--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is almost inconceivable that citizens…" description: "\"It is almost inconceivable that citizens of that time were willing to support so bloody a war, by putting so high a price upon Union and Liberty.\" — Mi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1a/michael-novak-12883_american-civil-war_it-is-almost-inconceivable-that-citizens_3167257.png" --- # It is almost inconceivable that citizens of that time were… ![“It is almost inconceivable that citizens of that time were willing to support so bloody a war, by putting so high a price upon Union and Liberty.” quote by Michael Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1a/michael-novak-12883_american-civil-war_it-is-almost-inconceivable-that-citizens_3167257.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1a/michael-novak-12883_american-civil-war_it-is-almost-inconceivable-that-citizens_3167257.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1a/michael-novak-12883_american-civil-war_it-is-almost-inconceivable-that-citizens_3167257.png) > “It is almost inconceivable that citizens of that time were willing to support so bloody a war, by putting so high a price upon Union and Liberty.” [Michael Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-novak/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote expresses astonishment that people once accepted a costly war, highlighting the high price paid for liberty and union. **In simple terms:** People once supported a costly war for liberty. Key Takeaway Recognize the sacrifices made for freedom. Themes war liberty history Mood reflective serious Type historical philosophical When to use this quote - historical analysis - civil rights movements - military policy debates - educational curricula Key Concepts ethical cost political decision‑making Questions to Reflect On - What drives societies to accept high war costs? - How can we learn from past wartime decisions? A Different Perspective May romanticize past sacrifices without critique. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American civil war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-civil-war/) [Civil war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-war/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Liberty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberty/) [Support](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/support/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Unions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unions/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [It is your business to rise up and preserve the Union and liberty, for yourselves, and not for me. I desire they shall be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/it-is-your-business-to-rise-up-and-preserve-the-union-and-liberty-for/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [“Union and Liberty, now and forever, one and inseparable!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-caro/union-and-liberty-now-and-forever-one-and-inseparable/) [Robert A. Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-caro/) > [“Who cares?' she said impatiently, 'it's always one bloody war after another, and one knows the news is all lies anyway.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/who-cares-she-said-impatiently-it-s-always-one-bloody-war-after/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > ['But,' say the puling, pusillanimous cowards, 'we shall be subject to a long and bloody war if we declare independence.' On the contrary, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/but-say-the-puling-pusillanimous-cowards-we-shall-be-subject-to-a/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [“You can't take the bloody glamour out of bloody war...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-page/you-can-t-take-the-bloody-glamour-out-of-bloody-war/) [Tim Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-page/) > [Comfort is bought at too high a price.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dora-russell/comfort-is-bought-at-too-high-a-price/) [Dora Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dora-russell/) > [A high price may be part of the mystique in selling difficult art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-genn/a-high-price-may-be-part-of-the-mystique-in-selling-difficult-art/) [Robert Genn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-genn/) > [To die for an idea is to set a rather high price upon conjecture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/to-die-for-an-idea-is-to-set-a-rather-high-price-upon-conjecture/) [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) > [Maturity is a high price to pay for growing up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/maturity-is-a-high-price-to-pay-for-growing-up/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [I would say a full-time waiter in a high-price house could easily make $75,000, $80,000 a year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-douglas/i-would-say-a-full-time-waiter-in-a-high-price-house-could-easily/) [Tom Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-douglas/) > [I think age is a very high price to pay for maturity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/i-think-age-is-a-very-high-price-to-pay-for-maturity/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [I do things my way and I pay a high price.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-do-things-my-way-and-i-pay-a-high-price/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The price for freedom may be high, but the price that we pay for being imprisoned and cut off from the very root of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/queen-afua/the-price-for-freedom-may-be-high-but-the-price-that-we-pay-for-being/) Queen Afua > [The high price of living is nothing comapred to the price of getting high](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-high-price-of-living-is-nothing-comapred-to-the-price-of-getting/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“the price of creation is never too high. the price of living with other people always is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/the-price-of-creation-is-never-too-high-the-price-of-living-with/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) ## More by Michael Novak > [Don't be afraid of anything. We've seen so much suffering and evil in the 20th century and we got through it. We can go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-novak/don-t-be-afraid-of-anything-we-ve-seen-so-much-suffering-and-evil-in/) [Michael Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-novak/) > [“We can talk about human dignity, but where is it?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-novak/we-can-talk-about-human-dignity-but-where-is-it/) [Michael Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-novak/) > [To go into a competition and not strive to win is to be a dishonest competitor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-novak/to-go-into-a-competition-and-not-strive-to-win-is-to-be-a-dishonest/) [Michael Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-novak/) > [Unity in diversity is the highest possible attainment of a civilization, a testimony to the most noble possibilities of the human race. This attainment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-novak/unity-in-diversity-is-the-highest-possible-attainment-of-a/) [Michael Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-novak/) > [Ending torture and tyranny in Iraq was not a mistake. Supporting democracy in Iraq is not a mistake. Helping the long-suffering Muslims of Iraq…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-novak/ending-torture-and-tyranny-in-iraq-was-not-a-mistake-supporting/) [Michael Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-novak/) > [Even rock stars are entitled to privacy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-novak/even-rock-stars-are-entitled-to-privacy/) [Michael Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-novak/) > [We really feel happier when things look bleak. Hope is endurance. Hope is holding on and going on and trusting in the Lord.