"Aye, free! Free as a tethered ass!" —W.S. Gilbert
"All the affairs of men should be managed by individuals or voluntary associations, and . . . the State should be abolished." —Benjamin Tucker
"You must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself." —James Madison
"Fat chance." —Sheldon Richman
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Lincoln
My friend Jeffrey Rogers Hummel, a Civil War scholar as well as an economist and economic historian, has written a spot-on op-ed about Abraham Lincoln in the Chicago Tribune. I highly recommend it.
My only nitpick with that piece is that Hummel appears to give Lincoln a bit more credit than he deserves with regards to opposing slavery. My impression's always been that Lincoln was a white supremacist and racial seperatist who talked out of both sides of his mouth on the issue, so it's difficult to ascertain just how "sincere" he was, if at all, in opposing slavery qua slavery.
But it's still refreshing to see a critical piece on Lincoln upon the occasion of his b-day. I've been wanting to read Hummel's book for a long time now. Maybe it's high time I bumped it to the top of my reading list.
What a kick ass article. Reminds me of some of Tom DiLorenzo's work. I will buy this guy's book. Thanks for posting!
ReplyDeleteWe only wish our national debt was currently $2.8 billion!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the heads up on the column.
My only nitpick with that piece is that Hummel appears to give Lincoln a bit more credit than he deserves with regards to opposing slavery. My impression's always been that Lincoln was a white supremacist and racial seperatist who talked out of both sides of his mouth on the issue, so it's difficult to ascertain just how "sincere" he was, if at all, in opposing slavery qua slavery.
ReplyDeleteBut it's still refreshing to see a critical piece on Lincoln upon the occasion of his b-day. I've been wanting to read Hummel's book for a long time now. Maybe it's high time I bumped it to the top of my reading list.