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Vindicating Lincoln: Defending the Ideals of Our Greatest President
Was Abraham Lincoln a racist, as some critics would have us believe? Was he the father of big government, as some others maintain? Was the sixteenth president a traitor to the cause of free society and constitutional government? Are the political principles that guided him relevant today?
In this provocative and timely book, Thomas L. Krannawitter sets out to defend the man many consider to be our greatest president from critics on both the left and the right. For although public opinion polls tend to rank Lincoln among the country's most venerated presidents, he is also, paradoxically, the president who is least understood. While Lincoln's name is frequently invoked in contemporary American politics, few Americans understand or agree with the moral and political principles for which Lincoln gave his last full measure of devotion.
Many influential authors view Lincoln as an antiquated monument, a man of his age who knew only nineteenth-century prejudices and lacked twenty-first-century enlightenment. Other writers denounce Lincoln as a tyrant who trampled upon the Constitution and states' rights, and thereby inaugurated big government and the kind of politics feared by the Founding Fathers.
Krannawitter argues that both views spring from a misunderstanding of Lincoln. Today, at precisely the moment when America is most in need of his moral and political understanding, we are more removed from Lincoln's thought than ever before.
Vindicating Lincoln reintroduces us to Lincoln the statesman, the man who defended our greatest ideals of freedom and equality at the darkest moment in American history. Krannawitter shows us why it is in our interest not only to learn about Abraham Lincoln, but to learn from him—to understand that Lincoln's guiding principles were true not only for his time, but that they remain true for ours as well.
On the eve of the bicentennial of his birth in 2009, Lincoln can offer moral and political guidance to us all.
In this provocative and timely book, Thomas L. Krannawitter sets out to defend the man many consider to be our greatest president from critics on both the left and the right. For although public opinion polls tend to rank Lincoln among the country's most venerated presidents, he is also, paradoxically, the president who is least understood. While Lincoln's name is frequently invoked in contemporary American politics, few Americans understand or agree with the moral and political principles for which Lincoln gave his last full measure of devotion.
Many influential authors view Lincoln as an antiquated monument, a man of his age who knew only nineteenth-century prejudices and lacked twenty-first-century enlightenment. Other writers denounce Lincoln as a tyrant who trampled upon the Constitution and states' rights, and thereby inaugurated big government and the kind of politics feared by the Founding Fathers.
Krannawitter argues that both views spring from a misunderstanding of Lincoln. Today, at precisely the moment when America is most in need of his moral and political understanding, we are more removed from Lincoln's thought than ever before.
Vindicating Lincoln reintroduces us to Lincoln the statesman, the man who defended our greatest ideals of freedom and equality at the darkest moment in American history. Krannawitter shows us why it is in our interest not only to learn about Abraham Lincoln, but to learn from him—to understand that Lincoln's guiding principles were true not only for his time, but that they remain true for ours as well.
On the eve of the bicentennial of his birth in 2009, Lincoln can offer moral and political guidance to us all.
376 pages, Hardcover
First published August 25, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 20, 2011
This is probably the 4th or 5th book that I have rated with 5 stars. The many authors who seek to discredit Lincoln, or his views on many issues - and are guilty of revisionist history at best and pure unadulterated lying . . . are factually refuted in this book.
One by one the author takes the issues, goes to the sources and repudiates them all.
To me there seems to be a group - united . . . not likely - who are way right libertarians, far left politically correct folks, unreconstructed confederates (who cannot face the truth about what that awful war was about), and pure anti republic writers.
The author simply states the allegations as the anti-Lincoln people do, and then dismantles every single one of them.
A grand addition to my Lincoln library.
One by one the author takes the issues, goes to the sources and repudiates them all.
To me there seems to be a group - united . . . not likely - who are way right libertarians, far left politically correct folks, unreconstructed confederates (who cannot face the truth about what that awful war was about), and pure anti republic writers.
The author simply states the allegations as the anti-Lincoln people do, and then dismantles every single one of them.
A grand addition to my Lincoln library.
November 25, 2012
I started this book last spring and finished after seeing the new 'Lincoln' film last week. Meticulous research often means tedious reading, but I appreciated even more the reflection if the hard questions of the day and how that translates to our hard questions today. How do we wish to be governed as a free people, equal under the law.
May 22, 2020
Mr. Krannawitter sets out to prove that some things that have been written about Lincoln are off the mark or flat out not true. In my opinion he does a good job of that.
Lincoln was not a racist, or a proto-progressive, or a tyrant. He believed that slavery was wrong as a matter of natural rights. The Civil War was about slavery, not tariffs and states do not have a constitutional right to secede.
Lincoln was not a racist, or a proto-progressive, or a tyrant. He believed that slavery was wrong as a matter of natural rights. The Civil War was about slavery, not tariffs and states do not have a constitutional right to secede.
August 23, 2025
Excellent look at the sometimes bitter critiques of our greatest leader and how Lincoln still stands tall in American history.
January 5, 2013
Ever heard the unfounded criticisms of Lincoln as a racist / tyrant, etc.? This is the handiest volume of carefully crafted responses. For a good narrative background, I also recommend Lewis Lehrman's _Lincoln at Peoria_.
March 26, 2009
This reminds us why Lincoln matters--excellent book!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews