With his latest work, James Oakes, two-time Lincoln Prize winner (The Radical and the Republican and Freedom National) has produced another thought-provoking and timely work. His highly original Crooked Path to Abolition portrays Abraham Lincoln as a sincere, albeit cautious, anti-slavery politician who operates within the limits—and possibilities—of the U. S. Constitution.
Lincoln has endured some tough revisionism on slavery and race in recent months, both in print statue that long stood in Boston. In the recent CNN documentary , several talking heads all but labeled him a white supremacist. (Full disclosure: I was a historical consultant and on-air commentator for the project.)
