in the hours following the Appomattox surrender, racism sadly continues to be a crippling national scourge.
One thing 'not right' on the 50th anniversary of the Selma marches is the sad fact that the Edmund Pettus Bridge hasn't been renamed the John Lewis Bridge.
When we settled our country, the dark forest was considered in some ways evil and something that you needed to plow or, later, bulldoze. We now have a new understanding of the interconnectedness of ecosystems and the need for bird flyways and why all species matter.
I agree with you that it is the duty of every good citizen to use all the opportunities, which occur to him, for preserving documents relating to the history of our country.
The Civil War created in this country what had never existed before - a national consciousness. It was not the salvation of the Union; it was the rebirth of the Union.
Thus ended the great American Civil War, which must upon the whole be considered the noblest and least avoidable of all the great mass conflicts of which till then there was record.
History is not history unless it is the truth.
One day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.
I've met many Holocaust survivors who find the era infinitely compelling because they have this deep hunger to understand how it all could possibly have happened.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.