The Legacy Of Abraham Lincoln - 1117 Words

Hofstadter is an author who criticizes many historians. In the book, â€Å"In The American Political Tradition† Hofstadter does nothing but criticize different historians. One particular historian he challenges in his writings is Abraham Lincoln. According to Hofstadter, Abraham Lincoln was â€Å"the exemplar of the self-made man,† he was a very humble man that easily pleased the people and easily attained very high political ranking, as well as success and a lot of power. Abraham Lincoln’s flaws as a president were often overlooked because many Americans felt as if he brought to life what is known to be the great American dream. Because of this, many of his good qualities were true, but yet exaggerated. In this chapter about Lincoln it was†¦show more content†¦Even though Abraham Lincoln was considered to be one of America’s greatest presidents, Hofstadter challenges that idea. Hofstadter also states that Lincoln was an advocate for the common ma n and believed in simplicity. – â€Å"It was precisely in his attainments as a common man that Lincoln felt himself to be remarkable, and in this light that he interpreted to the world the significance of his career.† Lincoln struggled with many conflicts as president. The most significant conflict that Hofstadter presents is the conflict of his balancing his religious beliefs and ultimate goals of becoming successful. â€Å"The motivating force in the mythology of success is ambition, which is closely akin to the cardinal Christian sin of pride†¦ How can an earnest man, a public figure living in a time of crisis, gratify his aspirations and yet remain morally whole? â€Å"He believes that making him known to be the â€Å"clean hero† was completely outlandish. Hofstadter’s biggest criticism about Lincoln is that â€Å"he was a follower and not a leader of public opinion.† One major example was the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, which sta ted that â€Å"contained no indictment of slavery, †¦ expressly omitted the loyal slave states from its terms †¦ [and] did not in fact free any slaves.† Hofstadter also criticizes Lincoln’s â€Å"embarrassing contradictions† when it came to the topic of slavery, where in a Chicago speech he presented he said