Lincoln's Herndon by David Herbert Donald

[LincolnToddFan]

(07-18-2015 08:43 PM)Gene C Wrote:  Thanks for posting that interesting article. Burlingame makes some interesting points, but his falling out with Donald, in my opinion, seems to be an underlying reason for some of the negative comments and tone in the article. I agree that a new biography of Herndon would be nice due to new info available, but some of the criticism of They are both men with a vast knowledge, who have different viewpoints.

Now to read "William H Herndon and Mary Todd Lincoln", by Doug the book, which was written over 65 years ago, seems petty and unnecessary. It is apparent they have a different view of Mary Lincoln among other things.

Wilson that Mr. Burlingame mentioned in his article
http://quod.lib.umich.edu/j/jala/2629860...w=fulltext

Sometimes I get the feeling that Prof. Burlingame judges the success or reliability of a Lincoln author solely by whether or not he/she falls in line with the(extremely negative) Burlingame view of MTL. Benjamin Thomas does, so he of course receives the Burlingame imprimatur. Ditto Douglas Wilson.

More moderate Lincoln scholars like Doris Kearns Goodwin and David Donald don't, and of course in cases where the Burlingame view is completely rejected(Jean Baker, Stephen Oates) the response is visceral and personal.

Since I completely reject MB's opinions on Lincoln's wife and his marriage, I also tend to avoid any Lincoln scholars who win the Burlingame seal of approval. The man seems borderline irrational(for reasons known only to him) on the subject and it has destroyed my ability to take him as seriously as I should as a Lincoln scholar.