Lincoln Unmasked
Encyclopedia
Lincoln Unmasked: What You're Not Supposed to Know About Dishonest Abe is a 2006 follow-up biography to The Real Lincoln
written by Thomas DiLorenzo
that is highly critical of the Presidency of Abraham Lincoln
.
to secede and that the more centralized government that emerged after the war was incompatible with democracy. Another focus of the book is DiLorenzo's claim that most scholars of the Civil War are biased in their approach to the history because, in DiLorenzo's own words, "in war the victors get to write the history". Dilorenzo also points out that Lincoln was opposed to racial equality and that many abolitionists, including Lysander Spooner
, bitterly hated him.
and writing for The Washington Post
, who says of the book: "Of course, Lincoln's presidency had its dark side. Most infamously, the Great Emancipator suspended habeas corpus
in 1861-62, allowing the indefinite detention of citizens without trial. Still, DiLorenzo's work is more of a diatribe against a mostly unnamed group of Lincoln scholars than a real historical analysis."
Other reviewers, like Publishers Weekly
, while calling the book a "laughable screed," suggest that DiLorenzo's main target are "scholars who dominate American universities (most notably Eric Foner
)"
The Real Lincoln
The Real Lincoln: A New Look at Abraham Lincoln, His Agenda, and an Unnecessary War is a biography of Abraham Lincoln written by Thomas DiLorenzo in 2002...
written by Thomas DiLorenzo
Thomas DiLorenzo
Thomas James DiLorenzo is an American economics professor at Loyola University Maryland. He is an adherent of the Austrian School of Economics. He is a senior faculty member of the Ludwig von Mises Institute and an associated scholar of the Abbeville Institute...
that is highly critical of the Presidency of Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
.
Synopsis
DiLorenzo directs criticism at Lincoln in this new look at the famed president. Within the book he argues that states within the union had the right at the time of the American Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
to secede and that the more centralized government that emerged after the war was incompatible with democracy. Another focus of the book is DiLorenzo's claim that most scholars of the Civil War are biased in their approach to the history because, in DiLorenzo's own words, "in war the victors get to write the history". Dilorenzo also points out that Lincoln was opposed to racial equality and that many abolitionists, including Lysander Spooner
Lysander Spooner
Lysander Spooner was an American individualist anarchist, political philosopher, Deist, abolitionist, supporter of the labor movement, legal theorist, and entrepreneur of the nineteenth century. He is also known for competing with the U.S...
, bitterly hated him.
Criticisms
Some critics conclude that while there is room for discrepancy, the overall interpretation of President Lincoln has sided towards truth. One case of this is Justin Ewers, a senior editor at U.S. News & World ReportU.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report is an American news magazine published from Washington, D.C. Along with Time and Newsweek it was for many years a leading news weekly, focusing more than its counterparts on political, economic, health and education stories...
and writing for The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
, who says of the book: "Of course, Lincoln's presidency had its dark side. Most infamously, the Great Emancipator suspended habeas corpus
Habeas corpus
is a writ, or legal action, through which a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention. The remedy can be sought by the prisoner or by another person coming to his aid. Habeas corpus originated in the English legal system, but it is now available in many nations...
in 1861-62, allowing the indefinite detention of citizens without trial. Still, DiLorenzo's work is more of a diatribe against a mostly unnamed group of Lincoln scholars than a real historical analysis."
Other reviewers, like Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
, while calling the book a "laughable screed," suggest that DiLorenzo's main target are "scholars who dominate American universities (most notably Eric Foner
Eric Foner
Eric Foner is an American historian. On the faculty of the Department of History at Columbia University since 1982, he writes extensively on political history, the history of freedom, the early history of the Republican Party, African American biography, Reconstruction, and historiography...
)"