[johnjfryan]

I saw a series of documentaries on JFK a few yeas ago that marked the 50th anniversary of his assassination. Some of them contended that had he not been assassinated, he would have been remembered very differently. But for his murder, they said, the dark side of Camelot would have been much more to the fore and the hagiography would have been much harder to promulgate. I am wondering if there is any similar case that could be made out regarding Lincoln. I know this counter factual history is difficult, if not impossible, to speculate on, but I would like to hear informed speculation nonetheless.

[Brion McClanahan]

I think a case could be made that had Lincoln lived, he would have been as ineffective as Johnson in handling the Republican Party during Reconstruction and perhaps would have been viewed as a much different president.

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