A Misguided Infatuation with Lincoln

Yesterday was Abraham Lincoln's birthday and many made note of it, extolling his virtues on social media sites such as Facebook.  This included conservatives and Tea Party activists like Sen. Jim DeMint and Sarah Palin: folks who typically embrace Christian ideals and limited, constitutional government.  Why knowledgeable people uphold Lincoln as an archetype of Christianity, liberty, or constitutional government is beyond me when history proves otherwise.

Lincoln was not a Christian though he attended church services and was familiar with Scripture.  As a matter of fact, he mocked ministers, denied the deity of Christ, claimed that Jesus was an illegitimate child, and disavowed the divine inspiration of the Bible. While it is claimed that he consecrated his life to Christ on the field of Gettysburg, John Matthews stated:

"I knew Mr. Lincoln as early as 1834; knew he was an infidel. He attacked the Bible and the New Testament; he talked infidelity, ridiculed both Bible and Testament. He often shocked me, he went so far. He often came into the clerk's office, where I and other young men were writing. He brought a Bible with him, read a chapter and argued against it. He wrote a book on infidelity. I was his personal and political friend. I never heard that he changed his views."   (Edmonds, George, pseud. Meriwether, Elizabeth Avery). Facts and Falsehoods Concerning the War on the South 1861-1865)

Perhaps because he was not a Christian, Lincoln instigated his war against the South, inflicting 289,000 Confederate military deaths and an untold number of civilian casualties.  Some historians estimate that there were around 50,000 civilian casualties during the course of the War.  Though such deaths were not systematically documented, it is well known that southern civilians suffered grievously from food shortages, inflation, and Sherman's approach to total war.  

Just as he would ultimately suspend Habeas Corpus, Lincoln levied his war with utter disregard to the Constitution and the founding principles of the Nation.  For decades, the South had been subjected to disproportionate tariffs that largely funded the Federal government while the Fugitive Slave Clause of the United States Constitution was disregarded with increasing frequency by Northern States.  Determining that their interests could no longer be preserved in Washington, the Southern states began peacefully seceding from the Union in 1860 in a similar manner as the original thirteen colonies declared their independence from Great Britain in 1776.

Even though the Declaration of Independence declared the sovereignty of the individual states and the Constitution did not provide for perpetual union, Lincoln aggressively called out the militia, attempted to reinforce Fort Sumter, and launched the bloodiest war in American history under the auspices of "saving the Union". According to Lincoln, "My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery." (The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln edited by Roy P. Basler, Volume V, "Letter to Horace Greeley", August 22, 1862)  The fallacy of this justification was obvious, even to Northerners.  In 1867, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Salmon P. Chase stated:

“If you bring these [Confederate] leaders to trial it will condemn the North, for by the Constitution secession is not rebellion. Lincoln wanted Davis to escape, and he was right. His capture was a mistake. His trial will be a greater one.”  (Foote, Shelby.  The Civil War, Vol. 3)

Abraham Lincoln was neither a Christian nor a friend of liberty.  He was a masterful politician and eloquent demagogue who twisted the Constitution to suit his agenda and the caprice of rapacious, morally bankrupt New Englanders who put him office.  His legacy is victory in a war against self-determination and for unprecedented Federal control and intervention in the affairs of the states and their citizens.  In these ways, Barack Obama might be just in comparing himself to Lincoln and finding him a source of inspiration.  On the other hand, those who practice the Christian Faith and believe in liberty as it was provided by the Founding Fathers would do well to find another hero.