You make claims like “Lincoln permitted it”. How was he supposed to stop it?
Not necessarily true. Bad choice of word choice on my point, and the point never came up at issue in New Mexican statehood, of course. But Lincoln was supportive of the issue, which I find odd, just as odd as the existence of slave states in the North after the Civil War, or Lincoln’s handling of the Dakota uprising in Minnesota. These things do not paint a clear picture of a man who fought a war to end slavery.
To my eye now, it’s Lincoln’s cabinet that held sway then, and now. Federal power began then and has been hellbent for leather since. There was even a Rothchild descendant in his cabinet, and the graft and corruption among the various rail, steel, and land schemes were making for the rise of the monopolists even then.
As you are no doubt aware, Lincoln imposed the 1st federal income tax and suspension of habeus corpus: both situations being less than flattering. I am simply less convinced of his greatness, although I have always thought he foresaw his own death.
I don’t value Lincoln as I used to. I’ve become more of a GW fan and stand in awe of Jefferson’s intellect.