In 1855, with the United States at odds over slavery, the lawyer Abraham Lincoln wrote a note to his best friend, the son of a Kentucky slaveowner. Lincoln rebuked his friend for failing to oppose slavery. But he added: “If for this you and I must differ, differ we must,” and said they would be friends forever.
Throughout his life and political career, Lincoln often agreed to disagree - democracy demanded it, since even an adversary had a vote. In his latest book, Differ We Must, Steve Inskeep illuminates Lincoln’s life through sixteen encounters, some well-known, some obscure, but each marked by an ability to engage with critics and enemies. The result is a nuanced portrait of a politician who held strong to his moral compass while navigating corrosive political factions and uniting a divided nation.
Steve Inskeep is a cohost of NPR’s Morning Edition, the most widely heard radio program in the United States, and of NPR’s Up First, one of the nation’s most popular podcasts. A dedicated journalist who’s traveled the globe for the story, he is the author of Instant City, Jacksonland, and Imperfect Union.
