207. Was Lincoln a Good President?

Many will argue that Abraham Lincoln was the best president we've had, or at least one of the best. What made Abraham Lincoln great in many people's eyes is the preservation of the union. But was Lincoln a good president? In The Real Lincoln, Thomas DiLorenzo shows the problems with Lincoln's presidency. By taking a look at this book, we'll ask if Lincoln was good or bad for our country by looking at the results of his presidency. You can find more book reviews in the Conversation of Our Generation Library.

"This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing Government, they can exercise their constitutional right of amending it, or their revolutionary right to dismember or overthrow it."
-Abraham Lincoln, First Inaugural Adress

Was Lincoln a Good President?

Based on the evidence, I don't think Lincoln was a good president. Although, I'll grant that he came into power during crazy and tumultuous times. But, the greatness of leaders is based on how they rise to that occasion. In what I've seen, I don't think Lincoln was the great president people claim he is. His economic system was a failure that eroded liberty and needed to be forced on the people. Lincoln didn't free the slaves, even the slaves he was able to free. And, he condoned the mass rape, pillaging, and burning of the south, of people he claimed were his fellow countrymen. So no, I don't think Lincoln was our best president. I don't think Lincoln was even a good president.

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