who he really was, a tyrant who was adept at weaving a legacy for himself. --- he paid for his crimes the hard way.
On Monday, July 11, 2016 at 7:22:58 AM UTC-5, MJ wrote: > > > July 8, 2016 > > *You’ve Been Lied To About Lincoln *Forrest Plaster > > “Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this > continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the > proposition that all men are created equal.” As beautiful as that is and as > much as I’d like to believe it, it’s not really true. Like any good > politician, Abraham Lincoln knew how to take the history he’d been given > and spin it into his own personal legacy. He, more than any other > president, left a legacy that cannot be challenged in the American mind. He > has accomplished two things, that today we as a culture overwhelmingly > consider to be good; preserving “The Union” and abolishing slavery. It is > fitting then that Spielberg’s Lincoln > <http://www.amazon.com/Lincoln-Blu-ray-DVD-Daniel-Day-Lewis/dp/B009AMANH4/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=libatthemov-20&linkId=d599b41c931fbc6402e61896fc374ccb&linkCode=ktl> > > focuses on the passing of the 13th Amendment. > > Spielberg paints a more nuanced picture of Lincoln > <http://www.amazon.com/Lincoln-Daniel-Day-Lewis/dp/B009AMANBA/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=libatthemov-20&linkId=652aa857a5eba244ad394750d4c45e25&linkCode=ktl> > > than exists in the collective American mind. Although that’s not very > difficult considering that most people believe in the Disneyland Hall of > Presidents version of Lincoln. A president that gave soaring speeches, > freed the slaves with a stroke of his pen, and died for the cause of > freedom. The reality that Disney doesn’t mention at all and that Spielberg > glosses over or ignores completely is that Lincoln employed tyrannical > means to achieve his ends. > > > > * http://youtu.be/5i3M1_MWHLI <http://youtu.be/5i3M1_MWHLI>*Here are five > details that are either glossed over or omitted in Spielberg’s Lincoln (and > in most rudimentary American history courses as well): > > > *US History Affirms a Right of Secession *There have been several > encounters with secession in the US, starting, of course, with the > Declaration of Independence. At that time 13 free and independent states > voted to leave the British Empire. The > > Empire reacted much like Lincoln > <http://www.amazon.com/Real-Lincoln-Abraham-Agenda-Unnecessary/dp/0761526463/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=libatthemov-20&linkId=c1110fdcef0ba1a38b5bef07ab72673c&linkCode=ktl> > > did, asserting (with force) that the colonists had no legal right to leave. > > During the War of 1812 a gathering of delegates from the New England > states convened at the Hartford Convention. At this convention the > delegates from the New England States (all of which were opposed to the > war) attempted to find solutions. One that was seriously considered was a > secession from the United States, forming a federation of New England > states and achieving a peace separate from the United States. > > There was even a secession that Abraham Lincoln > <http://www.amazon.com/Real-Lincoln-Abraham-Agenda-Unnecessary/dp/0761526463/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=libatthemov-20&linkId=18ad6a02c7667a34631e3b06a58b2674&linkCode=ktl>himself > > embraced. When Virginia voted to leave the United States representatives > from the western part of the state were unhappy with the results of the > election. As a result they formed their own secession convention and voted > to secede from the rest of Virginia. At their constitutional convention > they included an amendment abolishing slavery and in 1864 they joined the > Union as a free state. This new state born out of secession exists to this > day as “West Virginia”. Given this history of secession in the US, it is > not at all evident that the the war to “preserve the Union” was a necessary > one. > > > > *Lincoln Suspended Habeas Corpus and Violated Freedom of the Press *Habeas > corpus is a legal recourse available to those arrested in the US in order > to challenge the legality of their arrest and detention. Abraham Lincoln > <http://www.amazon.com/Real-Lincoln-Abraham-Agenda-Unnecessary/dp/0761526463/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=libatthemov-20&linkId=a811ce8a94e64301d89e90895fb3be70&linkCode=ktl> > > suspended the writ of habeas corpus at first from Philadelphia to DC, then > along the whole eastern seaboard, and finally across the whole United > States. The military could arrest citizens for as little as discouraging > voluntary enlistments, and Journalists critical of the war were jailed in > military prisons with no access to the courts. There were no official > records kept for how many journalists were jailed but conservative > estimates for civilian arrests by the military during the civil war start > at upwards of 13,000. The right to legal fairness was a right that > apparently had little place in the “new birth of freedom” for the United > States. > > > > *He Waged a War On Civilians * Lincoln > <http://www.amazon.com/Real-Lincoln-Abraham-Agenda-Unnecessary/dp/0761526463/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=libatthemov-20&linkId=ef89ae3cab42a52044718bdee0f75a79&linkCode=ktl>was > > infamous for micromanaging the war via telegraph throughout the conflict. > He instructed General Philip Sheridan to take the forces in the Shenandoah > Valley and destroy their economic infrastructure. Sheridan did just that > and citizens of the valley called his campaign “the burning”. Targeting > economic infrastructure *was* targeting civilians means of survival, > especially during a war. > > More infamous is General Sherman’s “March to the Sea” or as it was > officially known “The Savannah Campaign”. Sherman marched from Atlanta, > which he and his forces had captured, all the way to Savannah, all the > while burning not just military