Red Republicans & Lincoln’s Marxists? 1848 Revolutions, 48ers, and the Roots of Centralization

Resistance Podcast #279
What happens when failed European revolutions collide with the American experiment? In this deep-dive, we explore claims that radical 1848 “Forty-Eighters” (48ers) and early Marxists helped shape the rise of the Republican Party, influenced Abraham Lincoln’s wartime coalition, and pushed the United States toward a single, indivisible, centralized state.

We walk through arguments presented in Red Republicans and Lincoln’s Marxists (Shotwell Publishing) and related commentary: from August Willich and Franz Sigel in Union command, to Karl Marx writing for the New York Tribune, to Frederick Engels’ letter on why an “indivisible republic” was a prerequisite for socialist revolution. We contrast Founding-era concepts of equality (rights, law, opportunity) with 19th-century socialist equality (ownership, outcomes), and trace post-war policy shifts—national banking, progressive income taxes, and public schooling—in the wider project of centralization.

⚠️ Note: This episode analyzes claims and interpretations that are debated by historians. Our goal is to surface sources and arguments so you can evaluate them critically.

👉 If you find value in long-form historical analysis, please like, share, and subscribe. Comment your take: Which evidence here is strongest—or weakest?

Timestamps

00:00 Intro & episode setup
00:52 The thesis: 48ers, Lincoln, and radical roots
03:04 Named figures: Willich, Rosa, Blenker & Union roles
04:48 1848 revolutions & the 48ers’ migration
08:52 Early American communal experiments vs. private property
12:18 Definitions: socialism/communism, equality of outcome vs. equality before the law
18:22 The 48ers’ anti-clerical freethinking and political aims
23:01 Abolition, feminism, and reform currents among 48ers
29:01 New York Communist Club, private property, and “nationalizing” production
33:12 Media links: Marx at the New York Tribune, Dana & Greeley
36:58 Engels to Weydemeyer: “single and indivisible republic” as prerequisite
41:00 GOP courting German voters: “Dutch” planks & the Homestead Act
45:16 Fremont, Sigel & recruiting 48ers (“I fights mit Sigel”)
48:59 John Brown, European support, and revolutionary means/ends
53:36 Union vs. states’ rights: compact theory & secession debates
58:50 Tocqueville, Rawle, West Point textbook & 19th-century views on secession
1:03:36 Centralization after Appomattox: banking, taxes, schooling
1:08:03 Lincoln, freethought, and wartime tactics (Sherman, total war claims)
1:12:50 Legacy to the present; indivisibility abroad; Lincoln Brigade
1:16:30 Final question: Can a people be free if they cannot leave?

https://shotwellpublishing.com/lincoln-marx-and-the-gop/

🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴
Support Catholic Businesses here - https://sensusfidelium.com/catholic-businesses/

Sensus Fidelium Press - https://sensusfideliumpress.com/

Sensus Fidelium Apps - https://sensusfidelium.tv/

Support Sensus Fidelium - https://sensusfidelium.com/donate-support/

🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴

Sensus Fidelium is your go to for sermons on the catholic church, faith, growing in holiness, study of the scriptures, anything and everything you need to be set on fire for the Lord and His Church.

#AbrahamLincoln #CivilWar #48ers #KarlMarx #FrederickEngels #StatesRights #Reconstruction #AmericanHistory #PoliticalPhilosophy #Centralization #HistoryPodcast #DeepDive