Now He Belongs to the Ages": A Historiography of Sean Wilentz, (ed.) The Best American History Essays on Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States (1861-1865) and over a century and a half after his assassination, there remains a sleuth of opinions and oftentimes contradictory interpretations of his actions while in office. While some historians of note regarded him as the Great Emancipator whose singular action freed more than three million slaves and marked a major turning point in the historical evolution of the United States. Conversely, others saws him as just another product of his age – a racist politician who believed in the impossibility of “bringing about in anyway the social and political equality of the white and black races – that I am not nor ever have been in favor of making voters or jurors of negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people . . .” Lincoln was hailed as the believer in the equality of the races while at the same time he believed “that there is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality.” This essay is therefore an attempt to critically appraise the position of noted authorities and their writings on this American statesman