President Abraham Lincoln

With all this hate raging against President Abraham Lincoln, I'd like to say a few words in his favor.

People forget that in Lincoln's day, slavery was pretty much the norm, even though people were making commendable efforts to eliminate it. For some people, this was just how it was and had always been. Some likely figured, "Why fight it?"

Lincoln himself did not approve of slavery by any means. He wouldn't let this practice spread to other states if he could help it, but he was also prudent enough not to just get rid of this practice altogether. Given his situation, he had to tread VERY lightly and not do anything too hasty. If he eliminated slavery, he would lose a great deal of support, and with the Civil War raging, he needed all the support he could get. 

This made him like a kind of surgeon treating cancer. He did his best to keep the cancer from spreading further, but the cancer itself was too close to vital tissue to simply "cut out." 

It was a difficult time for anybody, least of all the President. It had to be incredibly tough to be that one thread that kept the Union from falling apart, and losing his own son while all this was going on didn't make his situation any easier. 

When he was assassinated, even the South had to admit that John Wilkes Booth had done them no favors. Booth thought he was being a hero, when in actuality he made a dire situation so much worse. 

I'm not saying Lincoln was perfect. He was human just like the rest of us. Nevertheless, I firmly believe the man did the best he knew how in such circumstances, and therefore he deserves loads more respect than people are giving him these days. 

Don't be so quick to judge, people. For all we know, the people of the future could very well look back on our day, look back on us, with disgust and contempt.