The real Lincoln : a new look at Abraham Lincoln, his agenda, and an unnecessary war
(Book)

Includes bibliographical references (pages 307-343) and index.

The legend of Abraham Lincoln as the Great Emancipator has grown to mythic proportions. But what if almost everything you knew about Lincoln were false? What if, instead of an American hero who sought to free the slaves, Lincoln were in fact a calculating politician who waged the bloodiest war in American history in order to build an empire? Here, through extensive research and meticulous documentation, DiLorenzo portrays Lincoln as a man who devoted his political career to revolutionizing the American form of government from one that was limited in scope and highly decentralized--as the Founding Fathers intended--to a highly centralized, activist state. Standing in his way, however, was the South, with its independent states, its resistance to the national government, and its reliance on unfettered free trade. To accomplish his goals, Lincoln subverted the Constitution, trampled states' rights, and launched a devastating Civil War, whose wounds haunt us still.--From publisher description.