Abraham Lincoln - A Few Myths and Rumours As it had with Washington before him, the nation which Lincoln led bestowed upon him a kind of political sainthood and virtually deified him after his death. Such were the power of his character and the influence of his deeds. It is not surprising, then, that he quickly became the subject of numerous myths and rumors and the object of great debate. These pages discuss three issues concerning which myth, rumour, and debate about the man Lincoln have flourished, even to this day. Did Lincoln merely use abolition as a tactic of war, or did he truly hate slavery and wish its end? Was he an agnostic who viewed religion as a political expediency, or was he in the end a Christian? Was he the bastard child of a North Carolina man, or the son of Thomas Lincoln as widely believed?
Some of the historical records quoted or referenced here appear on both the page dealing with slavery and the page dealing with faith. Similarly, a discussion of the reliability of Lincoln's law partner William H. Herndon appears, with some variation, on both the page dealing with Lincoln's parternity and the page dealing with his faith.
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