Rediscovering Lincoln

This month marks the bicentennial of the birth of our 16th President, Abraham Lincoln. It is generally taught and understood that Lincoln was one of our greatest Presidents. Certainly, this garners some merit, considering that the continental United States consists of one country, instead of two, and considering that we currently have an African American in the Oval Office. We can thank Lincoln for both of these things.

However, on the 200th anniversary of his birth, many Americans on the left side of the political spectrum are trying to claim him as one of their own. Liberals will claim that Lincoln’s presidency was a forerunner to the administrative presidencies of Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and Franklin Roosevelt. They will claim that Lincoln subsided over an administration of social progress, therefore, how could Honest Abe be anything but a liberal?

I don’t think that President Lincoln can be tied to any modern political ideology. Lincoln presided over the Union in an imperfect time. There is no way that Lincoln could have been either perfectly conservative or perfectly progressive. For example, no modern day conservative would have insisted upon the centralization of power in the federal government. However, I believe that Lincoln only violated states rights because he truly believed that the Union of the United States was worth preserving. He consciously chose to preserve the Union, and in doing so furthered the Founding Fathers vision of a more perfect union.

In studying Lincoln’s writings, one can see that Lincoln considered himself to be a conservative, while both his political adversaries and allies considered him to be a liberal. In a speech at New Haven, Connecticut in 1860, Lincoln said;

“But you say you are conservative-eminently conservative-while we are revolutionary, destructive, or something of the sort. What is conservatism? Is it not adherence to the old and tried against the new and untried? We stick to, contend for, the identical old policy on the point in controversy which was adopted by our fathers who framed the government under which we live; while you with that one accord reject, and scout, and spit upon that old policy, and insist upon substituting for something new.”

One can clearly see that while Lincoln considered himself a conservative, he also considered his beliefs to be deeply misunderstood.  Lincoln was indeed a conservative in the sense that he governed with the intent to preserve the ideals of freedom and democracy on which this country was founded on.  In an age of serious problems, Lincoln governed with serious convictions.  He intended on preserving the union and respecting human life above all else.  For that, he should not be judged.

Above all else, I think that Lincoln’s memory and tradition should belong to all Americans.  Great leaders transcend politics.  Our greatest leaders were those who cared about America above all else.  Lincoln was one of those leaders.