Why I'm no fan of Abe Lincoln

[MaDuce]

I set up a whole documentary of my own on this subject which I lack the $ and tools to finish making ATM. But here's one that spells out some of the basics, though still gives him WAY too much credit in the end. In a nutshell, he was just another dirtbag politician who happened to have good PR skills.

 

[Ben Diss]

I'm currently reading "The Real Lincoln" by DiLorenzo.  Every chapter I read gets me more and more pizzed off about my education.

 

From Amazon's description of this book:

 

 

A New Look at Abraham Lincoln, His Agenda, and an Unnecessary War

Most Americans consider Abraham Lincoln to be the greatest president in history. His legend as the Great Emancipator has grown to mythic proportions as hundreds of books, a national holiday, and a monument in Washington, D.C., extol his heroism and martyrdom. But what if most everything you knew about Lincoln were false? What if, instead of an American hero who sought to free the slaves, Lincoln were in fact a calculating politician who waged the bloodiest war in American history in order to build an empire that rivaled Great Britain's? In The Real Lincoln, author Thomas J. DiLorenzo uncovers a side of Lincoln not told in many history books and overshadowed by the immense Lincoln legend.

Through extensive research and meticulous documentation, DiLorenzo portrays the sixteenth president as a man who devoted his political career to revolutionizing the American form of government from one that was very limited in scope and highly decentralized—as the Founding Fathers intended—to a highly centralized, activist state. Standing in his way, however, was the South, with its independent states, its resistance to the national government, and its reliance on unfettered free trade. To accomplish his goals, Lincoln subverted the Constitution, trampled states' rights, and launched a devastating Civil War, whose wounds haunt us still. According to this provocative book, 600,000 American soldiers did not die for the honorable cause of ending slavery but for the dubious agenda of sacrificing the independence of the states to the supremacy of the federal government, which has been tightening its vise grip on our republic to this very day.

You will discover a side of Lincoln that you were probably never taught in school—a side that calls into question the very myths that surround him and helps explain the true origins of a bloody, and perhaps, unnecessary war.

[Zebra644]

Here's one for you, have you ever set a penny,nickle, dime and quarter beside eachother, and notice the penny is the only one facing a different direcion?

[EasyEJL]

Lets not forget forming Liberia. Lincoln had no desire to free the slaves and have them stay in the US, he wanted them gone as they weren't really human in his eyes. He was a worse racist than most KKK members.

[shibiwan]

I don't see why not. He was a great vampire hunter.

[jtallen83]

I'm currently reading "The Real Lincoln" by DiLorenzo.  Every chapter I read gets me more and more pizzed off about my education.

I never did see Lincoln as a great president, used to make the teachers stutter with my pointed questions about things like Liberia, habeas corpus, and other dictatorial maneuvers he used that violated the constitution. He opened a lot of doors for future power grabs............

[Matt.Cross]

Considering the state of current affairs, I could care less what revisionist historians think about anybody who has long been vindicated by standing historical accounts. I'm worried about problems caused by presidents who can't even finish their terms without discrediting themselves and their office. It's sad to see our society become a bunch of armchair quarterbacks who need to discredit the men who made this country great, and to what end? What does anyone gain from Lincoln being a villain? Hate to be the oddball, but Lincoln had enough of a reputation with the majority of our society for long enough to be a credible and upstanding figure in my imagination. What he is in anyone else's imagination doesn't have the slightest bearing on anything, being that he is long gone along with anybody that could've legitimately validated or discredited him.

[gnatshooter]

It may well be that Lincoln's reputation is more important than what he actually did.

[shepp]

Considering the state of current affairs, I could care less what revisionist historians think about anybody who has long been vindicated by standing historical accounts. I'm worried about problems caused by presidents who can't even finish their terms without discrediting themselves and their office. It's sad to see our society become a bunch of armchair quarterbacks who need to discredit the men who made this country great, and to what end? What does anyone gain from Lincoln being a villain? Hate to be the oddball, but Lincoln had enough of a reputation with the majority of our society for long enough to be a credible and upstanding figure in my imagination. What he is in anyone else's imagination doesn't have the slightest bearing on anything, being that he is long gone along with anybody that could've legitimately validated or discredited him.

Right the here and now is way more important.....what Lincoln's did is history.

[MaDuce]

Lets not forget forming Liberia. Lincoln had no desire to free the slaves and have them stay in the US, he wanted them gone as they weren't really human in his eyes. He was a worse racist than most KKK members.

 

I saw an interview with the current head of the KKK in which he actually praised Lincoln. After all, the KKK was and is a separationist group. Lincoln and the KKK had the same agenda.

 

 

 

Right the here and now is way more important.....what Lincoln's did is history.

 

Understanding history, especially that surrounding Lincoln is critical to understanding the crisis here and now.

 

 

I'm currently reading "The Real Lincoln" by DiLorenzo.  Every chapter I read gets me more and more pizzed off about my education.

 

From Amazon's description of this book:

 

 

This is what I was just talking about. I too originally protested against the importance of studying Lincoln's dark side and was very slow to persue it. But I am sure glad I did. The stuff that book is probably getting in to helps you to understand the real game plan and what the bankers and government have really been doing and trying to do almost since our country was founded. Without that understanding, you probably really are a sheep, whether you realize it or not. Loving freedom and seeking to protect it doesn't mean you aren't; in reality, playing for the other team.

Edited March 31, 2014 by MaDuce

[Magwa]

The biggest lesson here is what were we taught in school as children, the same can be said for our history of our dealings with Native Americans, we are very quick to be pissed at Hitler for his treatment of jews but this country carried out a much darker genocide but we never hear that in school nor many other things that happened but are glazed over.....

[unforgiven]

Sadly,that is a true statement.

[Sharkey]

[Magwa]

the above is true but it was not at a school that is false it was at wounded Knee....