What is it about Abraham Lincoln? His face is on the penny, the five dollar bill, and Mount Rushmore. There is a Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C., and the capital city of Nebraska is named for him. To this day, most students memorize Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, and each year the Republican Party holds hundreds of "Lincoln Days" around the nation.
Perhaps it is because he is credited with "freeing the slaves" despite the fact that even he only purported to "free" the ones who resided in Confederate States. Perhaps it is because he was assassinated. Perhaps it is because he was a highly visible President who was in office during one of the most studied and discussed periods in American history, or perhaps.... there are other reasons.... I hold that the perpetual veneration of Lincoln is driven by a perverse desire to emulate his unparalleled centralization of political power.
You see, the truth about Abraham Lincoln is not nearly as heroic or honorable as the legends and myths that the education cabal and the Republican Party would have you believe. The truth is that Lincoln was a racist, an imperialist, and was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of individuals. He routinely violated people's individual rights through the use of conscription, by suspending habeas corpus, by imposing an unconstitutional income tax, and by printing fiat currency (just to name a few!)
The fact that the Republican Party still celebrates "Lincoln Days" is really just a repulsive reminder of the party's tyrannical roots. Now, most folks at this point tend to call me a racist. The implication is that if I don't worship at the altar of Abraham Lincoln, I must support slavery! Of course, nothing could be further from the truth. The reality is that it was Abraham Lincoln who was a racist! Consider his own words from his fourth debate with Stephen Douglas:
"I will say, then, that I AM NOT NOR HAVE EVER BEEN in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the black and white races — that I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of making voters or jurors of Negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with White people; and I will say in addition to this that there is a physical difference between the White and black races which will ever FORBID the two races living together on terms of social and political equality. And inasmuch as they cannot so live, while they do remain together, there must be the position of superior and inferior, and I, as much as any other man, am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the White race."
Furthermore, the notion that Lincoln instigated the Civil War to free the slaves is utterly preposterous. He clearly dispelled that notion in 1862 when he said,
"My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that. What I do about slavery, and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save the Union; and what I forbear, I forbear because I do not believe it would help to save the Union."
The North in general and Abraham Lincoln in particular, cared very little, if at all, about ending slavery. Their purpose was the subjugation of a region that desired its independence. The Civil War is better called the Southern War for Independence — for that is what it really was!
Author and Economics professor Thomas DiLorenzo has written extensively on "the myth of Lincoln" and is the author of The Real Lincoln: A New Look at Abraham Lincoln, His Agenda, and an Unnecessary War and Lincoln Unmasked: What You're Not Supposed to Know About Dishonest Abe. I highly recommend these books if you are interested in learning more about who Abraham Lincoln really was.
DiLorenzo has also authored a number of articles on Lincoln over the years, a few of which I am linking to below:
- Spielberg's Upside-Down History: The Myth of Lincoln and the Thirteenth Amendment
- Why the Totalitarians Among Us Love Lincoln
- Lincoln's Greatest Failure (Or, How a Real Statesman Would Have Ended Slavery)
- Lincoln the Racist (Or: Steven Spielberg, Call Your Office)
- Lincoln Unmasked
- A Plagiarist's Contribution to Lincoln Idolatry
I will close by pointing out that the Idaho Legislature is now considering House Concurrent Resolution No. 5 which would require "that the Legislative Auditorium in the West Wing of the State Capitol Building be named and forever known as the Abraham Lincoln Auditorium and that legislative leadership working with the State Historical Society and the Capitol Commission provide appropriate signs, plaques, exhibits or works of art associated with Abraham Lincoln and that these be placed in or near the Abraham Lincoln Auditorium."
I am sure it will come as no surprise to you that I strongly oppose this Resolution and that I would consider its passage a further insult to those of us who actually believe in true Liberty rather than in centralized, authoritarian government power. Abraham Lincoln is not a hero and he should certainly not be receiving additional accolades from the state of Idaho. Passing this Resolution would be a humiliating mistake for our state, whereas defeating it would be a significant moral and tactical victory for those of us who know the truth about Lincoln. Contact your legislators and let them know that you oppose House Concurrent Resolution No. 5.