Today Abraham Lincoln would be 201 years old. I view him, and many of the historians consistently do also, as the greatest president in the history of the United States. He grew up in the middle of nowhere (at least it was the middle of nowhere in the early 1800s), had no more than a fourth-grade education (and not much of that), and pretty much taught himself how to read, write and speak effectively.
People back then, when Lincoln was president, were no kinder to him than they are to presidents in modern times. He was called a "nigger lover," "the perfect baboon" (this by his very own, and useless General McClellan), and constantly threatened with assassination. He was in the habit of staying at the Soldiers' Home outside of Washington, rather than the White House during the hotter months, and on one of his solo rides to the house had his top hat shot through and knocked off his head (henceforth he was accompanied by a military escort). His wife, Mary, did her very best to drive him mad with her irrational behavior, but he took it all in stride and continued to work for the good of America, not wanting to be the president under which the Union would dissolve. Under his watch, the United States of America was reunited and slavery was ended in the country for all time.
There are probably more books in existence about Abraham Lincoln than about any other person on the planet (unless you want to tally up JFK conspiracy-theory books). Many praise him and/or simply chronicle his life. But then there are those revisionist historians who, having apparently nothing better to do, make up disgusting theories about how Lincoln was supposedly a homosexual based on the fact that sometimes lawyers shared beds while riding the Eighth Judicial Circuit in the backwoods of Illinois, there being few establishments where one could obtain a room while making the rounds of various courtrooms. There are the rabid Lincoln-haters who blame him for any number of ills inflicted upon the US economy, or for federalizing the government, or tramping on the Constitution (his suspension of the writ of habeus corpus is commonly brought up, ignoring the fact that subsequently he was found to be justified in doing this by the Supreme Court, being thrust into an emergency situation that called for emergency actions).
I find Abraham Lincoln to be, in my opinion, the greatest American, the greatest statesman, and the greatest president in our history. There are those who, possibly because they will never be thought of as great at all, feel that it is necessary to spit on his memory in an attempt to feel more important. It pains me to see that the only American who has his birthday honored these days is Martin Luther King, Jr., which was accomplished by combining Lincoln's and Washington's birthdays into a single amorphous "Presidents Day" and thus avoiding increasing the number of federal holidays. It apparently was more important to pander to blacks by doing this, even though King might possibly have not been famous (or free, for that matter) had Abraham Lincoln not been born; in fact, I believe that MLK would object to this being done to Lincoln's birthday if he had any way to comment on it.
President Lincoln died at the hands of a southern sympathizer and racist fanatic named John Wilkes Booth, and the world was poorer for it. He never was able to do things like travel to California or to Jerusalem (as he once stated he would like to have done once he was through being President). The nation was deprived of his gentle and humorous wisdom and his absolute belief that the USA was, and would continue to be, the greatest nation in the world's history. Often people play the game: "If I could spend an evening talking and having dinner with a historical figure it would be..."; many people choose Jesus as this person, possibly because they think they're supposed to think that way. The way I look at it, I'll be spending eternity in Jesus' company. Whether or not it makes me look bad to nix an evening with Jesus in favor of one with Mr. Lincoln, I've often wished I could spend a day in the company of Abraham Lincoln, just to hear his stories, jokes, and anecdotes, and to experience his personality in real life. However, while Lincoln never chose a particular church or denomination, I trust that he's waiting for us now, and perhaps I'll get to spend some time with him after all.
If you want to read some good books about Mr. Lincoln, I'd recommend these:
Team of Rivals, by Doris Kearns Goodwin -- great on Lincoln's presidency and his cabinet
Lincoln, by David Herbert Donald -- excellent overall biography unsurpassed except by the next one:
Abraham Lincoln: A Life, by Michael Burlingame -- the newest biography with access to heretofore unknown material -- two huge volumes that I couldn't stop reading until I was done.
About the assassination of Abraham Lincoln I recommend:
Blood on the Moon, by Edward Steers
American Brutus, by Michael Kauffman
Manhunt, by James L. Swanson
One good book that I wholeheartedly recommend on the mindset of Lincoln's wife, Mary, is:
The Madness of Mary Lincoln, by Jason Emerson -- just an excellent work by a very meticulous researcher.
I hope that you will give some thought to Abraham Lincoln today on his birthday, and that, if you are only basically familiar with the life and death of our 16th president, you will be inspired to learn more about this great man.
God bless his memory.
Herp
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