When the Levee [or Fever] Breaks
Photo from Abraham Lincoln’s First Inauguration - March 4, 1861
[Editor’s Note: You are officially on History Nerd Alert. See you on the other side.]
January 17, 2021
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In 1927, the Mississippi River Delta flooded like never before.
It remains the most destructive river flood in recorded American history. Over 70,000 square miles of land in Mississippi, Arkansas, and Louisiana sank under thirty feet of water that stood there for months, displacing hundreds of thousands of people, Black and Brown and White alike. At one point, the Mississippi River below Memphis, Tennessee widened to eighty miles. At another point, city fathers of New Orleans panicked, destroying a series of levees at the edges of the city to protect downtown, which only flooded even more rural areas and killed more people (an estimated 500 people died in the disaster).
Hundreds of thousands of acres of Delta farmland lay ruined for years - contributing to the hardship of the Great Depression that began a few years later - and the final estimated cost of the flood (one billion dollars in 1927 money) equaled roughly one-third of the entire federal budget for that year. The effects were so devastating that it inspired dozens of lamenting songs in the 1920s and beyond, the most famous becoming Kansas Joe McCoy and Memphis Minny’s 1929 blues song, “When the Levee Breaks” - which Led Zeppelin made internationally famous with their 1971 version.
And here’s the crazy part - this disaster was a culmination of events that developed over a year.
A year.
It started with heavy rains throughout the Tennessee River valley in the summer of 1926, followed by similar flooding of rivers in Kansas, Missouri, and Illinois. The tributaries there swelled and flooded, cascading steadily downriver to the Mississippi Delta, which saw its own heaviest rains on record pour down that fall and winter.
It was a perfect (series of) storms.
On Christmas Day, 1926, the Cumberland River in Tennessee hit a record fifty-six feet above flood stage, and after the new year, more storms seemed to target the areas that could endure the least amount of rain. By early April, the situation was out of control, with no human means to stop it. Levees throughout the Delta held - until they didn’t. Once those finally surrendered to nature, exacerbated by the mistakes of understandably panicky people, all anyone could do was hold on tight, endure it, and work to move past it eventually.
Once the rains stopped. Once the waters receded.
But that didn’t happen until August.
Over a year….
Does ANY of this sound familiar, if we look at this (hi)story as a metaphor?
I thought so.
Because, for a second 2021 week in a row….what a week…!?!?!?!
The scope of last week’s insurrection only became clearer and broader with each passing day. What became most stark to me, and to all of us who’ve been paying attention, is that what happened at the Capitol last week had been building for over a year; one could argue over four, certainly, or even longer, depending on what element of this massive “flood” we are talking about.
And, like those floods of 1927, by the time this one revealed itself as such, all any of us could do was simply hold on. Endure. Go one day at a time. Take care of our Now. Then do it again tomorrow.
It makes daily life unpredictable and uncertain and scary - none of which we like to feel, especially when it all is so open-ended.
Of course, this entire year has felt that way, hasn’t it? Which makes last week the equivalent, I guess, of those panicky city fathers in New Orleans desperately trying to fix or control something that was far beyond their abilities to do either.
And, it seems to me, that is where we are right now - not in control of much other than ourselves, while trusting our elected leaders, civil servants, and military forces to protect what we’ve believed for our entire lives to be unassailable.
And we hope they rise to the occasion. We hope those levees don’t break.
And that this “fever” the nation is under finally DOES break.
I heard that fever phrase regularly this past week from numerous outlets and friends.
It’s an interesting and powerful metaphor, just like floods and levees.
By the time fevers show themselves, it’s too late to prevent them; they have to be endured and treated, yet must run their course as they will; we wonder what they might reveal about our body’s health, and worry it’s indicative of something worse yet to be discovered; if we are already suffering from something else, we fret it will be what cascades us towards death.
So, am I suggesting that we are in that position right now, as we wait with baited breath what may happen as Inauguration Day approaches?
Well, yeah. Sorta. We only have so much agency.
But, in both the short AND long term, we are not helpless.
We may be powerless over what may happen this week, but we’ve been in that pressure cooker for more than a year, and we know (well, most of us) what to do - take care of our individual selves and protect those who are most vulnerable.
But, here is the good news - the fever will pass. Just as when levees break, the waters eventually recede. What we will see this week --whether the fever metaphor, or the levee one-- will show us more clearly what is really going on in America right now.
We wait and watch, wondering how much damage will result. That is, of course, a sobering thought full of fearful possibilities.
But the fever will break. And the levees may very well hold. And, as History shows us, recovery follows regardless.