targets, but crops and private citizens > homes. Georgians’ houses were often looted by Sherman’s forces and the > goods that could be were sent back up north to the Union soldiers’ > families. What couldn’t be shipped was often destroyed. This destroyed the > economy in Georgia and caused some southern citizens to starve. > > > > *Despite What His Speeches Suggest, He Was Not the Great Champion of > Equality * Lincoln > <http://www.amazon.com/Real-Lincoln-Abraham-Agenda-Unnecessary/dp/0761526463/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=libatthemov-20&linkId=2cd377c403ee15090c314fff98353554&linkCode=ktl>is > > often seen as the champion of racial equality, but the real Lincoln > <http://www.amazon.com/Real-Lincoln-Abraham-Agenda-Unnecessary/dp/0761526463/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=libatthemov-20&linkId=263f6908dfe7ad6a90c3091ed8d1e5fd&linkCode=ktl>was > > not as egalitarian as his cartoonish, textbook version, makes him out to > be. In debates with Stephen Douglas he was accused of advocating for racial > equality, to which he responded; “I have no purpose to introduce political > and social equality between the white and black races. There is a physical > difference between the two, which, in my judgement, will probably forever > forbid their living together upon the footing of perfect equality; and > inasmuch as it becomes a necessity that there be a difference, I, as well > as Judge Douglas, am in favor of the race to which I belong having the > superior position. I have never said anything to the contrary.” I don’t > think that’s a quote they considered putting in the Lincoln Monument. > > It could be argued that Lincoln’s > <http://www.amazon.com/Real-Lincoln-Abraham-Agenda-Unnecessary/dp/0761526463/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=libatthemov-20&linkId=677dbddd497d3e202fe7a1b5facf1063&linkCode=ktl>views > > were moderated over time. If so it didn’t show in the policy he sought to > implement. His solution to the problem of what to do with slaves once they > were freed was to deport them. Like most Americans at that time, Lincoln > believed that white people and black people would have challenges living > peaceably together. His solution sounds like it could have come from Donald > Trump himself; deport them, to Liberia, to Guadeloupe, to Honduras, to > British Guiana, anywhere but the US. Lincoln even went so far as to sign a > contract with a man named Bernard Kock to set up a colony in Haiti, but > Kock turned out to be a crook and embezzled most of the money paid to him > for the settlement. > > > > *Act First, Get Permission Later * Lincoln > <https://www.amazon.com/Real-Lincoln-Abraham-Agenda-Unnecessary/dp/0761526463?ie=UTF8&linkCode=ktl&linkId=ef89ae3cab42a52044718bdee0f75a79&ref_=as_li_bk_tl&tag=libatthemov-20>, > > on a regular basis, usurped powers reserved to the Congress and asked for > permission later. After the shots at Fort Sumter, Lincoln > <http://www.amazon.com/Lincoln-Daniel-Day-Lewis/dp/B009AMANBA/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=libatthemov-20&linkId=504e4dc3ae694916815614cbbeeff43d&linkCode=ktl>blockaded > > southern ports, an act of war which traditionally required a declaration of > war by the congress. Lincoln raised troops, a power left exclusively to the > congress. He suspended habeas corpus, which is listed in Article I Section > 8 of the constitution, the section listing the powers delegated to the US > Congress. The overwhelmingly Republican congress was, of course more than > willing to oblige, but this does not excuse Lincoln, nor can it erase the > precedent left for future presidents to point to and say “well Lincoln did > it, and so can I.” > > Spielberg explicitly shows this in his film but rather than the notion > being frightening, it appears to be put in a positive light. When > discussing the Emancipation Proclamation (which affirmed slavery in the > border states) and presidential “war powers” (a phrase found nowhere in the > US Constitution) Lincoln > <http://www.amazon.com/Lincoln-Daniel-Day-Lewis/dp/B009AMANBA/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=libatthemov-20&linkId=aa2f093b9498ab921bd318b7f35afeab&linkCode=ktl>says: > > “I decided that the Constitution gives me war powers, but no one knows just > exactly what those powers are. Some say they don’t exist. I don’t know. I > decided I needed them to exist to uphold my oath to protect the > Constitution”. Lincoln > <http://www.amazon.com/Real-Lincoln-Abraham-Agenda-Unnecessary/dp/0761526463/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=libatthemov-20&linkId=4fd2215aaa51125609df419343c54805&linkCode=ktl>essentially > > pretended that there was a provision in the constitution that allowed him > to act legally, but there was no such provision, he made it up. When asked > what authority he had to do it he responds by saying that the people > re-elected him so it must have been constitutional. In addition to that he > essentially said that he had to violate the constitution in order to save > it. To be sure he was not the first to do this, but he helped to strengthen > a precedent that continues on to this day. > > I enjoyed Spielberg’s Lincoln > <http://www.amazon.com/Lincoln-Daniel-Day-Lewis/dp/B009AMANBA/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=libatthemov-20&linkId=d1cf0034d777bb31be94a5c41ecbe555&linkCode=ktl>, > > if only for the fact that he was portrayed, not as the God enthroned in his > temple on the banks of the Potomac, but as a nuanced (if only ever so > slightly) character. That is a step in the right direction if we are to > move away from seeing him as the American Deity, who sacrificed his life > for freedom, to who he really was, a tyrant who was adept at weaving a > legacy for himself. > > http://www.libertyatthemovies.com/lincoln/ > -- -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "PoliticalForum" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
