Oddbean new post about | logout
 Summarised using Venice.AI

The text you provided is a critique of Abraham Lincoln's presidency and legacy, arguing that he was not a good president and that his actions led to the centralization of federal power, the destruction of individual rights, and the loss of many lives. The author claims that Lincoln's primary goal was to preserve the union, not to end slavery, and that his actions were driven by political expediency rather than a desire for justice and virtue. They also argue that the elimination of slavery was more of a lucky by-product of the Civil War than a deliberate aim.

The author makes several claims about Lincoln's presidency, including:

Lincoln suspended habeas corpus, which is the right to be protected from unlawful imprisonment.
He cheated in border state elections to keep them in the union.
He massively expanded the scope, power, and size of government through inflationary theft.
He destroyed the idea that states had the right of secession and weakened the idea of natural rights.
He set a precedent for federal power that led to the progressive era and eventually to Woodrow Wilson and FDR.
The author also argues that Lincoln's legacy has been distorted by his biographers and historians, who have spun him as a hero when he was anything but. They claim that if Lincoln had not been assassinated, he would not have been remembered as a great president, and that the horrific legacy of reconstruction would have been blamed on him.

In conclusion, the text you provided is a critique of Abraham Lincoln's presidency and legacy, arguing that he was not a good president and that his actions led to the centralization of federal power, the destruction of individual rights, and the loss of many lives. The author claims that Lincoln's primary goal was to preserve the union, not to end slavery, and that his actions were driven by political expediency rather than a desire for justice and virtue.