Lincoln Unmasked: What You're Not Supposed to Know About Dishonest Abe

Thomas J. Dilorenzo

Jan 2009 · Sold by Forum Books

About this ebook

What if you were told that the revered leader Abraham Lincoln was actually a political tyrant who stifled his opponents by suppressing their civil rights? What if you learned that the man so affectionately referred to as the “Great Emancipator” supported white supremacy and pledged not to interfere with slavery in the South? Would you suddenly start to question everything you thought you knew about Lincoln and his presidency?

You should.

Thomas J. DiLorenzo, who ignited a fierce debate about Lincoln’s legacy with his book The Real Lincoln, now presents a litany of stunning new revelations that explode the most enduring (and pernicious) myths about our sixteenth president. Marshaling an astonishing amount of new evidence, Lincoln Unmasked offers an alarming portrait of a political manipulator and opportunist who bears little resemblance to the heroic, stoic, and principled figure of mainstream history.

Did you know that Lincoln . . .

• did NOT save the union? In fact, Lincoln did more than any other individual to destroy the voluntary union the Founding Fathers recognized.

• did NOT want to free the slaves? Lincoln, who did not believe in equality of the races, wanted the Constitution to make slavery “irrevocable.”

• was NOT a champion of the Constitution? Contrary to his high-minded rhetoric, Lincoln repeatedly trampled on the Constitution—and even issued an arrest warrant for the chief justice of the United States!

• was NOT a great statesman? Lincoln was actually a warmonger who manipulated his own people into a civil war.

• did NOT utter many of his most admired quotations? DiLorenzo exposes a legion of statements that have been falsely attributed to Lincoln for generations—usually to enhance his image.

In addition to detailing Lincoln’s offenses against the principles of freedom, equality, and states’ rights, Lincoln Unmasked exposes the vast network of academics, historians, politicians, and other “gatekeepers” who have sanitized his true beliefs and willfully distorted his legacy. DiLorenzo reveals how the deification of Lincoln reflects a not-so-hidden agenda to expand the size and scope of the American state far beyond what the Founding Fathers envisioned—an expansion that Lincoln himself began.

The hagiographers have shaped Lincoln’s image to the point that it has become more fiction than fact. With Lincoln Unmasked, DiLorenzo shows us an Abraham Lincoln without the rhetoric, lies, and political bias that have clouded a disastrous president’s enduring damage to the nation.

Ratings and reviews

Such lies of course blaming WhltePeople for what the richJs been resp for along with owning the most of them. Typical you also skip over the fact that there were whlteSIav ery,and even a colored guy had one. People research,ProfTonyMartin. Also ask yourselves why these synagogue ofS. keep complaining and accusing whltles for their past crimes,that includes theCol umbus story to who btw was also aJ.All roads lead back to them.They like accusing us of what they done.Also pitting,manipulating the others against us.Look up,Eur0peanS0lutreans to.The corrupt few lied about history and falsely accuse us, they esp been doing this sinceFedRes took over and they were also resp forUSSRcrimes.

The fact that anyone could take this crap (I'm being generous using that term) seriously deeply saddens me. If you want to know what Lincoln thought, and publicly said, about secession and slavery, read the texts of the 1858 debates with Douglas; read his Cooper Union address. The notion that our union was ever intended to be anything other than perpetual is laughable. If states were intended to be free to leave the union, why did the constitution make no provision for it? No government can survive if its constituent parts are free to "take my ball and go home" when they don't get their way. Lincoln commented thoughtfully on this issue. The notion that Abraham Lincoln supported slavery is contrary to everything he ever wrote or said. As I said, just read the primary documents and you will understand... As for his actions during the Civil War - the legality of some of his actions can be debated by intelligent people. However, it is undeniable that the rebellion of the slaveholders represented an existential threat to this union, and to representative government in general. I find it amusing that Lincoln is criticized for exceeding his authority under the laws of our union when others are given a free pass for taking up arms against it. This book, Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin - all part of the dumbing-down of America. I wish I could wake up from this nightmare...

Lincoln Unmasked was a great follow up to DiLorenzo's first book – The Real Lincoln. This book does a better job of citing source and bringing in more sources. The flow of the book seemed better also. If you have read The Real Lincoln then you will love this book. If this is the first time you have read DiLorenzo make sure you pick up his other books. His desire to find the truth without any care for the “sacred cows” is refreshing. Another great addition to the book is the follow up notes on further reading. It is every American's responsibility to know their history. DiLorenzo shows in his writing that he has a passion for the truth. Not because he wants to be right, but because he wants to know what is right and give that information to others.

About the author

Thomas J. DiLorenzo is the author of The Real Lincoln and How Capitalism Saved America. A professor of economics at Loyola College in Maryland and a senior fellow at the Ludwig von Mises Institute, he has written for the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, the Washington Post, Reader’s Digest, Barron’s, and many other publications. He lives in Baltimore, Maryland.