In Thomas J. DiLorenzo’s book The Real Lincoln: A New Look at Abraham Lincoln, His Agenda, and an Unnecessary War, the author expresses his opinion on the Lincoln administration, as well as validating the book by breaking up the main focuses of each chapter and briefly explaining his viewpoint in the introduction. DiLorenzo attempts to show a different side of Lincoln that is not discussed or mention in most history books. It is almost as if DiLorenzo takes a side no other professor or historian that has studied Lincoln has thought about or knew existed. Regardless of whether or not DiLorenzo has discovered a revolutionary aspect of Lincoln’s life, it makes for an interesting read. Before getting into the content of the book, knowing the
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Chapter seven puts that fire under Lincoln into perspective by providing an insight into the measures in which Lincoln and his most trusted military commanders, including William Tecumseh Sherman and Ulysses S. Grant were willing to go to in order to win the war. Sherman, for example, burned an entire town and killed a number of civilians simply because he could not “hunt down and subdue the Confederate soldiers…” (181). Lincoln was well-known because of his war efforts but what made him a great President in America’s eyes was his ability to improve the relationship after the war between the two parties. Chapter eight covers the process in which Lincoln and his administration took in order to reconstruct America after a period of rough patches. DiLorenzo refers to the Republican Party as a “Monopoly Government”, stating that “once the Republican Party established itself as a political monopolist… it immediately went to work, expanding all the planks of the old Whig platform” (219). Chapter nine outlines how Lincoln fits the title “the Great Centralizer” and provides insight into what his economic legacy was all about. Lincoln cannot control what others think of him, even though he tried at one point, but I digress. Lincoln was known as “the Great Emancipator” as well, and depending on who is asked, Lincoln could be considered one of the best Presidents in United States history. The final chapter puts what the States lost within the war and what the cost of the war was. On a more personal level, during the war there were an estimated 620,000 lost lives, “including one-fourth of all white males in the South between twenty and forty years of age” (259). The fall of Federalism also occurred during the Lincoln administration and it was because of the war. The Lincoln administration was one known for its ups and downs, but to most Americans and historians today, his presidency was an overall
Chapter seven puts that fire under Lincoln into perspective by providing an insight into the measures in which Lincoln and his most trusted military commanders, including William Tecumseh Sherman and Ulysses S. Grant were willing to go to in order to win the war. Sherman, for example, burned an entire town and killed a number of civilians simply because he could not “hunt down and subdue the Confederate soldiers…” (181). Lincoln was well-known because of his war efforts but what made him a great President in America’s eyes was his ability to improve the relationship after the war between the two parties. Chapter eight covers the process in which Lincoln and his administration took in order to reconstruct America after a period of rough patches. DiLorenzo refers to the Republican Party as a “Monopoly Government”, stating that “once the Republican Party established itself as a political monopolist… it immediately went to work, expanding all the planks of the old Whig platform” (219). Chapter nine outlines how Lincoln fits the title “the Great Centralizer” and provides insight into what his economic legacy was all about. Lincoln cannot control what others think of him, even though he tried at one point, but I digress. Lincoln was known as “the Great Emancipator” as well, and depending on who is asked, Lincoln could be considered one of the best Presidents in United States history. The final chapter puts what the States lost within the war and what the cost of the war was. On a more personal level, during the war there were an estimated 620,000 lost lives, “including one-fourth of all white males in the South between twenty and forty years of age” (259). The fall of Federalism also occurred during the Lincoln administration and it was because of the war. The Lincoln administration was one known for its ups and downs, but to most Americans and historians today, his presidency was an overall