Lincoln’s Sanctuary: Abraham Lincoln and the Soldiers’ Home By Matthew Pinsker

 

Lincoln’s Sanctuary looks at Lincoln from a new vantage point. With thousands upon thousands of Lincoln books, this seems like quite a feat but Pinsker pulls it off. Lincoln’s Sanctuary explores Abraham Lincoln’s time at the Soldiers’ Home, a cottage in the heights of Washington that served much like Camp David does today.

From 1862 to 1864, Lincoln and his family spent summers at the cottage to escape the heat and in-city pressures. Pinsker, a historian, uses primary sources to paint a vivid picture of Lincoln’s personal and political life during this period. The book connects the cottage to key wartime events, including the Emancipation Proclamation, the firing of General McClellan, and Lincoln’s evolving public image.

Lincoln buffs looking for a peek into Lincoln’s private life will find this book interesting.

Lincoln Book Review: The Shut Mouth Society

 

The Shut Mouth Society is my own Lincoln book. This modern day thriller is a typical chase novel à la Robert Ludlum. The Ludlum formula for this genre has a man and woman oddly meet to be accused of a crime and then chased by good guys and bad guys until they save themselves by unraveling a mystery that threatens social order. In my book, the mystery is a secret society formed after the Civil War that threatens to take control Mexico. The chase is launched when a small town police chief and renowned professor are asked to assess the validity of a pre-presidential document in Lincoln hand. Abe Lincoln is interwoven throughout the story as they must examine his life and motivations to solve the mystery.

I had done an enormous amount of research on Lincoln to craft an exciting story that was also historically accurate. These are book reviews but I’m too biased to rate The Shut Mouth Society as a work of fiction. (However, 405 Amazon readers have given it an average rating of 4.3 and the book was a finalist is the APA Glyph Awards for Best Novel.) This reading was to revisit my Lincoln research for my historical novel Maelstrom. I found no substantive errors. (However, if a set of dialogue begins with something like, “Some historians believe,” then what follows is not necessarily true. It only means that some credentialed authors believe it true. I believe I wrote the story in a manner where a reader will have no difficulty separating historical fact from speculation.)

All of that said, I believe The Shut Mouth Society is a fun way for readers to enjoy a rousing story and obtain a better understanding of our sixteenth president.

Lincoln Book Review: The Myth of the Lost Cause Vs. The Real Lincoln

 

This post deals with two books on the “Lost Cause.”

Thomas J. DiLorenzo presents the case for the Lost Cause in The Real Lincoln: A New Look at Abraham Lincoln, His Agenda, and an Unnecessary War, while Edward H. Bonekemper argues against the Lost Cause in The Myth of the Lost Cause: Why the South Fought the Civil War and Why the North Won.

What is the Lost Cause? The basic tenants are as follows: the War of Northern Aggression had nothing to do with slavery; the South did nothing to provoke war; the Constitution included a right to secede and the South should have been allowed to leave peacefully; antebellum life in the South was prosperous, dignified, and just; slavery was already dying; Robert E. Lee deserved deification, U. S. Grant deserved demonization, the North deserves condemnation for engaging in total war; the South had no chance of winning, and most important of all, Lincoln was a despot who started the war by invading South. 

Basically, the Lost Cause is innocence victimized.

I chose these two specific books because they are both relatively recent (2003 and 2015) and each author presents their respective positions clearly, with entertaining gusto. On which side of this controversy did I land? You can probably guess, but this argument has raged for over one hundred and fifty years and these books will provide all the information you need to make up your own mind.

(These are research books for Maelstrom, a sequel to Tempest at Dawn.)

Democrats are not as good as their word.

A version of this article was originally published at American Spectator

 

Democrats sure know how to talk.

They espouse lofty goals, heartfelt sympathy, and strident vows to instill fairness for all Americans.  They promise to fulfill every aspiration and repair all grievances.  Democrats unselfconsciously paint themselves as the good guys … and Republicans as rapacious villains.

