Exposing Racist Lincoln

[zengrifter]

An African-American Icon Speaks Truth to the Lincoln Cult

by Thomas J. DiLorenzo

"Lincoln is theology, not historiology. He is a faith, he is a church, he is a religion, and he has his own priests and acolytes, most of whom have a vested interest in [him] and who are passionately opposed to anybody telling the truth about him."

~ Lerone Bennett, Jr.,

Forced into Glory: Abraham Lincoln’s White Dream, p. 114


The gigantic collection of myths, lies, and distortions that comprise The Legend of Abraham Lincoln is the ideological cornerstone of the American warfare/welfare state. It has been invoked for generations to make the argument that if the policies of the U.S. government are not "the will of God," then at least they are the will of "Father Abraham." Moreover, this legend – this false history of America – did not arise spontaneously. It was invented and nurtured by an intergenerational army of court historians who, as Murray Rothbard once said, are absolutely indispensable to any government empire. All states, said Rothbard, depend for their existence on a series of myths about their benevolence, heroism, greatness, or even divinity.

Since very few Americans have spent much time educating themselves about Lincoln and nineteenth-century American history (much of which has been falsified anyway), it is easy for members of what I call the Lincoln Cult to dismiss all literary criticisms of Lincoln as the work of "neo-Confederates," their code-word for "defenders of slavery" (as though anyone in America today would defend slavery), or "racist." Although they label themselves "Lincoln scholars," the last thing they want is honest scholarship when it comes to the subject of Lincoln and his war. They are, at best, cover-up artists and pandering court historians who feed at the government grant trough, "consuming" tax dollars to support their "research" and their overblown university positions.

But they’ve got a big problem (more than one, actually). The big problem is the publication of a 662-page book by the distinguished African-American author Lerone Bennett, Jr. entitled Forced into Glory: Abraham Lincoln’s White Dream. The book was originally published in 1999 and was recently released in paperback. Bennett was a longtime managing editor of Ebony magazine and, among other things, the author of a biography of Martin Luther King, Jr., What Manner of Man. Although several "Civil War" publications have labeled yours truly as the preeminent Lincoln critic of our day, Forced into Glory is a much more powerful critique of Dishonest Abe than anything I have ever written. The Lincoln Cult, which would not dare to personally attack a serious African-American scholar like Bennett, has largely ignored the book instead.

MORE- http://www.lewrockwell.com/dilorenzo/dilorenzo139.html

[Automatic Monkey]

It's no secret that Lincoln had the same attitudes about race that were prevalent in his day. You and I would have probably had those same attitudes. Even those who unequivocally opposed slavery did not consider integration or civil rights to be virtues in their modern sense.

150 years from now our descendants might consider us savages for tolerating abortion, or for eating meat. And they will be wrong.

[zengrifter]

Originally Posted by Automatic Monkey

It's no secret that Lincoln had the same attitudes about race that were prevalent in his day. You and I would have probably had those same attitudes. Even those who unequivocally opposed slavery did not consider integration or civil rights to be virtues in their modern sense.

150 years from now our descendants might consider us savages for tolerating abortion, or for eating meat. And they will be wrong.

Quite understandable, but lets deconstruct the mythology. zg

[moo321]

The important thing to understand about Lincoln is that he changed his views. That was heroic; he looked at the subject of slavery, and went from not caring to having it abolished over his lifetime.

[zengrifter]

Originally Posted by moo321

The important thing to understand about Lincoln is that he changed his views. That was heroic; he looked at the subject of slavery, and went from not caring to having it abolished over his lifetime.

This thread is for deconstructing the myth, not perpetuating it. zg

[moo321]

Originally Posted by zengrifter

This thread is for deconstructing the myth, not perpetuating it. zg

I'm not perpetuating the myth. The myth is that he hated slavery and was never racist. What makes him a hero is going from a racist that didn't care about slavery to abolishing it.