A Critique of the Real Lincoln The Real Lincoln: A New Look at Abraham Lincoln, His Agenda, and an Unnecessary War, by Thomas J. DiLorenzo completely shatters the illusion of the 16th President as the liberator of the slaves. DiLorenzo provides convincing evidence for Lincoln’s overt racism as expressed in his documented views on racial supremacy as stated in his desire to colonize all American blacks outside the United States (p. 4); Lincoln’s views were matched by the majority in the North who used such tools as state constitutional amendments to prohibit the emigration of black people into Northern states like Lincoln’s home of Illinois (p. 4); and that the Presidents war which killed 620, 000 Americans and destroyed 40% of the economy, was a singularly terrible, unjustified conflict given the proven success in the 19th century of the peaceful end to slavery through the policy of compensated emancipation (p. 4). DiLorenzo accordingly notes that, “Between 1800 and 1860, dozens of countries, including the entire British Empire, ended slavery peacefully; only in the United States was war involved (p. 4). DiLorenzo documents that history’s claims that the abolition of slavery as the leading motive behind the Union’s aggression against the South is untrue. He states that Lincoln’s motives were economic and political and in no way altruistic. Lincoln did oppose slavery, but his opposition did not stem from any moral motive. He wished to preserve white labor, and to avoid artificial inflation of Southern representation in Congress under the three-fifths clause of the Constitution, under which every five slaves counted as three free persons for the purpose of allotting number of congressional seats. DiLorenzo explains that from th... ... middle of paper ... ...ding Fathers had tried to institute through the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. Thomas DiLorenzo does a good job in documenting Lincoln’s ruthlessness and hypocrisy and how historians have covered it up. The founding fathers had a fear of federal governmental abuse. They saw state sovereignty as a protection. That’s why they gave us the Ninth and Tenth Amendments. I found this book very interesting and it makes you wonder what else we may have learned growing up that could be completely untrue according to your elementary school history books. I do however understand that there is two sides to every story and I wish DiLorenzo did a better job at explaining why history has painted Lincoln as such a hero. Works Cited DiLorenzo, Thomas. The Real Lincoln: A New Look at Abraham Lincoln, His Agenda, and an Unnecessary War. Three Rivers Press, 2003.
The weakness is the author over using the statement where he quotes from people. Beside that this book is very interesting to read. I would recommend this book to my friend or the younger generation because I pretty sure you don’t know until you read it. I learned a lot of thing about Abraham Lincoln after reading this book, and I was surprise with some of the facts about him too. I believe all of Thomas Dilorenzo arguments because he provides so much proof. After all, I think Lincoln does not deserve to be call as a hero. He first started out saying he did not care about abolition. He could not have been the father of freedom.
The mystery of how John Wilkes Booth pulled off the most influential and notorious assassinations in history is revealed in Killing Lincoln. The author of this book, Bill O’Reilly, built up the plot of the story through vivid historical details and pieced them together like a thriller. He tries to explain all of what happened on one of the most interesting and sad days in American history. Many conspiracies and Civil War ideals are on full display in the book. I agree with most of O’Reilly’s ideas but there are some that I am not really sure about because of his point of view like many of the conspiracy theories. Killing Lincoln by Bill O’Reilly was a very compelling read which described the Civil War, lives of the conspirators, and the eventual assassination of the sixteenth president of the United States of America, Abraham Lincoln.
Thomas J. DiLorenzo is an economics professor at Loyola College. He has written eleven books, and is very widely published in many magazines and journals. In his book, The Real Lincoln, a twist is placed on the traditional picture of Abraham Lincoln. One of the most famous men in American History, Lincoln was regarded as being many great things, but were these things an accurate depiction of who he really was? As DiLorenzo states, “In the eyes of many Americans, Lincoln remains the most important American political figure in history because the war between the states so fundamentally transformed the nature of American government” (2). Lincoln helped begin a transformation from a small national government to a larger, more centralized one. Perhaps one of the largest misconceptions about Lincoln was his stance on slavery. DiLorenzo goes in depth about this saying, “He (Lincoln) could have ended slavery just as dozens of other countries in the world did during the first sixty years of the nineteenth century, through compensated emancipation, but he never seriously attempted to do so” (9). These two major topics, along with many more, are examined from a different perspective in discovering the man Abraham Lincoln really was.
