Tag Archives | Lincoln

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Thoreau and Emerson Helped Spark the Civil War

American Conservative, July 9, 2020 19th Century Radical Chic: How Transcendentalists’ Swooned Over John Brown Thoreau and Emerson’s effort to canonize the abolitionist fanatic helped spark the Civil War.  by  Jim Bovard Many Americans have been aghast at violent mobs toppling statues and the widespread looting and destructive rampages that followed the killing of George […]

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Carping on Trump-Clinton Second Debate

Trump said a number of things tonight that mortified me – and I vehemently disagree with him on a lot of issues. But I also vigorously oppose the media’s campaign to coronate Hillary and to portray her as Joan of Arc. Below – my running commentary on tonight’s debate – – Were those outraged by […]

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FFF: How Tariffs Helped Cause the Civil War and Other Disasters

from the Future of Freedom Foundation’s monthly magazine, July 2014 –   – (The first part of this analysis was published by FFF here).  For a far more detailed examination of the role of tariffs and the Civil War, see Michael Griffith’s excellent analysis here.    The full text of the February 1861 New York Times editorial […]

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Wash. Times: Shenandoah Burning – Forgetting Atrocities Breeds New Wars

Washington Times, October 1, 2014 Lessons for today from the Shenandoah’s Civil War flames When civilian atrocities are forgotten, war and its injustices become more likely By James Bovard  This is the 150th anniversary of one of the Civil War’s most destructive and controversial campaigns. After Confederate armies had used the Shenandoah Valley to launch […]

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Carnage and Coverups: the 150th Anniversary of Cold Harbor

On this day 150 years ago, General Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia had their last great victory over the Army of Potomac.   General Grant was convinced that the Southerners were whupped and that he merely had to attack a few more times and Lee’s forces would surrender or dissolve.   Lee outfoxed Grant again and his […]

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Gettysburg Address: Still Balderdash After 150 Years

I am mystified by all the whooping on the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address.  Most of the commentators seem to believe that Lincoln was an honest man touting the highest ideals. Massachusetts abolitionist Lysander Spooner offered the most concise refutation to President Lincoln’s claim that the Civil War was fought to preserve a “government […]

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Abraham Lincoln’s Forgotten Atrocities

The Lincoln movie is on the verge of picking up a heap of Oscars at the Academy Awards on Sunday night. That movie did not quite capture Honest Abe’s full record. I was raised in a county that was devastated (and lost much of its population) as a result of Lincoln-approved Scorched Earth tactics in […]

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