Mark gets a C grade on this effort.
The 13th Amendment outlawing slavery didn’t become law until December 1865, months after Lincoln’s death.
Lincoln’s law partner William Herndon and his bodyguard Ward Lamon, both of whom knew Lincoln very well, “defended” Lincoln against the claim that he was religious. They wrote that he was an unbelieving skeptic just like they were.
One of them said that Lincoln mocked preachers and had written a short book that did the same. They knew that a book like that would kill his political ambitions and they kept him from carrying through with getting it printed.
The movie reviews are actually written by Rick McGinnis, not Mark Steyn. From what I’ve read, Lincoln was a believer, although he maybe came to it late. A quick search with AI...
Yes, Abraham Lincoln believed in God, though his faith evolved from youthful skepticism to a deep, personal spirituality. While he frequently read the Bible and often expressed reliance on Divine providence, he never formally joined a church, and historians still debate whether he was an orthodox Christian.
Lincoln avoided dogma and sectarian arguments. Instead, he embraced a concept of Providence and Divine justice, particularly evident in later speeches like his Second Inaugural Address, where he profoundly wrestled with the will of God in the context of American slavery and the Civil War.
Another interesting link that popped up in my search..Lincoln’s Civil Religion:
https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/essays/lincolns-civil-religion
Mark gets an A
He wrote passed by congress not when ratified by states
Take the time to read the bio of Brig. Gen’l. James Johnston Pettigrew, CSA at Gettysburg on July 3, 1863 as to the possible perfection of a true leader, whose birthday was July 4th and was then 35 years old,killed leading the last unit to cross the Potomac after the battle, on July 14th dying on the 17th. An example of what the nation lost:
https://www.ncpedia.org/biography/pettigrew-james-johnston
An amazing quite short and brilliant life. Who did not support slavery but did support his state.
On July 4th Independence Day thoughts of Thomas Jefferson’s brilliant writing (edited by Franklin & Adams) in our Declaration of Independence from the worlds largest Empire.
Thomas Jefferson’s and John Adam’s deaths on the same 4th of July in 1826- Jefferson at noon, Adams several hours later with last words said to be inarticulate save for “Thomas Jefferson”
And, sadly- of J. Johnston Pettigru (Huguenot ancestry).