However, when Democrats act, it’s counter to their good words.  Here’s a few examples.

They profess support for the working class but act to harm their livelihood. 

When outsourcing became the rage, the working class needed a powerful advocate.  Democrats abandoned them.  Instead of championing industrial union members, they dropped them like hot potatoes to advocate for unionized government employees.  Secondly, the livelihoods of the middleclass fell when Democrats encouraged illegal immigration.  The one-two punch devastated the American working class.

They say they’re fighting voter suppression but rig the system to steal elections. 

Democrats push every change making registration and voting easier, fight every check against voter fraud, support every change that opens a new path to fraud, push to legalize vote harvesting, and fight the cleansing of voter rolls.  Democrat controlled states and cities provides sanctuary, benefits, and driver licenses to illegals.  They talk a good game, but in truth, Democrats act against the principle of fair elections.

They profess support for the downtrodden but act to harm their future.

Democrats have controlled many major cities and a few states for decades.  These bastions of progressivism are stark examples of how they govern.  Most Americans who are deprived of hope reside inside these districts.  Words don’t put food on the table, keep children safe, or provide the tools for a better future.  But words are all they get.

They preach social justice but act inconsistent with the goal.

Equal opportunity for all?  Not really.  Democrats deny or rip away support if anyone speaks contrary to the Democrat Party Line. Political obedience determines social justice. They talk big in support of LBQ and women’s issues but import intolerant cultures who do them harm. Democrats ruthlessly pursue Republicans accused of sexual crimes but stubbornly cover for accused Democrats. They promise affordable higher education but direct government money to college administrations who keep raising tuition. Social justice is not really about people. It’s a misanthropic tool to gather up political power.

They claim concern for pandemic deaths but act to increase death count.

Democrats say they want fewer virus deaths, but New York, New Jersey, California, Pennsylvania, and Michigan (all Democrat run states) made it illegal to turn away or test nursing home returnees, knowing full well that over a third of virus deaths occur in nursing homes.  They say they’re horrified at the death count but provide financial incentives for doctors to attribute every death to the virus.  Additionally, lockdowns and vaccination mandates have increased the risk for every other terminal ailment through non-diagnosis, non-treatment, and delayed surgeries.

They say nobody is above the law but constructed a duel justice system.

Democrats holler incessantly that no one is above the law, but shield elected Democrats, illegal aliens, and convicted criminals from the law.  They release prisoners back into society while arresting Americans for overzealously protesting government officials.  They coddle illegals and give them rights and benefits American citizens don’t enjoy.  Elected Democrat officials are seldom indicted despite endless exposed crimes, government corruption everyone can see, and grievous violations of our national security laws.  Democrats clamor for equal justice, but their actions built a two-tiered justice system.  One for them … and another for the rest of us.

They tout democracy but act totalitarian

Democrats invoke the Framers, the Bible, and altruistic intentions to prove their democratic bona fides.  Not only do they portray themselves as the true champions of democracy, but Republican opponents are Nazis, fascists, murders, racists, and haters of every imaginable hue. Yet their actions speak otherwise.  They cheer the police state tactics of the FBI, see nothing amiss in federal agencies working on their behalf, and ignore the wishes of the populous that go against their doctrines.  Nothing exposes leadership style more than a crisis.  Republican governors impose sensible restraints for the shortest time possible.  Democrat governors impose draconian measures beyond CDC guidelines and extend them indefinitely.

Talk is cheap.  Actions speak louder than words.  Put your money where your mouth is.  Your word is your bond.  All these axioms are foreign to Democrats.  Instead they believe perception is reality.  A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.  Principles are malleable to the moment.  And a sucker’s born every minute.

Fortunately for the United States of America, the public is catching on.  Perhaps the greatest gift of President Trump has bestowed upon this great nation is to expose Democrat Party leaders for who they really are.  It’s not pretty a pretty sight.