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-novak/we-really-feel-happier-when-things-look-bleak-hope-is-endurance-hope/) [Michael Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-novak/) > [“The choice to remain faithful to the drive to question (the fertile source of the experience of nothingness) brings with it an obscure joy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-novak/the-choice-to-remain-faithful-to-the-drive-to-question-the-fertile/) [Michael Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-novak/) > [What is the most effective, practical way of raising the wealth of nations? What causes wealth? I have come to think that the dream…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-novak/what-is-the-most-effective-practical-way-of-raising-the-wealth-of/) [Michael Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-novak/) > [“During the next hundred years, the question for those who love liberty is whether we can survive the most insidious and duplicitous attacks from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-novak/during-the-next-hundred-years-the-question-for-those-who-love-liberty/) [Michael Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-novak/) > [Everything I do that I'm enthusiastic about. This is genuine enthusiasm. If I don't - I mean I've done other projects that I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-novak/everything-i-do-that-i-m-enthusiastic-about-this-is-genuine/) [Michael Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-novak/) > [No great, inspiring culture of the future can be built upon the moral principle of relativism. For at its bottom such a culture holds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-novak/no-great-inspiring-culture-of-the-future-can-be-built-upon-the-moral/) [Michael Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-novak/) > [The most critical threat to our freedom is a failure to appreciate the power of truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-novak/the-most-critical-threat-to-our-freedom-is-a-failure-to-appreciate/) [Michael Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-novak/) > [I need not to be afraid of the void. The void is part of my person. I need to enter consciously into it. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-novak/i-need-not-to-be-afraid-of-the-void-the-void-is-part-of-my-person-i/) [Michael Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-novak/) > [It is not possible in this culture today to hold up to public pillory and ridicule any group - whether blacks, American Indians, women,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-novak/it-is-not-possible-in-this-culture-today-to-hold-up-to-public-pillory/) [Michael Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-novak/) [Explore all 52 Michael Novak quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-novak/) ## More American civil war quotes > [It cost about 75 cents to kill a man in Ceasar's time. The price rose to about $3,000 per man during the Napoleonic wars;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer-bone/it-cost-about-75-cents-to-kill-a-man-in-ceasar-s-time-the-price-rose/) Homer Bone > [Strange, (is it not?) that battles, martyrs, blood, even assassination should so condense - perhaps only really lastingly condense - a Nationality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/strange-is-it-not-that-battles-martyrs-blood-even-assassination/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [We all declare for liberty; but in using the same word we do not all mean the same thing. With some the word liberty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/we-all-declare-for-liberty-but-in-using-the-same-word-we-do-not-all/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [The 1860 election became a referendum on the southern way of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-catton/the-1860-election-became-a-referendum-on-the-southern-way-of-life/) [Bruce Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-catton/) > [What began as a bitter dispute over Union and States' Rights, ended as a struggle over the meaning of freedom in America. At Gettysburg…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-catton/what-began-as-a-bitter-dispute-over-union-and-states-rights-ended-as/) [Bruce Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-catton/) > [Its foundations are laid, its cornerstone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-h-stephens/its-foundations-are-laid-its-cornerstone-rests-upon-the-great-truth/) [Alexander H. Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-h-stephens/) > [“For my part I consider the central idea pervading this struggle is the necessity that is upon us of proving that popular government is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-foote/for-my-part-i-consider-the-central-idea-pervading-this-struggle-is/) [Shelby Foote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-foote/) > [My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/my-paramount-object-in-this-struggle-is-to-save-the-union-and-is-not/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [The triumph of the Confederacy... would be a victory for the powers of evil which would give courage to the enemies of progress and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/the-triumph-of-the-confederacy-would-be-a-victory-for-the-powers-of/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [If I could save the Union without freeing any slave, I would do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/if-i-could-save-the-union-without-freeing-any-slave-i-would-do-it/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [“Across the river he could see the burnt and crushed buildings of Fredericksburg, the debris piled along the streets, the scattered ruins of people's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-shaara/across-the-river-he-could-see-the-burnt-and-crushed-buildings-of/) [Jeff Shaara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-shaara/) > [Grant stood by me when I was crazy...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-tecumseh-sherman/grant-stood-by-me-when-i-was-crazy/) [William Tecumseh Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-tecumseh-sherman/) > [You people speak so lightly of war; you don't know what you're talking about. War is a terrible thing!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-tecumseh-sherman/you-people-speak-so-lightly-of-war-you-don-t-know-what-you-re-talking/) [William Tecumseh Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-tecumseh-sherman/) > [We all declare for liberty, but in using the same word we do not all mean the same thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/we-all-declare-for-liberty-but-in-using-the-same-word-we-do-not-all-2/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [The Civil War was fought in 10,000 places, from Valverde, New Mexico, and Tullahoma, Tennessee, to St. Albans, Vermont, and Fernandina on the Florida…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-catton/the-civil-war-was-fought-in-10-000-places-from-valverde-new-mexico/) [Bruce Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-catton/) [Browse all 176 American civil war quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-civil-war/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is almost inconceivable that citizens of that time were willing to support so bloody a war, by putting so high a price upon Union and Liberty.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michael Novak" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-novak/it-is-almost-inconceivable-that-citizens-of-that-time-were-willing-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "American civil war" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-novak/it-is-almost-inconceivable-that-citizens-of-that-time-were-willing-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1a/michael-novak-12883_american-civil-war_it-is-almost-inconceivable-that-citizens_3167257.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1a/michael-novak-12883_american-civil-war_it-is-almost-inconceivable-that-citizens_3167257.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1a/michael-novak-12883_american-civil-war_it-is-almost-inconceivable-that-citizens_3167257.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is almost inconceivable that citizens of that time were willing to support so bloody a war, by putting so…” — Michael Novak", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Michael Novak", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-novak/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is almost inconceivable that citizens...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-novak/it-is-almost-inconceivable-that-citizens-of-that-time-were-willing-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-novak/it-is-almost-inconceivable-that-citizens-of-that-time-were-willing-to/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```