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A Just and Generous Nation

Abraham Lincoln and the Fight for American Opportunity
Dec 12, 2015kneice rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Great book explaining Lincoln's careful and well-thought-out approach to the Emancipation Proclamation as a tool to advance his American Dream of equal opportunity to participate in the economy. The South was basically aristocratic, and that in turn was recreating the English system over which the Revolution was fought. Lincoln thought slavery had to stay in its place or be destroyed by war. And that is what the Emancipation Proclamation eventually did. Further the authors do a deft job of equating Lincoln's economic dream of a nation with a strong middle class as its anchor with later actions by TR, Wilson, FDR and Clinton. The war is still not settled as modern aristocratic CEOs and overly aggressive entrepreneurs promote the same limited government approach (with hints of Social Darwinism in it) to suppress unions, voting rights, cut services and wage wars on credit. There's so much more. Highly recommended. Very readable. History coming alive.