Lincoln Poll in USA TODAY

[BettyO]

Same here, Roger. It was in college that I first experienced (outside of my own reading) conflicting discussions of Lincoln's policies and politics and the late 19th and 20th Century development of the so-called "Lincoln Myth". As a matter of fact, I wrote a paper on it. Likewise, the South also spouted the old "Moonlight and Magnolia" mythology regarding the Confederacy and Antebellum society during the same time period.

Lincoln was a man of many facets. He was NOT Saint Abraham, nor was he an "evil tyrant." He fell somewhere in between in actuality, and both North and South had reason to question his motives. That he was a kind and generous man is beyond doubt. The old myth that he was a kindly hayseed homespun lawyer is a hoax. He was also a shrewd politician and like all politicians, he knew how to work both people and government and bend it to his will. This was illustrated yesterday when we discussed the 1862 executions of 38 Native Americans with Lincoln's sanction. Yes, he did suspend the writ of Habeas Corpus, but as someone pointed out yesterday as well, had Andrew Johnson been assassinated instead of Lincoln, Lincoln would probably have listened to Annie Surratt instead of brushing her off as Johnson did. Lincoln did show compassion. Yes, he did "free the slaves" - but he also thought that they should be given their "own country" and began a project to send them to Liberia. This didn't work.

I really think that Lincoln's canonization began with his assassination. The assassination played a large part in how he was perceived and is still viewed by the general public. As a Southerner, I know that for years, Lincoln was not held in as high regard here in the South as he was in the North and it has only been within the last 40-50 years that this perception has radically changed, if at all.