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Dan Bradbury
Why was Abraham Lincoln considered the best president?
I'm not sure history has rendered such an absolute verdict. There is some debate within the top five (Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Wilson, F.D. R.). But, Lincoln clearly is one of the best and, I happen to think, one of modern history's finest leaders. It might be tempting to say that this is American patriotism, but I generally eschew such nonsense and try to focus on achievement. I'm a classical, intellectual patriot: I take pride in my nation's progress, the great Constitution and the achievements of my people. I don't say pledges or sing songs. That's silly, IMHO.

亞伯拉罕·林肯為何被看作是最好的總統(tǒng)？
我不確定歷史真的給出了這樣一個絕對的定論。在最佳總統(tǒng)的討論中，通常有五位總統(tǒng)（華盛頓、杰斐遜、林肯、威爾遜、富蘭克林·德拉諾·羅斯福）是人們爭論的焦點。但林肯無疑是其中之一，而且我認為他是現(xiàn)代歷史上最偉大的領(lǐng)袖之一。有人可能會認為這只是美國的愛國主義情緒在作祟，但我通常不會陷入這種無意義的爭論，而是專注于實際成就。我是一個傳統(tǒng)的、理性的愛國者：我為我國的進步、偉大的憲法以及人民的成就感到自豪。我不會去宣誓效忠或者唱國歌，在我看來，那些都是愚蠢的行為。

During my first attempt at going to college, I took a government philosophy class. We were discussing something about the Civil war. At that point, my professor asked us, "If the only way to save a nation was to secretly break the laws of the nation, would you do that." I said, "yes". No hesitation. (I don't and never have believed in absolute rules)
She explained that one of the hallmarks of greatness in a leader oftentimes is in understanding that there's "the letter of the law" and the "spirit of the law" and every now and then circumstances arise when a leader is put in an untenable position of having to chose X option which results in a great harm, or Y option that results in them breaking their own moral code but achieving great results.

在我大學(xué)的第一堂政治哲學(xué)課上，我們討論了有關(guān)內(nèi)戰(zhàn)的話題。那時，我的教授問我們：“如果唯一能拯救國家的方式是秘密違反國家的法律，你會這么做嗎？”我毫不猶豫地回答：“會”。（我不相信也從未相信過絕對規(guī)則）
她解釋說，一個偉大領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者的標志之一，通常在于理解“法律的字面意義”和“法律的精神”之間的區(qū)別。有時候，領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者會面臨不得不在兩個選項之間做出選擇的困境：選擇X可能導(dǎo)致巨大的傷害，而選擇Y雖然違背了他們自己的道德準則，但卻能帶來偉大的成果。

The danger is in setting a precedent for other leaders to follow. This is why -- rightly -- we expect our leaders to be "letter of the law" people. But Lincoln wasn't one of those people. He broke the law . . . blatantly! And with great results. The reason why we revere him is because he broke ONLY those laws that were absolutely necessary to saving the republic while going no further. Many mere mortals might have been tempted to just say, "Look, I'm all this awesomeness, so clearly I should be the entire government." ("I am the Senate!")

這樣做的危險在于為其他領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者樹立了先例。這就是為什么我們期望我們的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者嚴格遵守“法律的字面意義”。但林肯并不是這樣的人。他公然違反了法律，并且取得了顯著的成果。我們尊敬他，因為他只違反了那些為了拯救共和國所必需違反的法律，沒有越界。許多人可能會被誘惑說：“看，我這么強大，所以我應(yīng)該代表整個政府?！保ā拔揖褪菂⒆h院！”）

The USA had two leaders that potentially had that level of power. Washington and Lincoln. We'll never know how Lincoln would have panned out as a leader post bellum. I happen to think he would've walked away, head held high. But while in power we know that he quietly broke a number of laws to ensure that the nation endured. Frankly, I'm fine with that. I'm not a "letter of the law" kind of guy.

