Replies

ml/nj: "But when I began to search for what ended so many of the principles the Framers enunciated and put into our Founding documents, most of the time that search ended with Abraham Lincoln."

Then you were reading pro-Confederate propaganda, not real history.
Progressive Republicans and Democrats began to reform the United States about 100 years ago, with the income tax, direct election of Senators, Federal Reserve, and many other Federal-power-enhancing actions.

It's important to remember that from the time of President Washington to that of President Teddy Roosevelt, the Federal government consumed about 2% of the nation's GDP, more than that only to pay for wars.
President Wilson's Progressive Democrats increased it to 3% before the First World War.
Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal Democrats increased it to 10% during the Great Depression.
LBJ's Great Society Democrats began the rise to 15% (non-military) before our current President & Democrat Congress' increase to 20+% (plus 4% for military).

How much of that can be legitimately blamed on Abraham Lincoln?
Zero, zip, nada.

How much can be blamed on Republicans in general?
I say, maybe 10% of the growth in non-military spending.

How much can be blamed on Southern support for Progressive and New Deal spending programs?
Let's put it this way: did any of those programs pass with no Southern support?

I don't think so.

Then you were reading pro-Confederate propaganda, not real history. Progressive Republicans and Democrats began to reform the United States about 100 years ago, with the income tax, direct election of Senators, Federal Reserve, and many other Federal-power-enhancing actions.

Oh, please! Everything that contradicts your worldview is bogus I suppose. One of those pro-Confederates, I guess, must be James McPherson (and if you don't know who he is without Google, you should just be observing threads like this rather than commenting.) who is the one who quoted the Harvard Professor that I quoted earlier in this thread. And that other Ivy professor I referred to must be another pro-Confederate.

You need to understand that I am not pro-Confedracy. I am pro-Framers. You wail about the Federal Reserve which initially issued notes that were redeemable in gold but were not legal tender but seem to overlook "Honest Abe's" issue of Greenbacks which were not redeemable for anything but were legal tender. It certainly is true that there have been many additional Federal Power Grabs since Lincoln, but even you would have to admit that he started it, and he did so in a big and violent way.

ML/NJ