Abraham Lincoln in the Post-Heroic Era：History and Memory in Late Twentieth-Century America

Bythe1920s,AbrahamLincolnhadtranscendedthelingeringcontroversiesoftheCivilWartobecomeasecularsaint,honoredintheNorthandSouthalike.ThroughouttheGreatDepressionandWorldWarII,LincolnwasinvokedasareminderofAmerica'sstrengthandwisdom,acommandingidealagainstwhichwearycitizenscouldseetheirownhardshipsinperspective.ButasBarrySchwartzrevealsin"AbrahamLincolninthePost-HeroicEra",thoseyearsrepresenttheapogeeofLincoln'sprestige.ThedecadesfollowingWorldWarIIbroughtradicalchangestoAmericanculture,changesthatledtothediminishingofallheroes-Lincolnnotleastamongthem.AsSchwartzexplains,growingsympathyfortheplightofracialminorities,disenchantmentwiththeAmericanstate,andanintensifyingcelebrationofdiversityallcontributedtoacultureinwhichneitherLincolnnoranysinglepersoncouldbeaheroicsymbolforallAmericans.Paradoxically,however,theveryculturethatmadeLincolnanobjectofindifference,questioning,criticism,andevenridiculewasacultureofunprecedentedbeneficenceandinclusion,whereracial,ethnic,andreligiousgroupstreatedoneanothermorefairlyandjustlythaneverbefore.Thus,astheprestigeoftheGreatEmancipatorshrank,hislegacyofequalitycontinuedtoflourish.SchwartzdocumentsthedeclineofLincoln'spublicstanding,askingthroughoutwhetherthereisanypathbackfromthispost-heroicera.CananewgenerationofAmericansembraceagaintheirepicpast,includinggreatleaderswhomtheyknowtobeflawed?Asthe2009LincolnBicentennialapproaches,readerswilldiscoverhereastirringreminderthatLincoln,asaman,stillhasmuchtosaytous-aboutourpast,ourpresent,andourpossiblefutures.