美國歷史上有兩位領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人可能擁有過如此巨大的權(quán)力：華盛頓和林肯。我們無法得知，如果林肯在戰(zhàn)后繼續(xù)擔(dān)任領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者，他的表現(xiàn)會如何。我個人認為，他可能會自豪地退出政壇。但在他執(zhí)政期間，我們知道他悄悄地打破了一些法律，以確保國家的存續(xù)。坦白講，我對這種做法是接受的。我并不是那種死守法律條文的人。

Most people are this way too. We struggle with opposing aspects of our nature, but come down solidly on the side of Lincoln's decisions over allowing this great nation to fall to pieces and permit the South to endure as a slave-owning entity for at least another generation (where, I believe, it would have fallen apart into its own civil war).

很多人其實都有這樣的傾向。我們在天性中掙扎，內(nèi)心存在著對立的兩面，但最終我們堅定地站在林肯這一邊，支持他的決策，而不是讓這個偉大的國家分崩離析，也不是讓南方繼續(xù)作為一個擁有奴隸的實體再延續(xù)至少一代人的時間（我認為，如果那樣的話，南方最終也會因為內(nèi)戰(zhàn)而崩潰）。

Lincoln didn't just do what he did carelessly or haphazardly. He moaned over every decision but always took the heavy responsibility on his own and made decisions for the betterment of the republic. Lincoln could have walked away from the war at any time. The Republic hated him during the war. He was reviled on BOTH sides of the conflict. He persevered and saved the nation from falling into two. He made generally good strategic decisions, he was an good speaker, he had charisma, he could see through political bullshit and -- most importantly -- he wielded the scalpel of political chicanery in a way that would make Machiavelli weep, while never falling to the temptation of going too far with it.

林肯并不是不加考慮或隨意行事的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者。他對每一個決策都深思熟慮，盡管內(nèi)心掙扎，但總是獨自承擔(dān)起重大的責(zé)任，為了共和國的福祉做出決策。他本可以在任何時候退出戰(zhàn)爭，但即使在戰(zhàn)爭期間被共和國的人民所憎恨，即使在沖突雙方受到辱罵，他還是堅持了下來，拯救了國家免于分裂的命運。他做出了大體上明智的戰(zhàn)略決策，他是一個出色的演說家，擁有非凡的魅力，能夠洞悉政治上的虛假和欺騙——最重要的是——他在運用政治手段時極為巧妙，其手法之高明足以讓馬基雅維利感到欽佩，同時他從未因誘惑而逾越應(yīng)有的界限。

Scott Tyson
What exactly is it about Abraham Lincoln that everybody considers him to be the greatest American president of all time?
Having studied Lincoln for decades I would think that the answer is self-evident. But I get that not everyone has immersed themselves as deeply in the history as I have so I will attempt to provide a succinct, accurate and readable explanation as to why Abraham Lincoln was arguably the greatest president in American history.

為什么大家都認為亞伯拉罕·林肯是有史以來最偉大的美國總統(tǒng)？
我研究了幾十年的林肯，我認為答案顯而易見。但我明白，不是每個人都像我一樣深入地研究過歷史，所以我將嘗試給出一個簡潔、準確且易于理解的解釋，說明為什么亞伯拉罕·林肯可以說是美國歷史上最偉大的總統(tǒng)。

First and foremost would be the fact that the United States of America might not exist today if not for Lincoln's leadership during the worst crisis in the nation's history. Other presidents have assumed the office under dire circumstances, but nothing quite compares to what Lincoln was confronted with when he was inaugurated on March 4, 1861.

首先，如果林肯在國家歷史上最嚴重的危機期間沒有展現(xiàn)出卓越的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)力，今天可能就不存在美國了。雖然其他總統(tǒng)也是在嚴峻的情況下上任的，但沒有人面臨過林肯在1861年3月4日就職時所遭遇的挑戰(zhàn)。

Between the time he was elected, and the time he was sworn in as president, seven slave states had seceded from the unx, seized federal government property, and declared themselves to be an independent republic. The sectional tensions that had been building for decades had finally reached a boiling point and were about to explode. And although there were other issues contributing to that tension, it was slavery that ultimately made peaceful compromise impossible.

