As a northerner and a Freeper, I’ve had a hard time figuring out why Lincoln is considered “great”
- It was never Lincoln’s intent to free the slaves. Emmancipation simply proved to be a way to swing European support in favor of the North. While a brilliant political move, it was highly hypocritical. Most people regard Lincoln as some sort of crusaider of freedom, but the history doesn’t support this view.
- I am strongly against a strong central government. The centralized government that we’re stuck with now was largely started by Lincoln (FDR brought it to another level).
- Lincoln allowed the war to fester by choosing incompetent military leadership. The North had the resources and manpower to stop the South in a matter of months instead of four years. McClellan, possibly one of the most inept generals in American history, was actually re-assigned to a position that he failed at. He could have made an extrodinary deal to keep Lee as a neutral, rather than a formidable Southern general, as Lee was only interested in fighting for Virginia, not the idea of succession. And as much as the South hates Grant and Sherman, had Lincoln used such generals at the head of the army at the beginning, both the South and the North would have suffered less in the lon run. Many hundred of thousands died because of this lack of leadership.
- Lincoln suspended key parts of the Constitution to suit his needs. He violated both the letter and the spirit of the law. I find this the hardest to swallow.
Say what you will about his generalship, he designed the one piece of military equipment, the M1859 saddle, that has seen the longest, unbroken, continuous use by our military. It was used operationally up until WWII, and by ceremonial units since. The USMC Mameluke Sword would outdate it had it not been taken out of service from 1859-75.