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.
