Lincolns America would work just fine if we still had it. We’re living in LBJ’s and FDR’s America and the solid south voted for both of them.
Tyrants borrow from each other. Lincoln was not the first, he just made it much easier for men like Wilson, FDR, Johnson, and Obama. Of course history-challenged folks like you pick and choose between “good” tyrants like Lincoln, and “bad” tyrants like FDR and LBJ.