Hey Stephen, I do not dispute that Lincoln pushed it. I realize that many folks out there, including yourself obviously, are very much in the anti-Lincoln camp and will go stiff and horizontal as such.

Well, so be it.

I think that AL's perspective, his mission if you will, was to keep the Union together whatever the cost. It certainly did have a huge cost--not only to the South, but even more so to the North--but he managed to pull it off.

That's why a good many historians still regard GW and AL as the 2 greatest American prezes--the first for creating the country and the second for keeping it together.

But cheer up, the historical past, the part you hate, is rapidly fading away. Pretty soon guys like us will be passing wind in old folks homes ranting about stuff that nobody cares about anymore, not that they do now.

It occurs to me, if Jeff Davis had stood firm with the old flag, he might have become a truly great president, maybe even on the level of Lincoln. He certainly had the chops. But he was just a tad short in the loyalty department.