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Abraham Lincoln was a Democrat?

Well, he would have been, if he were alive today.

How can I assert this outrageous claim?

Let's consider, for a moment, why the southern states seceded from the Union. The animosity between the south and the policies largely promoted in the north centered around two major ideas - the rights of the several states to make their own policies, and property rights (read: slavery). The southern states believed that the state itself was sovereign, and that each state had the right to make laws governing their own institutions. This is seen in Article 10 of the US Constitution, wherein it very explicitly says that those powers not expressly granted to the federal government by the Constitution are reserved for the states. This was included as a check to the reach of the federal government. The intent is to give the authority and rule of the several states and their constitutions a greater role within their own boundaries. While the Constitution has been amended several times, this provision (Article 10) has never been challenged or remitted, and is still in full force.

The other point of contention had to do with private property. Slaves at the time were viewed as private property, much in the same way any other investment or property is held today. We don't have that same thinking in our post-modern society. We understand that the rights of a human being are paramount to anything, and that human beings are all entitled to the same rights, regardless of skin color or anything else. But this was not the thinking 150 years ago, and people were concerned that if the federal government came and took their "property" in one case, what was to keep them from coming to take even more?

So it was an incredibly difficult time, to say the least, and the south, where industry and agriculture so relied upon slave labor, was afraid of the reach of the north. At very least, it meant an end to a lifestyle that - while in reality was experienced by very few - was dreamed of by many. It's not dissimilar to the idea that middle class folks in the US today are only one lucky break away from breaking into the ranks of the 1%. True? No. But a powerful dream, anyway. There's a reason why it's only 1%, after all.

But I digress.

Abraham Lincoln used the federal government to bring the wayward states back into line. In essence, he affirmed and asserted the right of the federal government to compel states to accept the Constitution (as amended). This bloody and devastating compulsion is the very thing that the political right is afraid of, today. So, my assertion stands - if Abraham Lincoln were alive today, he'd be a Democrat.

 :)

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