In continuing our dual themes of the week—the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth and President Obama and his inauguration—here's an interesting article from Salon about how Lincoln might vote if he were alive today. Michael Lind looks at how everyone, from Obama to the GOP, are aligning themselves with Lincoln and his politics today. He looks at Lincoln's views on issues from his era and makes reasonable assumptions of how the former president might feel about today's pressing issues—many of which aren't as different as you might think from those of Lincoln's era.So are we all Lincolnians now? Maybe not. It's perfectly reasonable to ask what political movements and factions today would attract someone with Lincoln's political values. Lincoln was not King Arthur, living in a wholly alien society. Many of the issues of the mid-19th century—from the role of the federal government in the economy to whether America is a Christian nation to evolution vs. creationism—remain issues in the early 21st century.
Check out our new book, Lincoln's Veteran Volunteers Win the War, for additional reading on Lincoln's presidency as it related to four Union soldiers from the Hudson Valley and their "unflinching belief in home, family, country, and duty."
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