You know, if Abraham Lincoln hadn't been so belligerent, the southern states might never have seceded, or having seceded, might never have formed a new union. His insistence on throwing his weight around drove the south to disassociate with the north, and to further band together - as the 13 colonies did - for defense of their soil.

The more I learn about Lincoln, and the more I think about what I know, the more he descends in my estimation...and he hasn't been very high in my estimation since I was in high school.