The McPhersonish view of ACW history as finished, complete, and ready for expert summation and packaging is not only foolish but represents an attack on history as a discipline, a disincentive to do history and an incitement to do historical literature instead.
This week's major Lincoln discovery does not surprise me in the least:
The conventional wisdom is that Lincoln owned no property at New Salem, near Petersburg, and that his home in Springfield was the first improved property he ever purchased. ...[I]t was always thought and taught that, while at New Salem, Lincoln was somewhere between being a backwoods drifter and a responsible, important person.Well, it seems Lincoln owned a house, a horse, and some surveying equipment. And he had a bankruptcy that caused them to be inventoried. Please note my emphasis in this quote from the discoverers of his property:
"The primary documents haven't been fully tapped," Mazrim said. "It's the assumption that all of the documents have been read that holds new research back. The same holds true for the archaeological record. We need to revisit primary sources.Which means there will be even more major Lincoln discoveries in the future. Read it all here.
