
This course will examine the different visions Americans have held about Lincoln from his own time to the present. While most Americans have regarded him as a “secular saint” and granted him a place in the pantheon of our nation’s greatest heroes, others have ridiculed him as a country bumpkin, or decried him as a dictator. Most contemporary historians see the “Great Emancipator” as the foremost advocate for African American freedom and equality, but others view him as a racist and hypocrite. We will sift through the kaleidoscopic images of Lincoln as they evolved over the years, and assess which views are valid, and which are unfair.