Zócalo Public Square

Surely, every debate about Abraham Lincoln has been had, and every story told—from his childhood splitting rails and his battle with depression to his cabinet of former rivals and his assassination. Yet over 150 years after Lincoln’s death, new details about Honest Abe still emerge to surprise us—and even stir up some contemporary controversy. A new exploration of a little-known 1864 episode shines a light on Lincoln's authoritarian side and his manipulative relationship with the press. With the Union mired in a bloody war with no end in sight, two New York newspapers published a presidential proclamation declaring an unpopular new draft. Lincoln declared it a forgery and shut down both outlets, threatening and imprisoning telegraph operators, editors, and reporters. But ultimately, there was more truth to the proclamation than Lincoln admitted, and the real culprits were never brought to justice. What lessons can this history teach us about the relationship between politics, media, and national security in t