10 Score Later, America Still Loves Lincoln

(NEWSER) - The bicentennial of Lincoln's birth will be celebrated Feb. 12, so expect endless tributes to the president beloved by ordinary citizens and historians alike. Unless, of course, you're south of the Mason-Dixon line, where anti-Lincoln views "aren't particularly radical," writes Alex Beam of the Boston Globe. Lincoln is viewed by many as a cynical politician who pushed the Civil War not to end slavery but to keep his party in office. More»

Says his enemies are 'full of rage at our success'

(NEWSER) - Bill O’Reilly vigorously defended his book, Killing Lincoln, yesterday, after the National Park Service lambasted it for historical inaccuracies . “Our enemies are full of rage at our success,” he said on his show. He said the book contained "four minor misstatements, all of which have been corrected" along with "two typeset errors," which he deemed "a pretty good record." He said the Washington Post’s report that the book wouldn’t be sold at the Fort Theater bookstore is inaccurate. "The media lies at will these days," he said. More»

Ford's Theatre superintendent writes scathing 4-page letter

(NEWSER) - Bill O'Reilly's book, Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever, has sold nearly a million copies and currently sits at #2 on the New York Times bestseller list . Only problem is, it's riddled with errors, according to a scathing review from the National Park Service bookstore at Ford’s Theatre, Salon reports. Here are a few alleged historical missteps:

• Killing Lincoln refers several times to the Oval Office. Little problem: The Oval Office wasn't built until 1909.

Grant descendant found pic in private album of Ulysses S.

(AP) - A photograph from a private album of Ulysses S. Grant may show Abraham Lincoln in front of the White House and could be the last image taken of him before he was assassinated, a collector believes. If it is indeed Lincoln, it would be the only known photo of the 16th president in front of the executive mansion and a rarity—only about 130 photos of him are known to exist. More»

'Monarchical' fears long prevented use of presidents

(NEWSER) - As Honest Abe's 200th birthday approaches, his likeness in our pockets is often disregarded. But the 100-year-old Lincoln penny is actually an American artistic milestone: Its debut marked the first appearance of a real person on a US coin, the New York Times reports. After the nation’s birth, putting a president on a coin “smacked of royalty,” says an expert, so George Washington opposed his own metallic representation. More»