Loathing Lincoln: An American Tradition from the Civil War to the Present (Conflicting Worlds: New Dimensions of the American Civil War)
Along with George Washington, Abraham Lincoln has stood foremost in the minds and hearts of most of his countrymen during the century and a half since Lincoln's death. But as John McKee Barr demonstrates in this revealing study, an undercurrent of anti-Lincoln loathing has always existed, serving political agendas from post-Civil War Confederates to modern neo-Confederates and libertarians who use Lincoln as a whipping boy to promote their own causes. This is an important contribution to the history and memory of the Civil War. --James M. McPherson, author of "Battle Cry of Freedom"Paradoxically, America's most revered president has also been its most reviled. As John McKee Barr shows in this meticulous, comprehensive survey of the anti-Lincoln tradition, detractors of the Rail-splitter have been a variegated crowd of strange bedfellows: white supremacists, Black Panthers, libertarians, neo-Confederates, agrarian romantics, Southern chauvinists, states rights advocates, and anti-imperialists, among others. Barr describes and analyzes their arguments, demonstrating that many of Lincoln's critics have overlooked (or denied) the Confederacy's central aim: to preserve (as Barr puts it) the right to own, exploit, and rape African Americans and their descendants forever. --Michael Burlingame, Chancellor Naomi B. Lynn Distinguished Chair in Lincoln Studies, University of Illinois SpringfieldIn Loathing Lincoln, John Barr focuses on the major themes and works in what might be termed the 'anti-Lincoln tradition.' The result is a fascinating excursion through the American political, intellectual, and cultural landscape. With care, balance, and often penetrating insight, the author explores an impressive array of critics from across the political spectrum. The result is a book filled with wonderful examples of anti-Lincoln argument and invective. This is a gem of scholarship that sheds great light on both the past and the present. --George C. Rable, Charles Summersell Chair in Southern History, University of AlabamaParadoxically, America's most revered president has also been its most reviled. As John McKee Barr shows in this meticulous, comprehensive survey of the anti-Lincoln tradition, detractors of the Rail-splitter have been a variegated crowd of strange bedfellows: white supremacists, Black Panthers, libertarians, neo-Confederates, agrarian romantics, Southern chauvinists, states rights advocates, and anti-imperialists, among others. Barr describes and analyzes their arguments, demonstrating that many of Lincoln's critics have overlooked (or denied) the Confederacy's central aim: to preserve (as Barr puts it) the right to own, exploit, and rape African Americans and their descendants forever. --Michael Burlingame, Chancellor Naomi B. Lynn Distinguished Chair in Lincoln Studies, University of Illinois SpringfieldIn Loathing Lincoln, John Barr focuses on the major themes and works in what might be termed the 'anti-Lincoln tradition.' The result is a fascinating excursion through the American political, intellectual, and cultural landscape. With care, balance, and often penetrating insight, the author explores an impressive array of critics from across the political spectrum. The result is a book filled with wonderful examples of anti-Lincoln argument and invective. This is a gem of scholarship that sheds great light on both the past and the present. --George C. Rable, Charles Summersell Chair in Southern History, University of Alabama