Who was Abraham Lincoln? Jeff Rogers, Yahoo! Contributor Network Apr 13, 2011 Today, April 14th, is the 146th year since the assassination of our 16th President, Abraham Lincoln. I have long been fascinated by Lincoln and the time in which he lived. I just recently finished watching the documentary of the Civil War, by the renowned Ken Burns. There are times in just about every one of his documentaries that bring me to tears. This one is no exception. I think two of the most moving portions of the documentary were the reading of Lincoln's simple but profound Gettysburg address, and the assassination of the President himself. I am not one who would approve of speaking ill of the dead, but in the interest in academic honesty and historic integrity I want to point out a few things that I have learned in my own study of our great emancipator; "Honest Abe". I just recently finished reading four books by a man named Thomas J. DiLorenzo. Each book was eye opening and impeccably documented. I highly recommend any and all of these books, (they are listed below). But if you want to read magazine sized articles by the same author about Lincoln and other topics then I recommend the link below where you can access many articles with much the same information of the books. My views about this time period of our country are continually opening up to new information and I am still in transition, but clearly there is a "Lincoln myth" out there and because the victors of any war are the ones who get to write the history of that war and its leaders; there is much that has been left out of our school textbooks and public school curriculum. I have made two trips to both his home in Springfield IL and to the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. and I was endeared to the life and faith of our 16th President. But some of this (well documented) information was not accessible to me on these trips or in any of the books in the Lincoln gift shops. Published by Jeff Rogers Grew up in New Jersey, moved to Kansas at the age of 14. Joined the Air Force at the age of 17. Traveled extensively, living 8 years in Europe, primarily in Germany with short but incredible stops in Italy. Read more
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I once had a brief correspondence with Mr. DiLorenzo, concerning Lincoln's belief in God. DiLorenzo wrote, "Lincoln was an infidel his entire life, not just when he was young." I researched this topic in depth and found abundant evidence of Lincoln's personal faith in God.
ReplyDeleteI also wrote to one of the foremost Lincoln author's, Harold Holzer, who kindly shared his view: "My own feeling is that he believed in God increasingly, but had many problems with organized religion that he never overcame."
If one goes to Amazon and reads some reviews of Thomas J. DiLorenzo's books, a more balanced and truer picture of this author can be obtained!
I have nothing but respect and appreciation for Abraham Lincoln and his character.
Aye, Aye, Sir.
ReplyDeleteI also have a great admiration for the martyred President Abraham Lincoln. I personally consider him to have been the country's most admirable president. His personal beliefs were commendable; since no one that spoke as this man did could have ever done so without a firm belief in the God of Abraham, Issac, and Israel (Jacob).
I posted this particular article because it was the only one I found mentioning the auspicious occassion of his assassination, and I was in a rush. But, I have come to know more about Lincoln's personal life from a book by a ex-Catholic priest named Chiniquy called, "Fifty Years in the Church of Rome". President Lincoln was a true Christian man...
Arsenio,
Maranatha