I'm saddened that we keep trying to make Lincoln into a saintly figure deserving of respect. His party hated our church. He was solely responsible for prosecuting an unjust war which took the lives of 1,000,000 Americans. We should be remembering Polk, not Lincoln.

True, Lincoln altered the Federalist System: Destroying the balance between the Federal Government and the State Governments.

However, Lincoln's Republican party bears little resemblance to the Republican party today. When Utah became a state, most Mormons became Democrats, something that worried the LDS Church Leaders, who feared that the Republican-controlled Congress would not grant statehood to a Democratic-controlled State. Hence the LDS Church Leaders effort to drum up more support for the Republican party.

On the other hand, the Democratic party, that the majority of Mormons embraced in the later part of the 19th Century and the first half of the 20th Century is not the same party that exists today. Having been a Utah Democrat (for more than a decade) they are (for the most part) intolerant and arrogant.

Utah Republicans run roughshod over many issues that I wish they would give greater consideration. Sometimes it seems that they don't know where they want to go, but they want to be the first ones there. But given a choice between that and being treated condescendingly by the Democrats, I will suffer the Republicans.

Lincoln shredded the Constitution, is responsible for more American deaths that any president in US history, signed the first anti-mormon legislation, and laid the banking system foundations for the federal reserve which is responsible for funding the largest death operations in US history. If a man beats his wife into submission for wanting to leave their consensual relationship, to the point at which she releents and ceases her efforts to leave, can it be said that he 'saved their marriage'? That's what Lincoln did for the US. Lincoln, America's Stalin. That's the truth.

While Lincoln had his flaws, as do we all, he certainly does not deserve the negative comments from previous commenters. While the writers of the constitution were able to come to concensus about everything in the constitution through compromise and negotiation they left the slavery question unresolved. This fell to the republicans and Lincoln to deal with. It is still abhorrent that this once great nation ever continuted the practice of slavery, we owe Lincoln a debt for ending it. That the question went beyond the slavery issue to states rights and regional economies no less lessens the importance of ending slavery.

Beware of those who judge the past by today's thinking. Also, beware of those who qualify the ends of their statements with "that's the truth".
History is made up of millions of little bits of circumstances etc. whom we tend to lump together in grand statements. Do I admire Lincoln? Yes. Was he perfect? No. Would I trade jobs? Absolutely not.

2 clarifications; 1. The number of deaths in the Civil War, was 625,000, or there abouts.
2. The war was started over unconstitutional tariffs
forced upon the South, by congress, via their money men in the North. P.S. the Slavery issue came up when Lincoln was losing. It was a political maneuver. And yes, Slavery was wrong, from day 1!

Lincoln was a good person who did the best he knew how.

As for those who judge him and others so harshly I hope the Lord doesn't judge you harshly for all the stupid things you may have done. I hope instead he notices the good you did and the intents of your heart.

Deseretian said that the Republicans hated the Mormons, and, in today's time (except in Utah) the Republicans still hate Mormons.

The South seceeded primarilly after Lincoln was inaugurated because of his anti-slavery stance. State Rights was the big issue of the civil war, not slavery. The War began when the state of South Carolina fired upon Fort Sumnter. If Lincoln had not fought the Confederate States then the United States that we live in today would not be what it is. Slavery would probably still be practiced in the Southern States and we would be a nation divided.

Those of you who are judging Lincoln fail to see what really was at stake in the Civil War. The abolishment of Slavery took place only in the SOUTHERN states, not in the northern states. That is one big reason why the civil rights movement of the 60s took place. The assassination of Lincoln basically destroyed any chances of his policies carring over. Because of Congress and it determination to punish the Confederate states is why many of laws in the South were created. Because of Congress the KKK came in to play. Lincoln's policies may have been better and changed the course of history if he had lived.

My guess is that most of the Founding Fathers who wrote the Constitution would have agreed with Lincoln and his prosecution of the war. Most of the Southern state delegates realized that Slavery was wrong but they did nothing about it for political reasons. They wanted to get this country off on the right foot and had the banned slavery from day one, the Constitution would have never been ratified and this country would not exist in its present form.

The founding Fathers would be more scared of Obama than Lincoln.