Criticism of Abraham Lincoln
Template:Abraham Lincoln series
Before, during, and after his presidency —and continuing into the present — Abraham Lincoln has faced criticism from multiple perspectives: Confederates and their sympathizers for abolishing slavery and revisionist historical views of The Confederacy, libertarians for his use of centralized power and wartime censorship, and some progressives who argue he was not a genuine abolitionist and was just a servant for Northern elites.
Critics from different ideological groups
Neo-Confederate critics
Progressive and left-wing critics
American Historian and Socialist activist Howard Zinn in his book ‘A People's History of the United States’ argues Lincoln wasn’t a genuine abolitionist but rather a pragmatic politician who ended slavery as means of preserving the union and benefiting Northern elites.[1]
Individualist Anarchist and abolitionist Philosopher Lysander Spooner was highly critical of Lincoln as an abolitionist and his motives in The Civil War. [2]
“All these cries of having ‘abolished slavery,’ of having ‘saved the country,’ of having ‘preserved the union,’ of establishing ‘a government of consent,’ and of ‘maintaining the national honor,’ are all gross, shameless, transparent cheats—so transparent that they ought to deceive no one.”
Nikole Hannah-Jones described Lincoln as a “political opportunist” who believed “Black people are the obstacle to national unity”. [3]
“Anti-black racism runs in the very DNA of this country, as does the belief, so well articulated by Lincoln, that black people are the obstacle to national unity.”
Libertarian critics
Ron Paul suggested Congress should've bought slaves and release them, like the British did:[4]
"You buy the slaves and release them. How much would that cost compared to killing 600,000 Americans?"
Criticism of his role in The Civil War
Zinn argues that Lincoln provoked hostilities by attempting to repossess Fort Sumter in South Carolina, framing this as the spark that started the conflict rather than the Confederate attack on the fort - Zinn argues avoiding military confrontation and not resupplying Fort Sumter, would potentially allow peaceful secession to prevent The War and let class struggles among workers in both the North and South. He claims enslaved people’s self-emancipation through flight and strikes as the real force ending slavery.[5]
Perceptions of Lincoln as not a genuine abolitionist
Zinn, who believes Lincoln wasn't a genuine abolitionist describes Lincoln's stance on slavery as [6]
"It was Abraham Lincoln who combined perfectly the needs of business, the political ambition of the new Republican party, and the rhetoric of humanitarianism. He would keep the abolition of slavery not at the top of his list of priorities, but close enough to the top so it could be pushed there temporarily by abolitionist pressures and by practical political advantage."
Zinn also brings up Wendell Phillips' perspective on Lincoln.[7]
"If the telegraph speaks truth, for the first time in our history the slave has chosen a President of the United States. . . . Not an Abolitionist, hardly an antislavery man, Mr. Lincoln consents to represent an antislavery idea. A pawn on the political chessboard, his value is in his position; with fair effort, we may soon change him for knight, bishop or queen, and sweep the board."
Critics commonly bring up Lincoln's letter to Horace Mann as the primary reason of why Lincoln wasn't a genuine abolitionist.[8]
“I would save the Union. I would save it the shortest way under the Constitution.
The sooner the national authority can be restored, the nearer the Union will be ‘the Union as it was.’ If there be those who would not save the Union unless they could at the same time destroy slavery, I do not agree with them. My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could do it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that.”
Treatment of Native Americans
Lincoln approved the execution of 39 Dakota men following the Dakota War of 1862, which resulted in the largest mass execution in U.S. history.[9]
Censorship and surveillance
In April 1861, Lincoln suspended habeas corpus during the Civil War to allow military authorities to detain individuals deemed a threat to public safety.[10]
Chief Justice Roger B. Taney issued Ex parte Merryman, challenging Lincoln's ability to suspend the writ of Habeas Corpus in Maryland.[11]
Criticism of Lincoln's economics
Zinn saw Lincoln as a representative of the rising Northern capitalist order who opposed slavery while still supporting a system of free labor, private property, industrial growth. [12]
Anarcho-Capitalist economist Murray Rothbard argued that the Civil War enabled Republicans to enact a "statist program" including tariffs, subsidies, and the National Banking Act, which he viewed as important steps toward later federal economic centralization.[13]
Use of draft
New York draft riots
The New York City Draft Riots occurred from July 13 to 16, 1863, as a violent reaction to a new federal draft law during the Civil War, but quickly evolved into widespread racial violence, particularly against Black residents.[14]
See also
Criticism of Franklin D. Roosevelt
References
- ↑ Zinn, Howard (2015). "Chapter 9: Slavery Without Submission, Emancipation Without Freedom". A People's History of the United States. The New Press. pp. 171–210. ISBN 978-0-06-239734-8. Search this book on
- ↑ "Lysander Spooner: Northern Abolitionist and Supporter of Southern Independence". Alabama Gazette. April 1, 2022. Retrieved June 3, 2026.
- ↑ Nikole Hannah-Jones (August 14, 2019). "Our Democracy's Founding Ideals Were False When They Were Written. Black Americans Have Fought to Make Them True". The New York Times. Retrieved June 3, 2026.
- ↑ Klein, Ezra (December 22, 2007). "Ron Paul: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly". The Atlantic. Retrieved 1 June 2026.
- ↑ Zinn, Howard (2015). "Chapter 9: Slavery Without Submission, Emancipation Without Freedom". A People's History of the United States (35th Anniversary ed.). Harper Perennial Modern Classics. p. 189. ISBN 978-0-06-239734-8. Search this book on
- ↑ Zinn, Howard (2003). A People's History of the United States. New York: HarperCollins. p. 188. ISBN 978-0060528379.
- ↑ Zinn, Howard (2015). "Chapter 9: Slavery Without Submission, Emancipation Without Freedom". A People's History of the United States (35th Anniversary ed.). Harper Perennial Modern Classics. pp. 188–189. ISBN 978-0-06-239734-8. Search this book on
- ↑ Lincoln, Abraham. "Letter to Horace Greeley (August 22, 1862)". Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln. Retrieved 2026-06-01.
My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery.
- ↑ "US-Dakota War of 1862 Resource Guide". Center for Holocaust & Genocide Studies, University of Minnesota. Retrieved 8 June 2026.
- ↑ Congressional Globe, Thirty-Seventh Congress, Third Session. 1862–63. p. 14. Search this book on
- ↑ "Lincoln's Suspension of Habeas Corpus Is Challenged". History.com. Retrieved 2026-06-08.
- ↑ Zinn, Howard (2003). A People's History of the United States: 1492–Present. New York: HarperCollins. p. 171. ISBN 978-0-06-052842-3. Search this book on
- ↑ Rothbard, Murray N. (2002). A History of Money and Banking in the United States: The Colonial Era to World War II. Auburn, Alabama: Ludwig von Mises Institute. pp. 163–180. ISBN 978-0945466338.
Discusses Civil War finance, the National Banking Acts, and the wartime shift toward a more centralized banking and monetary system.
Search this book on
- ↑ "New York Draft Riots". HISTORY. A&E Television Networks. Retrieved 2026-06-08.
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