在他當(dāng)選總統(tǒng)和宣誓就職之間的這段時間里，七個蓄奴州已經(jīng)宣布脫離聯(lián)邦，奪取了聯(lián)邦政府的財產(chǎn)，并自稱為一個獨立的共和國。幾十年來一直在積累的地區(qū)緊張關(guān)系終于達到了臨界點，即將爆發(fā)。盡管還有其他因素加劇了這種緊張關(guān)系，但最終是奴隸制問題使得和平妥協(xié)變得不可能。

It would be impossible to overstate just how magnificently Abraham Lincoln rose to the challenge of saving the country from fragmenting into a collection of perpetually squabbling and belligerent quasi nation-states. Because that would have been our fate if the slave holders rebellion had been successful. Instead of two countries, there would have likely been a half-dozen or so. And without Lincoln at the helm, that's almost certainly what would have happened.
The only real competition he has for that top spot comes from George Washington and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. But I did promise to be succinct so that argument will have to wait for another day…

林肯在防止國家分裂成一系列爭吵不休、好戰(zhàn)的準國家方面的挑戰(zhàn)中表現(xiàn)得多么出色，怎么強調(diào)都不為過。如果奴隸主的叛亂成功了，那將是我們的命運,且不是分裂成兩個國家，而可能是分裂成五六個國家。如果沒有林肯的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)，這種情況幾乎肯定會發(fā)生。
在最偉大的總統(tǒng)這一稱號上，唯一能與他競爭的是喬治·華盛頓和富蘭克林·德拉諾·羅斯福。但我承諾過要簡潔，所以關(guān)于他們之間的比較，我們改天再討論……

Douglas C Miller MD,PhD
Why do some people consider Abraham Lincoln the best president?
You have multiple answers across a spectrum. I suggest that it isn't "some" people who think Lincoln was our best President, it is likely a majority of those who are informed about American history and for the uninformed public his reputation is so large that it probably a majority of them as well.

為什么有人認為亞伯拉罕·林肯是最好的總統(tǒng)呢？
這個問題有多種答案。但我認為，認為林肯是最好的總統(tǒng)的不僅僅是“某些人”，很可能是大多數(shù)了解美國歷史的人。對于那些不太了解歷史的公眾來說，林肯的名聲如此之大，他們中的大多數(shù)人可能也這么認為。
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For the informed group, you have elicited answers long and short as to why he is ranked that way: he led the nation through its greatest crisis, the one that threatened its very existence, and through his force of will, masterful political skills, and learned strategic wisdom achieved the victory for which he aimed, restoration of the unx and rejection of the idea of secession. He was responsible for making emancipation of the slaves the official policy of the US government, first as an expedient of war, and then by pushing through amendments to the Constitution making it established law. (By the way the amendments also establish beyond argument that if you were born here, or born to American citizen parents, you are a citizen--period. This still isn't true for citizenship in many other nations.) He was, indubitably, a master politician; he came across as a "rube" but he didn't get the Republican nomination by being ignorant or foolish, and he didn't manage the war by being ignorant or just dictatorial or foolish.

對于了解歷史的人來說，答案已經(jīng)很清楚了：林肯領(lǐng)導(dǎo)國家度過了其歷史上最嚴重的危機，這場危機威脅到了國家的生存。憑借他的意志力、卓越的政治技巧和深思熟慮的戰(zhàn)略智慧，他實現(xiàn)了他的目標——恢復(fù)聯(lián)邦和拒絕分裂的理念。他推動解放奴隸成為美國政府的官方政策，最初是作為戰(zhàn)爭的權(quán)宜之計，后來通過憲法修正案使其成為確立的法律。（順便說一下，這些修正案也明確了，如果你在這里出生，或者你的父母是美國人，你就是公民——這一點在許多其他國家的公民身份中并不成立。）他無疑是一位政治大師；他看起來像是一個“鄉(xiāng)巴佬”，但他并不是因為無知或愚蠢才獲得共和黨提名的，他也不是通過無知或?qū)Ｖ苹蛴薮纴砉芾響?zhàn)爭的。

He learned from his mistakes, particularly in choices of generals, and he had the wisdom to stick with generals who were in bad odor politically, including Grant (accused of being drunk at Shiloh, but Lincoln said "I can't spare him, he fights!") and Sherman (who seemed to have a "nervous breakdown" early in the war but emerged as Grant's right hand and a master tactician in his own right once Grant was called east). He certainly centralized a lot of power in the central government, but this is inevitable in any war, much less a huge civil war. (Look at the centralization of power in Washington that accompanied the US entry into WW I, and then again under FDR in WW II; they make what Lincoln did seem trivial.)