Pick a “fever” or “flood” in history, and they all have one thing in common - they passed. Humanity survived.
The fall of Rome. The Black Death. Imperialism. Two world wars. Bell bottoms. Aqua Net. The Macarena. The final season of Game of Thrones.
All terrible tragedies that shattered humanity’s hope in themselves and in their futures, but history recorded them, discussed them, and subsequent generations recovered and soldiered on.
Every generation believes that their own time couldn’t get any worse, that it teeters at the edge of the abyss, yet humanity has yet to fall in. So, based on history, I’m willing to bet this episode of “Staring Over the Edge of a Cliff of Doom” will pass, too.
I do not mean to downplay the power of the fear, nor of the human suffering involved both then and now. But our fears can find some balm in the fact that our forebears felt the same as we do and, collectively at least, endured.
But that’s only part of the story, and only the first step for us Right Now.
While we can only endure in this moment, we also can plan for what to do next. After the fever breaks. After the waters recede. After the rain stops.
We can prepare for How to Go Forward.
And there, we have some power - with ourselves and with helping others get there as well.
And, again, history is instructive. By that, I mean the discipline of it - the practice of studying history, writing history, teaching history, and applying history.
We have to start by admitting how poorly we, collectively, do any of these.
But it’s a good starting point. There is a lot the public can learn yet about what is, and isn’t, quality historical inquiry and how to best apply it to ourselves and our society.
To do that, we have to bust up a few myths - ones that most historical scholars understand fundamentally, but still live on in public consciousness:
“History repeats itself.” It does not. Ever. As I mentioned last week, at most it can “rhyme.”
“Hindsight is 20/20.” It is not. Ever. Perspectives differ and shift from day to day and from person to person, never mind from generation to generation. And neuroscience agrees with me. Our brains and memory are malleable - they have plasticity.
“History is written by the winners.” Not really anymore - while battles are still waged over some triumphalist textbooks, overall there’s been a “democratization” of historical fields and studies for decades now, and many primary and secondary textbooks include those topics as part of broader instruction. There is a growing diversity in historical topics and inquiry that will only continue, despite the best efforts by some to prevent it.
“History is biased towards what the author already wants to believe.” This can happen, but the best professional historians work to minimize their bias and operate as best as possible off of concrete evidence - and a lot of it, not cherry picked selectively to satisfy their own preconceived ideas, beliefs, or political stances. In fact, history is a humbling discipline - new factual evidence can change even the strongest opinions, and historians have to admit it when the evidence indicates their conclusions should change.
“History is just a boring collection of facts, regurgitated over and over in different books.” Nope. Not true. Historical facts by themselves are trivia. The practice of History is facts connected into context with analysis focused on causation and correlation, which then are interpreted into conclusions about what happened, why, and how it is relevant to us today. Those analyses and approaches can come from myriad directions, using multiple lenses through which to consider how the past influences and informs today, and what it suggests for the future. And, as time goes by, the interests and events of the present renew interest in some past events - for example, the renewed interest in the December 7, 1941 surprise attack on Pearl Harbor after September 11, 2001. It’s safe to say most of us framed the Japanese attack in some new ways than we did on September 10th….
“I can read one book on a subject and pretty much get it.” Also nope. No historian believes this at all - they recognize that the learning on any given subject, especially their chosen specialties, never ends. There is no one “right way” to view any historical subject, especially when new evidence, voices, and / or perspectives get added to the mix. It’s one reason why so many books continue to be written about Abraham Lincoln, Nazi Germany, and Jesus of Nazareth - surely one book each cannot capture them from any and all perspectives, can it? Not even one hundred can.
“History only extols the virtues of, or demonizes, its subject.” Huge nope. Such one-sided books are called polemics. They can have value on certain subjects, but those usually don’t hold up over time under professional scrutiny. History should be an honest assessment of the truth of a subject, as best can be ascertained, using the deep well of evidence mentioned earlier. The truth of any historical subject is going to have “good” and “bad” elements, contradictions and paradoxes - after all, that’s how people are, and history is our story.
These popular myths don’t match reality. Why do I mention them in this context? It’s easy - because a better understanding of how to approach history can teach us a lot about how to assess information sources, separate fact from fiction, and reach judicious, even-handed, sober conclusions about our own time. And, we can certainly use a lot MORE of that going forward, couldn’t we?
History takes time, patience, consideration, and calm to do well - and to learn and apply effectively. Professional historians are up-front about the limits of their studies, and these are peer-reviewed by other scholars for everything from factual errors to argument inconsistencies and verbal clarity. It’s a rigorous process to ensure that what is published for other scholars and the public meets the highest standards of factual truth, professional development, and importance to the continued teaching of history.
