Comment Re:George Washington (Score 2) 818
The United States (or, more accurately, "These United States" was more common in that era) did not invent slavery, but we did fight a very bloody war to end it. The fact that the founders engaged in a deplorable, yet common agricultural practice in the late 18th century does not invalidate their accomplishments or ideas.
In fact, it was the very wordings of our founding documents that Lincoln used to argue against chattel slavery. In that light, Lincoln was not a radical revolutionary, he was in fact a conservative who argued that we return to our ideals.