"Abraham Lincoln is an American icon. As 'Honest Abe' and the 'Great Emancipator,' today he is viewed as a demigod whose grand virtues far outweigh his miniscule human failings. Yet he wasn't always viewed this way. During his presidency, he was feared and hated, not only by Southerners, but also by his political rivals, the Democrats, and to a surprising degree, by the rank and file of his own Republican Party. They recognized that he had become a brutal dictator and was turning the USA into a permanently militarized nation. Today, much of this has been swept under the rug, but through this investigation of three Northern states that opposed Abraham Lincoln's policies, and one state that fervently supported him, the true reality will be kept alive"--Provided by publisher.