The climb to President was not an easy journey for Honest Abe, but he was a tremendously determined and hard working man. From the humblest of beginnings, Lincoln just started learning. He worked hard at it, and became a lawyer. His political career was mixed with success and failure.
What we must factor into the myths we learned in school about Mr. Lincoln is that he did not like slavery, but he also regarded black people as less than equal to white people.
This is evident in the text of the Lincoln-Douglas debates: "I agree with Judge Douglas he is not my equal in many respects-certainly not in color, perhaps not in moral or intellectual endowment. But in the right to eat the bread, without the leave of anybody else, which his own hand earns, he is my equal and the equal of Judge Douglas, and the equal of every living man."
Another factor about Lincoln's e=mc2 as President, is that he succeeded James Buchanan who succeeded Franklin Pierce. Pierce and Buchanan are so lowly regarded as Presidents that many historians consider William Henry Harrison to have been a better President. (Harrison gave his inaugural speech, went to bed sick, and died three weeks later.) The country was in tremendous turmoil, and the masses had gathered at the ends.
His marriage lacked harmony. His brothers-in-law lived in the south. He lost children to illness. The greatest general in the land turned down his offer to lead the union so he could lead the southern forces against him. The tremendous internal pressure was added to by outside threats.
Nothing was easy for Lincoln, and yet he kept a 'divided nation whole.'
Then, about a week later, he was killed while taking a moment to relax.
Even his death was confliction.
Lincoln defied gravity his entire life through his dedication, hard work, and constant thirst to learn and understand. Life returned to him some of the most complex problems any President has ever had the misfortune to face, and the complexity was constant.
Even today, many people consider Abraham Lincoln to have been our greatest President, but, to some who choose to view him from a different perspective, he is regarded as the worst. Either way, he's at the 'lineal end' one way or the other, which is tremendous conflict.
During his entire Presidency, there was less than a month of 'no war,' and even that was not anywhere near 'peace;' more Americans died in the Civil War than in any other war, perhaps any other two wars; the country was in conflict when he entered office, and it was in conflict when he died in office. Despite all that, he still defies gravity and rises to the top of the list of those who have ever served the office.
When one ponders how differently things may have ended about four score years later had the wholeness in division not been maintained, one might better appreciate how much Lincoln means to humankind even today, even if he didn't regard black people as his equal.
Oh well, nobody's perfect.
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