With this in mind, how can history be approached more effectively by the public, the majority of whom do not have such training? How can they have faith that what they are reading is quality and “true?”
Glad you asked. Here are a few (hopefully) helpful tips.
First, frame history not as a collection of facts, but as an ongoing conversation about them and their importance - a conversation that will never end. Like any quality conversation, this is one that should be informed and considered and thorough, always open to hearing and incorporating new ideas, perspectives, and information.
Second, chuck the idea that history exists only to exalt heroes or create villains. Certainly these both can exist and be revealed in studies, but history isn’t about creating sides in a never ending “Super Bowl” of battle between One Monolithic Side Vs. Other Monolithic Side, at least in most cases. Even when clear villains are obvious - Hitler and Stalin and Mao come to mind - that does not preclude further study of them and what they can teach us to watch for in the present.
Third, take the time to be discerning about authors and the quality of their work. Every important history book gets reviewed somewhere. If it’s reviewed by famous television personalities alone, that’s often a dead giveaway that you have a polemic that is not based on original research using primary documents professionally vetted. Newspaper reviews can be helpful for the studies written for popular consumption, and academic books can be as well. But there are literally hundreds of historical journals where scholars provide in-depth reviews of each other’s work that go far deeper than most newspaper reviews. Amazon reviews are, for the most part, worthless in terms of finding professional, quality critiques that can be trusted. Find out what authors are saying about each other, and….
Fourth, read more than one book about a particular subject, especially books that reach different conclusions on similar evidence. Again, taking time to learn about authors goes a long way. The best books list their sources in detailed bibliographies, and often authors will point out in those endnotes (you know, the endnotes no one ever reads except for nerds like me) the books that make different arguments than their own. View your reading as an ongoing conversation, and it will help with incorporating differing points of view into your own - this creates sober and sound judgment about a historical subject, mixed with the humility of knowing there is always more to learn.
Finally, not all books are created equal. Just because they have a prominent place at the front tables of Barnes and Noble, or have lots of stars on Amazon doesn’t mean a book is quality. It may be more accessible than strongly academic studies (scholars can keep working on making their work accessible), but that doesn’t always translate into quality that can be trusted. There are certainly academic historians who have taken the leap into popular consciousness with quality research and writing - Doris Kearns Goodwin, David McCullough, and John Meacham are getting a lot of notice these days. And, of course, one need not be an academically-trained PHD historian to be excellent at historical research and writing, as writers like Barbara Tuchman and Anne Applebaum have abundantly illustrated. Go ahead and get to know these authors - before you know it, you’ll have a better Discerning Good History Roadmap than ever before.
Okay, so now, having done all that, let’s apply it to NOW. Everything I just listed can and should be applied to how we consume things like news articles, opinion pieces, blog posts, and magazine features. 1) an ongoing discussion between various perspectives, recognizing that there will be disagreements and that’s actually desirable - you should have to work a little bit to figure out what you think about something; 2) read more about the authors and go way beyond their Twitter profile; 3) be aware of outright polemics and screed that are disconnected from reality; 4) know the facts so you can express them and defend them; 5) read a lot of those quality writers and publications, from multiple perspectives. For example, as a matter of course I read political and social articles daily from The Atlantic and The Dispatch, among others) and I read pieces from numerous domestic and international newspapers, using the same approach. For example, with UK papers I read from both The Telegraph and The Guardian to cover their mainline conservative / liberal spectrum.
This takes time, but it is well worth it. It helps remove us from the ever-expanding Kneejerk Reaction Society that accompanies controversial topics and news reports and historical subjects. We can be the ones who know how to find, trust, and defend the truth of facts without losing our shit when our opinions are challenged.
Because, facts get in the way of “perfectly good” opinions.
And, while everyone in this country has an equal right to their opinion, that does not make every opinion equally right.
Facts matter. So does quality discussion of them, and openness to looking at what we can learn from them in new ways.
That’s not just good Doing History, but even better Doing Citizenship and Quality Human Being.
This is our preparation for after the fever breaks, after the waters of this harrowing time recede. And, of course, this requires the courage and commitment to challenge our own long-held ideas and beliefs and hold them up to the light of facts and what those shine on us morally, ethically, emotionally, and spiritually.
It’s a complex mix that muddies our water...at first. But eventually it leaves it far clearer. And, going forward, that’s what we need most.
A clearer view - so we can see the truth better.
And see each other better.
