NF The Historiography of Lincoln Biography

Non-Fiction
West Point probably helped the United States more than the Confederacy. Among the fellows who get appointments from the southern areas, there was inherent cohesion. West Point pulled together people from the northern states that might have otherwise never thought of the United States as their nation.
 
West Point probably helped the United States more than the Confederacy. Among the fellows who get appointments from the southern areas, there was inherent cohesion. West Point pulled together people from the northern states that might have otherwise never thought of the United States as their nation.

This is an interesting perspective but I disagree. West Point provided the Confederacy with a skilled officer corps that would drain the Union of blood and treasure for far longer than it should have. A war of attrition against an Army half one's side should never be necessary.

We're getting off topic, though. This thread is about the 'historiography' of Abraham Lincoln.
 
Another round of Lincoln may be necessary. As the war began, he consulted with Stephen Douglas, and after a few months put George McClellan in charge of the Army of the Potomac. He was constantly reaching out for a broader coalition.
 
West Point probably helped the United States more than the Confederacy. Among the fellows who get appointments from the southern areas, there was inherent cohesion. West Point pulled together people from the northern states that might have otherwise never thought of the United States as their nation.
Good topic for a thread.
 
Interesting to see the contrast in those early conclusions about Lincoln. Such as...

Lincoln was subject to fits of depression, bordering on the suicidal.

...how that has become a fairly standard part of the Lincoln image...

Lincoln was born out of wedlock (or at least his mother was), and that Thomas Lincoln might not have been his biological father.

...while this is basically fodder for wild theories (my favorite is that John C. Calhoun is Abe's real biological father).
 
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