DBWI: The Legacy of Abe Lincoln

Today marks the 110th anniversary of former US President Abraham Lincoln's death. He died on December 27, 1899.

As you all know, Lincoln was deservedly responsible for the loss of the Union during the Civil War. It was obviously that the CSA had the better military. What was going through Lincoln's mind when he decided to place that drunk Ulysses Grant in charge of the US Army. It was no surprise when George McClellan, a bitter foe of Grant, defeated Lincoln in the 1864 Presidential election and offered a cease fire once he was sworn into office.

If Lincoln had made better decisions as the Commander-in-Chief, would the US have won that Civil War? If so, would Lincoln's face appear on our currency? At least Theodore Roosevelt deserved to have his face on the penny.

Obviously, nobody will be mourning for Lincoln in the CSA today (or in the USA). Right after Christmas, tourists were lining up to view the Lee Memorial at the National Mall in Washington, CD.
 
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You can't fault Lincoln his principles - he wanted to preserve the Union, and his biggest fault was that he failed.

Scholars of the ACW will never stop arguing how Grant could look so good in the West, yet fall apart completely in the East. Some point to the "odd couple" relationship with Sherman, suggesting that each shored up the weakness of the other. Others point out the tragic death in camp of two of the Grant children, and the removal of Julia and the other two back to Illinois. In any event, the man who came east to relieve McClellan was hardly the man who took Forts Henry and Donelson.

(OOC: I am still reaching for a PoD here, but I'm pretty sure that 1863 is way too late. Maybe somebody else can find one or two PODs before the Maryland Campaign. Left an opening as to whether Shiloh takes place, or perhaps an analog in which Grant smashes Johnston / Beauregard.)
 
Sure, let's blame Lincoln for "losing" the south if we must. But, let me ask this: suppose he's "won" the Civil War? then what? How could the south be re-intergrated into the USA after everything that happened? I bet that even now after almost two-hundred years, the southern states would still be very unpleasant places for a yankee to visit. And despite the Emancipation Proclamation, race relations would have never healed down there.
 
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