Lincoln Project Does Not Understand Abraham Lincoln

Paradoxical as it might seem, the greatness of Abraham Lincoln has actually been obscured by his posthumous elevation to the rank of stone-hewn demigod. The man described by Leo Tolstoy is the one most Americans imagine when the name of our sixteenth president is invoked — the civic savior sent to water the soil of American liberty with the blood of his martyrdom:

This is all more or less true, even if Tolstoy gets a bit carried away with talk of “divine power.” Lincoln is not only the greatest ever American president, he is the greatest ever American, and the greatest leader in the history of world politics, to boot. The nations of the earth have reason to look with envy upon the United States when they reflect upon the providential and miraculous fact that we were led through our greatest trials and tribulations by such a man as this.

About the Author

Cameron Hilditch

Cameron Hilditch was a 2020-2021 William F. Buckley Fellow in Political Journalism at National Review Institute.

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Abraham Lincoln

Paradoxical as it might seem, the greatness of Abraham Lincoln has actually been obscured by his posthumous elevation to the rank of stone-hewn demigod. The man described by Leo Tolstoy is the one most Americans imagine when the name of our sixteenth president is invoked — the civic savior sent to water the soil of American liberty with the blood of his martyrdom:

This is all more or less true, even if Tolstoy gets a bit carried away with talk of “divine power.” Lincoln is not only the greatest ever American president, he is the greatest ever American, and the greatest leader in the history of world politics, to boot. The nations of the earth have reason to look with envy upon the United States when they reflect upon the providential and miraculous fact that we were led through our greatest trials and tribulations by such a man as this.