After the 1927 flood, the federal government committed to modernizing the levee and dam system throughout the country. Over time, this helped immensely, the proof being that this flood STILL remains the most costly river flood in American history, almost one-hundred years later. That’s a good thing, obviously. Much like how there has not been a major ship sinking due to a collision with an iceberg since the Titanic - thanks to the invention of the International Ice Patrol in direct response to that disaster.
Sometimes, we learn our lessons. History shows us that, too, which is a reason for hope, for motivation to endure the flood waters and fight the fever.
And to commit to discernment, to learning the facts. To learn to recognize the truth versus half-truths or outright bullshit.
One last thing. I headlined this post with a photo from Abraham Lincoln’s first inaugural in 1861, one month before the Civil War began at Fort Sumter, South Carolina. I looked at it the other day and was struck by how, on those same steps last week, insurrectionists stormed the Capitol in defiance and rejection of everything Lincoln believed in, represented, and fought and died for.
When Lincoln stood on those same Capitol steps that day, a number of southern states had already announced they had left the Union, and more were considering following suit. Lincoln had been the winner out of four candidates, and he had been so hated in the south that his name didn’t even appear on their presidential ballots. He wasn’t entering the Oval Office under anything close to ideal circumstances, and there wasn’t widespread confidence throughout the nation that he would be up to the task of bringing the Union back together.
No one then could - or did - predict exactly how he ended up doing that, or what he accomplished for future generations by doing so. All that happened is that he became the greatest president in this nation’s history, or at least secured a tie at the top with George Washington. That’s the reason he has a giant memorial in Washington, DC, across the Mall from where Wednesday’s inauguration will be held, seated and watching how this generation of his successors and the citizenry under their charge will respond to the challenges tearing at this nation yet again.
In his speech that day, Lincoln underscored the importance - indeed, the centrality - of a sound appreciation of history and facts to the health of the American republic, proclaiming, “the mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave, to every heart and hearth-stone, all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature."
Lincoln believed devoutly in those Better Angels. I do, too.
They are the ones who endure floods, survive fevers, and defend facts and truth as a matter of course, regardless of race, creed, or political party.
Call me naïve if you must, but I’ll be just fine being on the same side as Mr. Lincoln on this. So if I’m naïve, then he was, too.
History shows clearly that he wasn’t.
And that is all the reason I need to endure the Now and prepare for the Next.
May the fever break, may the levees hold, and may we begin our recovery soon.
Chins Up, Everyone.
**If you are interested in reading more about the Great Mississippi Flood, the most popular book remains John M. Barry’s award-winning “Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America.” A more recent treatment is Susan Scott Parrish’s “The Flood Year 1927: A Cultural History.” An interesting novel set among the events of the flood is “The Tilted World” by Tom Franklin and Beth Ann Fennelly. If you’re interested in knowing more about the practice and methodology of history, I still like John Lewis Gaddis’s “The Landscape of History: How Historians Map the Past.” A powerful lesson in what historians do - and the importance of readers knowing discernment, is Richard J. Evan’s “Lying About Hitler: History, Holocaust, and the David Irving Trial.” I consider it a Must Read. And finally, if you want to wade into the deep ocean of rich scholarship on Abraham Lincoln and his role in the Civil War, I recommend you start with the works of James M. McPherson, David S. Reynolds, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Eric Foner, and James Oakes. And, of course, Lincoln’s own words - there are collections of his letters and documents all over the place. And if you want to start getting to know the various academic journals out there, do yourself a favor and buy a subscription to the JSTOR database - it’s a Nerd’s Rabbit Hole, but a worthwhile one.
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Thanks for reading My Sunday Post. Here are some important updates from my past week:
Soul Book of the Week: What We Carry: A Memoir by Maya Shanbhag Lang
Book On My Nightstand: Everything Flows by Vasily Grossman
Best Show / Movie I Watched: Star Trek: Discovery - Season 3 (CBS All Access)
Strongest Earworm Song of the Week: Gloria by The Lumineers
Best Meal I Cooked: My famous (to me) Three Meat Explosion Chili
Longest Walk / Run of the Week: 6.88 mile run / 19 mile ride (Friday)
Best Catch Up of the Week: Meeting my friend Steve for coffee - first time I’d seen him in 20 years
Most Fun of the Week: Debut of my new radio show / podcast - This Show Is All About You
New Food Item That Will Be The Glorious Death of Me: Trader Joe’s Mango Jalapeno Fruit Snacks
Best Thing I Found In A Random Coat Pocket: $40 cash. I love when that happens.
