And I understand that free speech suffered on both sides from the beginning to the war until the end. But I was puzzled by his apparent claim that had free discussion been allowed prior to the war then the war wouldn't have happened. I wasn't aware that it had been suppressed in any way. You had a lot of people not listening to what the other side had to say, but they were still free to say it.
Within each side the speech was suppressed. Both sides openly debated but if a dissenter within one side attempted to voice an opposing view, that view was suppressed.