Abraham Lincoln is one of those presidents. It annoys me to no end to hear people sing his praises. Do they not realize the irrevocable damage this man did to our country, to our freedom? The purpose of this post is to dig a little into the "Lincoln myth" and find a little truth... however ugly it may be.
Before we continue, there are a few key points of knowledge I must give to you.
1. The south seceded from the United States of America and formed a new country, the Confederate States of America. Thus, the term "Civil War" is wholly inaccurate, as these were not two factions of the same country fighting for control of said country, but one country led by a merciless dictator invading and conquering another country that was just trying to live free. I prefer the term "War of Northern Aggression", but "War for Southern Independence" will do just as nicely.
2. The War of Northern Aggression was NOT fought to end slavery. It was fought over unfair tariff practices, and the North turning the South into a pseudo-mercantilist state. If you have no idea what mercantilism is, look it up. Seriously. Basically, cotton was king in the agricultural south, and the industrialized north needed cotton to make it's goods. The north passed tariffs to encourage the sale of southern cotton to northern manufacturers and discourage the sale of southern cotton to foreign competitors. Southern cotton farmers could not get a fair price on their cotton. So the north had all this cotton and was making all these goods. Trouble is, they needed a place to sale them. They passed protectionist tariffs to keep the south buying more expensive northern made goods by upping the tariffs on foreign competitors. Can you see how the south was getting a raw deal here? Let me ask you one more question... what does this remind you of? If you said England and the American colonies shortly before the Revolution, you hit the nail on the head!
3.The Confederate States of America had every right to exist. Why, you ask? Um, hello, look at how the United States of America was founded! We declared our independence from a government that had gotten completely out of control and was trampling our inalienable rights and freedoms... just like the North was doing to the South. When the northern states threatened to secede from the union (bet you didn't know that, huh?!) Thomas Jefferson (a founding father, BRILLIANT mind, and my favorite of all the presidents) said to let them go in peace. He understood that the union of states was a voluntary one, with the concentration of power in the states themselves. This is almost the exact opposite of the system we have today. Thank you, dishonest Abe.
Myth #1: Lincoln saved the union
Stating that Lincoln saved the union is the blackest blasphemy against our Constitution. Lincoln destroyed the voluntary union of states our founders created for us by using deadly force and total war to coerce and conquer the Confederate States of America. He basically invented the notion that secession was illegal... most states had not bothered to write secession into their constitutions, because it was taken as a given. Lincoln had the entire state legislatures of Kentucky and Maryland (border states with important munitions manufacturing capabilities) arrested so that they could not vote to secede and join the Confederacy. He obliterated the basic premise of our government... that we were a loose federation of states, with extremely limited central authority. He may have forced all the states into one country, but he destroyed forever the voluntary union our founding fathers fought and died to create.
Myth #2: Lincoln freed the slaves
Lincoln was not the Great Emancipator. Slavery was outlawed with the ratification of the 13th amendment, on December 6, 1865. Abraham Lincoln died on April 15, 1865. So, I guess he didn't free the slaves after all. Oh, you mean he freed the slaves with the Emancipation Proclamation? Wrong, try again. Have you ever read the Emancipation Proclamation? No? Ok, read it here What did you find? That Lincoln only declared slaves to be free where he had no authority and could not possibly grant freedom, but held them in captivity where it was within his power to set them free. The Emancipation Proclamation was a political ploy to keep foreign countries from intervening on the side of the Confederacy. He had to make the war appear to be about slavery, to turn foreign people (and their newly emancipated ex-slave populations) against the South. Before this, Lincoln helped to outlaw blacks in Illinois... meaning, they could not reside within it's borders. He also advocated moving the black population to Liberia or Mexico... anywhere but the United States. Lincoln was a white supremacist and no friend of the blacks. Remember that next time you are singing his praises.
I've only scratched the surface of the Lincoln myths with my snippets of true history. It is my hope that you will do your own research and come to your own conclusions... that everything you have always been taught isn't exactly the truth. That you have to fight for your own knowledge and understanding. If you would like to know more, google. PLEASE refer to primary sources... they are the most true. I'm just a girl from small town, South Carolina. If I can do it, you can too.
For further reading, see The Real Lincoln by: Thomas DiLorenzo or Lincoln: Unmasked, also by Thomas DiLorenzo
Great post, Ashley! Do you mind if I copy this as a note on my Facebook? I will obviously give you credit, but I've got a lot of Northern friends who would be very interested in reading this. I know I was baffled when I'd heard all this a few years ago after moving south. Up north, we barely even learned anything about the "civil war". We kind of breezed past it in elementary school, like a lot of the early American wars. It makes me mad that people have such a tainted view of him.
ReplyDeleteBrian Howard
Of course not, brian! I'm planning a second post to go into more detail... I've only scratched the surface here, but you are welcome to use it... anything to share truth!
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