Did Lincoln Save Democracy?

The Lincoln myth is never going away.

Why? Because people on both the “left” and “right” subscribe to it, so much so that Lincoln is the only person capable of saving democracy.

At least that is what Jon Meacham argued in a recent piece at Time magazine.

This is almost psychopathy.

Meacham thinks Joe Biden needs to take a page from “Honest Abe” and use his power to ward off anti-democratic forces in America.

Just like Lincoln did.

Let’s just skip the fact that Lincoln never favored “government of the people by the people and for the people.” If he did, he would have let the South go in peace.

In order for Lincoln to “save democracy” he launched a war that killed a million people, maybe more when civilian deaths due to disease, dislocation, and starvation are added to the tally.

Sounds like a grand plan.

To Meacham and other Lincoln worshipers, the cost was worth it.

Imagine thinking anything is worth a million deaths.

But what about slavery? What about democracy?

We know that every other western power in the world ended slavery peacefully. It might have taken some time in the United States–and Lincoln himself was willing to wait until the 1920s–but it would have happened.

Regardless, Meacham’s piece made for great Podcast fodder. I discuss it on Episode 727 of The Brion McClanahan Show.