D. B. W. I. President Abraham Lincoln

If the vast majority of the membership will excuse me, I am hoping there at least one or two others who are familiar with a very obscure American politician of the mid nineteenth century, by the name of Abraham Lincoln. He was the runner up at the 1860 Republican Convention. Historians see him as the voice of moderation, and that appeal came close to working. His few biographers depict him as a man of great intelligence and political skill. What if he had won the the nomination, I think any credible Republican would have beaten the divided Democrats and the Constitutional Union Party that drew off more Southern votes. Once victorious, I don´t think he could have made a deal to keep the South in the Union, although I have an open mind on that subject. How would he have managed the A. C. W. differently than President Seward? What would have been his plans for Reconstruction?
 

Anaxagoras

Banned
I had never heard of this Lincoln fellow before you posted this. His Wikipedia entry only gives the dates of his birth and death and say that he served one term in Congress, served in the Illinois state legislature and lost a Senate race against Stephen Douglas.

Personally, I can't imagine an Illinois politician with such flimsy experience winning the nomination of a major party. Even if that happened, I can't imagine them winning the election. And even if THAT happened, I can't imagine he would make an effective President.
 
THe Republicans weren't exactly an establishment party at that point, and while I agree this is wildly improbable, Lincoln was renowned for his oratorical gifts. He might have made it to the nomination. What I have read indicates he was a new style patriot who believed in the union, not his home state, as his country, so it is very likely he would have tried to negotiate with the South to preserve it at all costs. He was not fond of slavery, but neither was he passionate about it - I can't see him as the Great Emancipator or enforcing the Freedmen's Rights Amendment.
 
This guy might have listened to his generals, unlike Seward. I also don't think he would have had the same will as Seward did when it came to Reconstruction after the devastation caused by the British and French armies: I would think that he would've brought America into a renewed age of isolationism given his Midwest roots, rather than re-arming and returning the South to the fold.

Yes, I just gave a different take on Reconstruction.
 

ninebucks

Banned
Isn't Abraham Lincoln the name of that famous blackface actor? Do you think that's a coincidence, or that the guy did a bit of historical research before taking his stagename?

I'm thinking its the former. Abraham Lincoln is hilarious but I don't really think his work is that cerebral.
 
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