Loathing Lincoln: An American Tradition from the Civil War to the Present

John McKee Barr

Louisiana State University Press, 2014, 472 pp., $35.95

ISBN: 978-0-8071-5383-3

Image courtesy of amazon.com

Abraham Lincoln is one of America’s most beloved presidents, or at least in this day and age.  Many times, people forget how loathed Lincoln was even during the Reconstruction period and in the present day.  It’s a subject we, as Civil War students and Historians, look into very little.  John McKee Barr takes it upon himself to write a book which brings light to a subject we rarely look into: the people and reasoning behind the loathing of Abraham Lincoln.  Throughout the narrative, the reader will get a look into the world of the people who worked to vilify and denounce America’s most beloved president.  In Loathing Lincoln, some questions have been answered and the material which has been brought forth is amazing.

                John McKee Barr is a professor of history at Lone Star College in Kingwood.  In 2011, he was the recipient of the Hay-Nicolay Dissertation Prize by the Abraham Lincoln Association and the Abraham Lincoln Institute.  He was also honored with the John King award from the University of Houston in 2010.  Much of his work has centered around Lincoln’s Assassination and the overall negative feelings toward Lincoln.  He teaches a variety of courses including The Emancipators: Charles Darwin, Abraham Lincoln and the Making of the Modern World.

                When I first heard about Loathing Lincoln, I was intrigued.  Those who have been studying the American Civil War have always been told about the wonderful life of the great emancipator and the deeds which he had accomplished.  In fact, there are many who would argue that we are force fed the positive nature of Lincoln.  Loathing Lincoln is one of the first books which I have read that tackles the subject of the people who did not care for the man, not only during the Civil War, but during Reconstruction all the way to the present day.  John McKee Barr tackles this subject through all of the eras from 1858 all the way to 2012.  In his introduction, he even states that some of Lincoln’s legacy dies down until the Roosevelt era where he is re-introduced to the American populace.  Some of the most fascinating work comes in the chapter which deals with the post-World War II Civil Rights era where he highlights some of major issues with Lincoln himself.  Lerone Bennet, a harsh critic of Lincoln during that era, even mentions that Lincoln was a large part of America’s racial problems.  The narrative is fascinating and reads quite smoothly.  Some of the writings of people who have loathed Lincoln through the years are thrilling and shocking to read.

                I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Abraham Lincoln and his effect on the Civil War.  This was a book that needed to be written.  The market is oversaturated with praise of the great emancipator but we never get the outlook on what Lincoln was like to the people who hated him.  John McKee Barr should be praised for the work he has placed here in bringing to the forefront a subject which we most desperately needed.  Lincoln was not loved by all, even to this day, and it is refreshing that we have an academic study on the mindset of those people.      

War on the Waters: The Union and Confederate Navies, 1861-1865

James M. McPherson

University of North Carolina Press, 2012, 278 pp. , $35.00

ISBN: 978-1-4696-2284-2

Image courtesy of amazon.com               

There is no argument that the naval contributions to the American Civil War are largely ignored in the realm of Civil War academia.  The few volumes which contribute to these discussions are often times narrowly focused and tend to feel constrained by their own subject matter.  In James M. McPherson’s War on the Waters, that feeling is overcome by the complete treatment which the author gives his subject.  In this one book, McPherson gives us a look into the world of both the Union and Confederate Navies which stands as work which fills in the gaps of many Civil War libraries.

                James M. McPherson needs no introduction.  He is the author of the great one volume work on the American Civil War Battle Cry of Freedom.  He has also authored many other works including Tried by War, The Mighty Scourge, and What They Fought For, 1861-1865.  He is the George Henry Davis ’86 Professor of History Emeritus at Princeton University and is one of the most respected names in the annals of Civil War academia.  He is also the winner of the Pulitzer Prize and two Lincoln Prizes.  This work, War on the Waters, is also part of the Littlefield History of the Civil War series being printed by the University of North Carolina Press.

                There are a lot of things which I can say about this book, but one of the most important things which stood out to me as a reader was the even temperedness of the work.  McPherson gives us a look into both the Union and Confederate Navies and explains their organizations and the government involvement in the departments.  He gives a full blown narrative on the very thing Civil War students and readers have been asking for.  Instead of bogging down the narrative with chapters on the minutia, he uses the events of the war to bring out the details which are so very important to a work such as this.  Because of this, the narrative flows quite smoothly and he brings about the charm and reality in this work as he did with his ever popular Battle Cry of Freedom.  Throughout the text, there are a great many maps and photographs which are placed to aid the reader and they are a welcome addition.  These elements not only bring about a book which is accessible for Civil War students, it is a book which is accessible to the entire genre and should be welcomed as an addition to Battle Cry of Freedom. 

                I highly recommend this book to everyone interested in the American Civil War.  Mr. McPherson has outdone himself this time by bringing this often overlooked subject into a more cohesive narrative.  I feel as though the work and research placed in this book is top notch and should be used as an example for the ages to come.  Most importantly, this book adds a great deal of depth to any library.  Mr. McPherson should be praised for the work he has done here in his already exceptional career in Civil War writing.