Abraham Lincoln

What is your opinion of Lincoln as a president and as a man? He is a pretty controversial figure in history, I figured it would make a good discussion.

Undecided. Definitely something I plan on looking into...

ElizabethBennett wrote:Undecided. Definitely something I plan on looking into...

I reccomend this as a good book to read on the subject. http://www.americascaesar.com/ You will find the whole book available on the website.

He was probably one of the most destructive presidents in history.

Abraham Lincoln was to the United States what the French Revolution was to France. He is merely a product of Unitarian New England though . . . a good example of how the churches influence the country. If you want some reading that will get your dander up, I recommend the Real Lincoln.

kevinharbin wrote:

ElizabethBennett wrote:Undecided. Definitely something I plan on looking into...

I reccomend this as a good book to read on the subject. http://www.americascaesar.com/ You will find the whole book available on the website.

Thanks! I'll see if I can find Real Lincoln, too.

A tyrant. Suspending state conventions, preventing states from having the constitutional right to secede. He purposely sent supplies to Fort Sumter in order to start a war between the states. He raised an army to fight the south. Two seperate houses can't stand as one, unless you put them together by force. The founding fathers would have been up in arms if they saw what Lincoln did.

George Grant did an excellent lecture on the similarities between Lincoln and Lenin (communist in Russia). It can be found on www.sermonaudio.com If you want to see it, search "Lincoln and Lenin" or look up George Grant and find it.

Re. A. Lincoln,
There is another good book on the subject titled "THE REAL LINCOLN". Great reading if you have time. He did trample headstrong over individual civil rights and in a lot of cases ignored the constitution. This side of him is not what I learned in our government schools, but ho hum that applies to a number of subjects.
Waxhawflyer - better known as The Kingfish

I think that although he took a liberal view of presidential powers in wartime, he did get our nation through a civil war. Although I think the South was correct in their view of states rights, Lincoln did end slavery directly or indirectly through his actions

Please, lets not get into a big fight over North v South. We already fought a war over it, we're not going to decide it here on this forum lol

cruisin'n5thgear wrote:I think that although he took a liberal view of presidential powers in wartime, he did get our nation through a civil war. Although I think the South was correct in their view of states rights, Lincoln did end slavery directly or indirectly through his actions

Please, lets not get into a big fight over North v South. We already fought a war over it, we're not going to decide it here on this forum lol

While I do agree that we do not want to fight another civil war, the ideas that drove the North and the South need to be studied. This is especially true since the definitions of liberty and tyranny are so misunderstood in our culture. We, as a society, still suffer from the false presumption that "might makes right" and "the ends justify the means." Without acknowledging our sins, there can be no movement towards true repentance.

BrianEschen wrote:

cruisin'n5thgear wrote:I think that although he took a liberal view of presidential powers in wartime, he did get our nation through a civil war. Although I think the South was correct in their view of states rights, Lincoln did end slavery directly or indirectly through his actions

Please, lets not get into a big fight over North v South. We already fought a war over it, we're not going to decide it here on this forum lol

While I do agree that we do not want to fight another civil war, the ideas that drove the North and the South need to be studied. This is especially true since the definitions of liberty and tyranny are so misunderstood in our culture. We, as a society, still suffer from the false presumption that "might makes right" and "the ends justify the means." Without acknowledging our sins, there can be no movement towards true repentance.

I would completely agree! Those who don't study history are bound to repeat it.

cruisin'n5thgear wrote:I would completely agree! Those who don't study history are bound to repeat it.

I would add that even those who do study history are bound to repeat it—though at times it is with less regularity.

Lincoln did end slavery directly or indirectly through his actions

This is absolutely false. The Emancipation Proclamation was a purely political device to generate public support. All he did was issue an executive order to free all the slaves held IN THE SOUTH.

It did nothing whatsoever to free the thousands of slaves held in the north.

It would be akin to President Obama signing an executive order emancipating all the house cats in Bolivia.

TheWylff wrote:I would add that even those who do study history are bound to repeat it—though at times it is with less regularity.

Are you asserting that history is not moving anywhere or are you just saying that people often make the same mistakes?