LL brings to my attention the fact that Ward Hill Lamon, Abe Lincoln’s close friend, former law partner, and personal body guard during the “Civil War” said this about the Fugitive Slave Law in 1862: “The Fugitive Slave Law was still in force [in Washington, D.C.] and sought to be enforced” by Lincoln. He should know: Lincoln appointed Lamon as the U.S. Marshal for the District of Columbia, a job that he held until 1865.
He said this in his book, Recollections of Abraham Lincoln, 1847-1865, p. xxix. The Lincoln cult generally dislikes or even hates Lamon because, even though his book is full of sappy praise for their “Father Abraham,” it also contains much truth-telling and historical accuracy regarding his old friend, law partner, and political benefactor, Lincoln. They hate him because his truth-telling sometimes contradicts their myth-making (er, I mean, their “Lincoln scholarship”).
This of course also contradicts the bogus claims of the chorus of barking hyenas who attempted to shout down Judge Napolitano on the Jon Stewart “Daily Show” recently. And lest I be accused of taking Lamon’s words “out of context” (a favorite red herring argument of Lincoln cultists), it is worth pointing out that there is no relevant “context” here. Judge Napolitano argued that the Fugitive Slave Law was enforced by federal judges and marshals during the Lincoln regime. Stewart’s “experts” adamantly denied that the law was enforced. They did not say that Abe did it “begrudgingly,” or that he was forced into it by political circumstances, or that he regretted it, felt bad about it, that it gave him migraines, etc., etc. They denied that the law was enforced, period. They were dead wrong and the judge was right.
1:44 pm on March 25, 2014
