Lincoln Debate
A fascinating debate on Abraham Lincoln (link) featuring Thomas DiLorenzo, author of The Real Lincoln, and the upcoming Lincoln Unmasked. He calls Lincoln a tyrant:
Hat Tip: Paul Smith, Jr.
Now why are these scholars all calling Lincoln a dictator? Well, he launched a military invasion without consent of Congress. He suspended habeas corpus, which ended up with at least 13,000 Northern citizens imprisoned without a warrant being issued. (There was a prison in New York Harbor that became known as the American Bastille—Fort Lafayette.)Even if you are a die-hard Lincolnista, DiLorenzo is still worth giving a listen to.
He censored all telegraph communication, nationalized railroads, and ordered federal troops to interfere at Northern elections. David Donald writes that the Republic Party won New York State by 7,000 votes in 1864, “under the protection of Federal bayonets.”
Lincoln deported Ohio Congressman Clement Vallandigham for disagreeing with him. He confiscated firearms. Ministers in the South were imprisoned for not praying for Abraham Lincoln. Secretary of State William Seward set up a secret police force, and he famously boasted to Lord Lyons, the British Ambassador, that he could ring a bell and have any man in America arrested.
Hat Tip: Paul Smith, Jr.
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