[Max in Utah]

Abe Lincoln was a giant of his time.

I agree he had extraordinary abilities. But...

He also used force of arms to conquer the States which should have had the right to leave the union. He above all was responsible for converting our sovereign States into vassals of the federal government.

[Terpfen]

He also used force of arms to conquer the States which should have had the right to leave the union.

Uh, no. There is no proscribed method for leaving the Union because it doesn't happen: the entire point is that once you join, you can't leave. This was understood well before the Civil War as various territories applied for statehood.

The conception and advocation of secession is the single worst contribution Thomas Jefferson has made to this country.

He above all was responsible for converting our sovereign States into vassals of the federal government.

No, Lincoln was responsible for preserving the union, nothing more. The federal government did not become the "do what we want or we'll take away funding for your programs" machine it is today until FDR came along.

[Non-Sequitur]

He also used force of arms to conquer the States which should have had the right to leave the union.

Those states chose war as their way to further their aims. As Lincoln himself might have said, don't start what you aren't prepared to finish.