Abraham Lincoln : President Lincoln Homepage

Abraham Lincoln : President Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln has had more biographers than any other American president, and, with practically every single volume idolizing and worshipping Lincoln, it is no doubt the number one reason why he is ranked the greatest (or number one) U.S. president in history.

 

Just days after the nation honored the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth, 65 historians ranked Abraham Lincoln as our nation's best president, while George Washington -- yes, one of our Founding Fathers, that great hero of the American Revolution, and our first president -- settled for a distant second. Now how is that, I asked? It led me to many questions. 

 

To most Americans, President Abraham Lincoln is known as Father Abraham, Honest Abe, Lincoln the Great Emancipator, and even Saint Abe. Make no doubt about it, through the ages Abraham Lincoln has been idolized, mythologized and even immortalized. We have been taught in our public school system that Lincoln really was larger than life, that he was a Moses or Jesus figure. Even paintings with angels hovering about the president's head adorn the walls of many Americans. Has anyone ever seen a painting with George Washington surrounded by a multitude of angels?

When I lived in England I was schooled on the English view of the American Revolution, or American Rebellion, and those Colonial rebels, and it was a real eye-opener to say the least. But from America’s perspective, it was a revolution for freedom and a rebellion against tyranny, right? Is it possible that both sides were correct? During the American Civil War, the North also referred to the South as rebels and to the war as the War of the Rebellion, but, on the other hand, the South believed it was a second war for independence, a war against tyranny, a war against the tyrant Abraham Lincoln. Could it also be that both sides were correct?
 

A district attorney can lead a grand jury in any direction and to any conclusion, and that is why there is a subsequent trial with both the prosecution and defense present. In a marriage, just like in any given divorce, there are two parties involved. In debate, we witness both the affirmative and negative positions. And so there are two sides to the President Abraham Lincoln story.

In the 1860 election, without a single Southern electoral vote and with only 39.8% of the popular vote, Abraham Lincoln became the 16th President of the United States.

John Cabell Breckinridge was a U.S. Vice President, the most senior ranking public official to commit treason, cousin to Mary Todd Lincoln, presidential candidate (ran against Abraham Lincoln), and prominent Confederate general. Breckinridge (often misspelled as Breckenridge), furthermore, has witnessed only one full-length biography written about him. On the other hand, President Abraham Lincoln has been honored with more than 14,000 biographies.

The point is -- the victor not only writes and teaches its own version of history, but presents it with outlandish bias and with utter disdain for the vanquished. We must remember that there are two sides to the story, and to obtain fairness, balance and objectivity we should lend an ear to each side, and anything less is not history in context, period. The South, consequently, had staunch views and beliefs about Lincoln, and it is only proper that its viewpoints be studied. With more than 14,000 Lincoln biographies, perhaps somewhere in the midst is the real Lincoln. But, if you could read one Lincoln biography each day -- it would take you more than 38 years to read them all...

Was Lincoln really the Great Emancipator? Did the Emancipation Proclamation free a single slave? Was Lincoln a racist and white supremacist? Did he really have plans to ship African Americans to some colony abroad? Was Lincoln responsible for the Civil War and its outcome? Were the slaves freed in the middle of the conflict only because Lincoln feared losing the war? Was the emancipation a political decision because England and France would not assist a nation that supported slavery? Did Lincoln trample, trump and trash the U.S. Constitution? Of course it wasn't coined until decades later, but we all know that famous quote: “The buck stops here.” The resources on this page will allow the reader to access the good, the bad, and the ugly regarding our so-called greatest president. See also Abraham Lincoln History Homepage.