We were taught in grade school that Lincoln was a great man. I believed that for years too. I have come to see that there were many things done by him and many that he allowed to be done that have changed my mind towards him. He knew full well his decisions would bring a civil war. Almost every person in public office from the very beginning knew slavery was a hot potato. I just finished a book about the 56 men that signed the Declaration of Independence and almost every one of them that went on to public office after our nation was founded introduced legislation to eliminate it. It was an ongoing effort. What I hold against Lincoln the most was his willingness to sacrifice so many lives to push something that was going to take care of itself in time. But then he said himself the slaves didn't matter as long as the Union was preserved. What I feel he left us with was the start of an overpowering central government and if we ever face another civil war his name will be all over it too.
It wasn't Lincoln who decided to resort to bullets over ballots. It wasn't Lincoln who seceded (5 states) before he even took office and it wasn't Lincoln who fired on Ft. Sumter and seized federal property throughout the South because they didn't like the results of a free and fair election.
