Abraham Lincoln's Religious Uncertainty

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Tom: Lincoln was urged by Mexico's president & by Garibaldi to hurry & issue the proclamation. Lincoln waited for a battle victory & proclaimed emancipation where ever his presidency had authority. Blacks were cheated by Pres. Johnson when he withdrew federal troops from the rebel states far too soon. Reconstruction was working, but he misused his office to set the blacks back another l00 years until 1961 and the Civil Rights Act. When researching that era, it's vital to know which authors are revisionists--making statements that glorify the rebels. Davis owned the biggest slave plantation & sent poor Southern fools to defend his luxury life. He gave a slave plantation nearly as big as his own, to his brother. Davis spent years 7 throug ten at a Jesuit boys school. Catholic Mrs. Mitchell wrote a fine example of revisionist fiction when she glorified the Catholic O'Hara family. She made readers pity Scarlett because she was reduced to doing field work to feed her lazy self. Mitchell wrote an ode to the conquered South with Boo Hoos that the slaves were not kept in perpetual bondage. Her "heroic" Rhett, as a blockade runner, would have killed Farragut's sailors who manned the Union Blockade. So much revising to aid leeching slavers!!

aua dawn veirs of CA 2:53AM May 04, 2010

Lincoln's article "Infidelity" means atheism. In his era, most people used Biblical phrases as a matter of course. The swear words "God Damn It" are almost universally used, even by devout people, if an unexpected pain is bad enough. Cursing actually does help distract us as a way to help us quickly ease suffering. A preacher several times added references to God when he publicized Lincoln's speeches. In 1857, when Lincoln was a circuit rider lawyer, he successfully defended ex-priest Charles Chiniquy against false charges brought by the Archbishop of Chicago. Chiniquy warned him that the Church would never forgive him and some day it would kill him. Revisionists hide the fact that everyone involved in killing Lincoln were Roman Catholics. Mary Surratt ran a boarding house for priests in DC & her son John was a Confederate spy. He escaped through Canada, aided by priests. He was later found in the Vatican, dressed as a papal guard. Catholic Dr. Mudd lived on the route Booth took as he fled toward Catholic Mexico. Much later, in 1913, ll00 members of The Great American Catholic Missionary Congress met in Boston. A member said its purpose was to "make America and this hemisphere Catholic." See next comment panel, please.

aua dawn veirs of CA 2:32AM May 04, 2010

he did a great thing for the black people and we should be greatful to him.

Heather Burnett of IL 4:19PM November 21, 2009

Lincoln was a Deist with nuance.

R.L. Schaefer of CA 7:33PM September 18, 2009

i love lincoln he changed the world forever if he were here today he would be surprised that he changed the world and he would also be surprised that we have a black president

caira of IL 6:28PM April 06, 2009

i love me im beautiful smart hilarious sweet i dont like my father

jillian myers of MA 7:44PM March 26, 2009

President Lincoln became an american hero and favorite for most people because he did so much to free the slaves and make our country a real democracy .... his orthodox affiliations to any one church were not important....his service to america and to humanity together with his ability to heal the nation after this devestating civil war is a pleasure to hear and he handled his responsibilies very well considering the serious problems of the time....the civil war had little to do with religion and a lot to do about economics and slavery in america...,

Steve Roisman of CA 2:05PM February 19, 2009

Mea culpa--haste makes waste. My note of yesterday referring to Mr. Tom Looney's comments contains several typos. First, it is Alexander Stephens, not Stevens. Seond, Stephens spoke at a Secession, not Succesion, convention. Finally, he made a speech, not apeach.

Allan Floyd of MN 11:43AM February 16, 2009

Tom Looney is correct in noting the the Proclamation specifically excluded freeing the slaves located in territories over which the North held control. Still, the document did add a moral tone to the fight. Moreover, it gave impetus to the drafting of the 13th Amendment, which formally abolished slavery.
While one can make several claims regarding the causes of the Civil War, slavery was the main reason the war was fought. Yes, Lincoln spoke of trying to preseve the Union, but Alexander Stevens, later the VP of the Confederacy, made it clear that the preservation of slavery was the reason Georgia should secede from the Union. He made this apeach when speaking at the Succession Convention in Georgia, my native state.
While I am chruch member, I have often found that "doubters" often practice the tenets of my Chritianity better than those who proclaim to be orthodox.

Allan Floyd of MN 12:10PM February 15, 2009

My comment is a question. I am an African American. I hear people call Mr. Lincoln an emancipator but who did he emancipate. It is clear that his proclomation was a political ploy to gain favor with the northeners and not upset those who wanted slavery in the north. The document refers to all states that are in rebellion. If I am not mistaken Jefferson Davis was the southern states president. So the proclimation had no effect. Why is he lauded as a savior instead of what he was? A politician with a agenda to save the union.

Tom Looney of TN 9:20AM February 15, 2009