The American Civil War not only proved to be the country’s deadliest war but also precipitated one of the greatest constitutional crises in the history of the United States. President Lincoln is revered by many Americans today as a man of great moral principle who was responsible for both preventing the Union’s dissolution as well as helping to trigger the movement to abolish slavery. In retrospect, modern historians find it difficult to question the legitimacy of Lincoln’s actions as President. A more precise review of President Lincoln’s actions during the Civil War, however, reveals that many, if not the majority, of his actions were far from legitimate on constitutional and legal grounds. Moreover, his true political motives reveal his
At the time, the South depended on slavery to support their way of life. In fact, “to protect slavery the Confederate States of America would challenge the peaceful, lawful, orderly means of changing governments in the United States, even by resorting to war.” (635) Lincoln believed that slavery was morally wrong and realized that slavery was bitterly dividing the country. Not only was slavery dividing the nation, but slavery was also endangering the Union, hurting both black and white people and threatening the processes of government. At first, Lincoln’s goal was to save the Union in which “he would free none, some, or all the slaves to save that Union.” (634) However, Lincoln realized that “freeing the slaves and saving the Union were linked as one goal, not two optional goals.” (634) Therefore, Lincoln’s primary goal was to save the Union and in order to save the Union, Lincoln had to free the slaves. However, Paludan states that, “slave states understood this; that is why the seceded and why the Union needed saving.” (634) Lincoln’s presidential victory was the final sign to many Southerners that their position in the Union was
Abraham Lincoln’s original views on slavery were formed through the way he was raised and the American customs of the period. Throughout Lincoln’s influential years, slavery was a recognized and a legal institution in the United States of America. Even though Lincoln began his career by declaring that he was “anti-slavery,” he was not likely to agree to instant emancipation. However, although Lincoln did not begin as a radical anti-slavery Republican, he eventually issued his Emancipation Proclamation, which freed all slaves and in his last speech, even recommended extending voting to blacks. Although Lincoln’s feeling about blacks and slavery was quite constant over time, the evidence found between his debate with Stephen A. Douglas and his Gettysburg Address, proves that his political position and actions towards slavery have changed profoundly.
Thomas DiLorenzo’s purpose in writing The Real Lincoln: A New Look at Abraham Lincoln, His Agenda, and an Unnecessary War is to portray the idea of a different side of one of America’s greatest presidents. Abraham Lincoln is indeed one of the most written about “American political figure[s]” (1). However, The Real Lincoln is devoted to revealing the true mindset and agenda of Abraham Lincoln during his time of presidency. DiLorenzo, in one single book, undermines the political choices and strategies of Abraham Lincoln. He challenges the decisions Lincoln made; specifically stating that Lincoln “could have ended slavery just as dozens of other countries in the world did” (4).
Lincoln, Abraham. “Restating Positions on Slavery: December 1860.” Simpson, Brooks D., Stephen W. Sears, and Aaron Sheehan-Dean 109-110.
Abraham Lincoln is perhaps one of the most interesting characters to have ever graced the American political arena and presidency. He is most noteworthy, obviously, for his role in saving the United States from its own destruction and the eradication of the vile Southern tradition of slavery. However, upon deeper inspection, one finds there was much more to Lincoln than his political achievements. Throughout his years as a politician, there's a noticeable shift in terms of his character, and political persona. He seems to go from ambitious and boisterous to being more solemn and reserved. Also, it should be noted that some remark that Lincoln was, quite ironically, both America’s most democratic and autocratic President to have ever held office. However, it seems that though there is abundant evidence for his democratic values, there are little to suggest his autocratic intentions. As though some lines revealing such intent can be found, many are also directly rebutted by powerful democratic rhetoric. All of this can be found in Lincoln’s four main speeches; “A House Divided Against Itself Cannot Stand”, his Inaugural Addresses and the Gettysburg Address. Basically, in order to properly analyze Lincoln it may be best to look at Lincoln’s personal and political changes within the terms of his antebellum and Civil War “personalities”, as well as to examine his democratic and autocratic leanings; all through scrutinizing Lincoln’s major speeches.
