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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.
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