By John McKee Barr
While most Americans count Abraham Lincoln among the most
beloved and admired former presidents, a dedicated minority has long viewed him
not only as the worst president in the country's history, but also as a
criminal who defied the Constitution and advanced federal power and the idea of
racial equality. In Loathing Lincoln, historian John McKee Barr surveys the
broad array of criticisms about Abraham Lincoln that emerged when he stepped
onto the national stage, expanded during the Civil War, and continued to evolve
after his death and into the present.
The first panoramic study of Lincoln's critics, Barr's work
offers an analysis of Lincoln in historical memory and an examination of how
his critics -- on both the right and left -- have frequently reflected the
anxiety and discontent Americans felt about their lives. From northern
abolitionists troubled by the slow pace of emancipation, to Confederates who
condemned him as a "black Republican" and despot, to Americans who
blamed him for the civil rights movement, to, more recently, libertarians who
accuse him of trampling the Constitution and creating the modern welfare state,
Lincoln's detractors have always been a vocal minority, but not one without influence.
By meticulously exploring the most significant arguments
against Lincoln, Barr traces the rise of the president's most strident critics
and links most of them to a distinct right-wing or neo-Confederate political
agenda. According to Barr, their hostility to a more egalitarian America and
opposition to any use of federal power to bring about such goals led them to
portray Lincoln as an imperialistic president who grossly overstepped the
bounds of his office. In contrast, liberals criticized him for not doing enough
to bring about emancipation or ensure lasting racial equality. Lincoln's
conservative and libertarian foes, however, constituted the vast majority of
his detractors. More recently, Lincoln's most vociferous critics have adamantly
opposed Barack Obama and his policies, many of them referencing Lincoln in
their attacks on the current president. In examining these individuals and
groups, Barr's study provides a deeper understanding of American political life
and the nation itself.
About the Author: John McKee Barr is
professor of history at Lone Star College Kingwood.
ISBN 978-0807153833, Louisiana State University Press, ©
2014, Hardcover, 480 pages, Endnotes, Bibliography & Index. $35.95. To purchase this book click HERE.
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