Thomas DiLorenzo did an amazing job at helping us recognize the real truth about our former president. There is plenty of evidence throughout the story that helped me realize that Lincoln wasn't as thoughtful and heroic as people made him out to be. He was also a selfish hypocrite that looked down on black people and mainly looked at them as inferiors while many of us thought he freed the slaves out of the goodness of his heart. I would recommend this book to many people that have interest in history and biographies . The strong points of the book would be that DiLorenzo provides plenty of quotes and evidence to prove his points and beliefs of Abe Lincoln.
David Herbert Donald's Lincoln is a biography of our sixteenth President, Abraham Lincoln. At the age of twenty one, he was sure he did not want to be like his father Thomas Lincoln, an uneducated farmer, so he left his fathers house permanently. He had many jobs, learned many lessons, and made both friends and enemies, all which helped him to become one of the greatest presidents of the United States of America during the time the country had split, the Civil War. Thoroughly researched and excellently written, this biography comes alive and shows us what really happened during the early to mid-nineteenth century and it still puts us in the point of view of our former president, using the information and ideas available to him.
Looking back at the life of Abraham Lincoln, if you read about him before 1858, you wouldn’t think he would be such a predominant figure in American history today. It’s not till you learn about the election in 1860 and the events following that you learn what cemented this man, who would become our nations sixteenth president, into our nation’s history. If Lincoln had not won the election, perhaps our only memory of him would be his famous “House Divided” speech from the Illinois Republican Convention in 1858, but we learn from a young as, that isn’t the case. Lincoln went on the be the President during the bloodiest war in American history. Despite having little schooling as a child he would also write his own speeches before and during his
In reading through Abraham Lincoln: the Man Behind the Myths, I have seen my views on Lincoln pretty drastically changed. Prior to this novel, I took the very common stance of Abraham Lincoln being one of the greatest presidents we have ever had. Now, I wouldn’t say I am nearly as passionate about Lincoln as any of the authors mentioned are, and therefore I believe myself to be rather blind to the mythology built around Lincoln. However, despite this blindness, I will say that my eyes have been opened to who I believe Lincoln is as well as what my perception of him has to do with what I’m told. Oates does indeed have biases similar to the very authors he puts down, however, Oates seems to be trying to reach a more realistic realization.
The name of the novel I read was “Chasing Lincoln’s Killer” by James L. Swanson. It was a very accurate and exciting story about president Abraham Lincoln and his assassination, as well as the vigorous search for the man who did it. President Lincoln’s murder will not go un-justified and the killer will be caught and will be served his right for his villainous actions. The novel is very creative and has lots of interesting facts if you did not know anything about the killer of Abraham Lincoln or anything about the president himself. I mean other than the fact that he is labeled on currency all over the United States, Lincoln was a very big part of history. He lead the U.S. throughout the harsh times of the Civil War and strengthened the Federal
Contrary to what today’s society believes about Lincoln, he was not a popular man with the South at this period in time. The South wanted to expand towards the West but Lincoln created a geographical containment rule keeping slavery in the states it currently resided in. Despite his trying to rationalize with the South, Lincoln actually believed something different ”Lincoln claimed that he, like the Founding Fathers, saw slavery in the Old South as regrettable reality whose expansion could and should be arrested, thereby putting it on the long and gradual road ”ultimate extinction” (216). He believed it to be “evil” thus “implying that free southerners were evil for defending it”(275). Lincoln wanted to wipe out slavery for good and the South could sense his secret motives. By trying to trick them, the South rebelled as soon as Lincoln became president and launched what is today known as the Civil war.