[Jack Black]

It is my judgment that his conduct as Commander-in-Chief was not so unreasonable given the political pressures on him and the very grave threat to his vision of the Union which vision, after all, has come to be accepted throughout the land as it was decided of the field of strife.

But there was law, and a Constitution, and a tradition of independent states, none of which Lincon followed, instead following his "vision" as you put it. That is the method of the tyrant. Some tyrants are good, such as Octavius and others are evil, such as Pol Pot, but all of them put there vision above the existing order.

As to whether his vision is "accepted throughout the land", well so is abortion. Just because something is accepted does not make it right.

Lincoln freed the slaves and enslaved free men. Whereas before the Civil War men were citizens of their states today we are all federal citizens, and 5 people in black robes tell us what kind of lightbulbs we must buy. Lincoln is the most central character in the ending of the Old Republic and the establishment of the increasingly despotic central state that we all must serve today.

[wardaddy]

You can sure make that argument no matter how much smart folks here like Freepers and Mark Levin loved Lincoln....Reagan loved him too.

Discussion of Lincoln and his legacy reflects human nature.

I believe we need a Washington now more than a Lincoln...or a Madison would do

[nathanbedford]

Lincoln is the most central character in the ending of the Old Republic and the establishment of the increasingly despotic central state that we all must serve today.

I am a loss to understand how Lincoln is responsible for light bulbs or how he enslaved free men but I am inclined to agree with you, as I have already posted, about the abortions.

As to Lincoln's heavy handedness in conducting the war, I have already acknowledged that.

There is every evidence that Lincoln was quite prepared to accept the Confederacy back into the Union with "malice toward none" and John Wilkes Booth deprived us of knowing that for a certainty. The radical Republicans who ran reconstruction were so adamant that they nearly convicted the impeached Andrew Johnson but might not have been nearly so presumptuous against Abraham Lincoln, of their own party. After reconstruction, the South in many respects returned to its traditional role of state sovereignty which lasted until Woodrow Wilson. Even after Wilson, the South was still solid in terms of its independence in many respects even through the New Deal and until Lyndon Johnson really finished federalism off.

The historical sweep of the Industrial Revolution, the migration of peoples, westward expansion, the Great Depression, 2 world wars, and the general federalization because the income tax poured money into Washington, cannot be blamed on Abraham Lincoln but they can be seen as causes of our modern federal system.