他從錯誤中學(xué)習(xí)，尤其是在選擇將軍方面，他有智慧堅持使用在政治上名聲不佳的將軍，比如格蘭特（被指控在希洛戰(zhàn)役中醉酒，但林肯說“我不能沒有他，他能打！”）和謝爾曼（戰(zhàn)爭初期似乎有“神經(jīng)崩潰”，但后來成為格蘭特的得力助手，一旦格蘭特被召回東部，他自己也成了一位戰(zhàn)術(shù)大師）。這是當(dāng)然的，他把很多權(quán)力集中在中央政府，但在任何戰(zhàn)爭中這都是不可避免的，更不用說是一場巨大的內(nèi)戰(zhàn)了。（看看美國進入第一次世界大戰(zhàn)時華盛頓的權(quán)力集中程度，再看看在羅斯福領(lǐng)導(dǎo)下的第二次世界大戰(zhàn)；它們讓林肯所做的顯得微不足道了。）

He endured personal tragedies, including the loss to disease of one of his sons during the war, and there are innumerable accounts of how he felt the pain of the casualties the war produced, but he had the internal strength to overcome his tendency to depression to keep leading the nation, where others might have figuratively or literally curled up into a ball and retreated from life.

他經(jīng)歷了個人悲劇，包括戰(zhàn)爭期間因疾病失去了一位兒子。據(jù)無數(shù)記載，他深感戰(zhàn)爭帶來的傷痛，但他憑借堅強的內(nèi)心力量，克服了抑郁的傾向，繼續(xù)領(lǐng)導(dǎo)國家。而在類似情況下，其他人可能早已退縮，甚至放棄了生活。

He wrote masterful speeches. This is an important part of leadership, one that we miss sorely today in the Trump era. He wrote his own, something that almost never happens now. There is a reason the second inaugural and the Gettysburg address are remembered this many years after his death--the words of no other President, except perhaps for Washington's Farewell Address and a few of FDR's speeches (or excerpts therefrom) are remembered this way.

他撰寫了精湛的演講稿。這是領(lǐng)導(dǎo)力的一個重要部分，也是我們在特朗普時代非常懷念的。他自己寫演講稿，這幾乎從未發(fā)生過。他的第二次就職演說和葛底斯堡演說之所以在他死后這么多年仍然被記住，是有原因的——除了華盛頓的告別演說和羅斯福的一些演講（或其中的摘錄）之外，沒有其他總統(tǒng)的話語以這種方式被記住。

At the end, of course, his murder put a halo on top of all of his other accomplishments.
His achievements, so enumerated, exceed those of any other US President. FDR's leadership through Depression and WW II come close, perhaps, but neither of those crises were as likely to destroy the nation as the Civil War. Washington was one of the great founders of the nation, and he chaired and managed the Constitutional Convention, but that was all before he was President. His greatest action as President was not running for a third term; if one thinks strictly of what he did in office, he doesn't come close to Lincoln.
So the conclusion for informed people who know US history has to be that Lincoln was our finest President to date.

當(dāng)然，最后，他的遇刺給他的其他成就加上了光環(huán)。
所列舉的他的成就超過了任何其他美國總統(tǒng)。羅斯福在大蕭條和第二次世界大戰(zhàn)中的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)力或許接近，但這兩個危機都不像內(nèi)戰(zhàn)那樣有可能摧毀國家。華盛頓是這個國家的偉大創(chuàng)始人之一，他主持和管理了制憲會議，但這都是他在成為總統(tǒng)之前的事。他作為總統(tǒng)的最偉大舉措之一就是沒有尋求第三次連任；如果只考慮他在任內(nèi)所做的事情，他與林肯相比還差得遠。
所以，對那些熟悉美國歷史的人來說，可以肯定的結(jié)論是，林肯是我們至今最優(yōu)秀的總統(tǒng)。

Anonymous
According to most people, he was a great president.
When elected, Lincoln was this tall gangly lawyer from Illinois with a couple years experience in the House of Reps, and as the previous president, James Buchanan, left office before Lincoln was sworn in, states had already begun seceding. Rumor has it Buchanan declared he was "the last president of the United States" upon leaving the role.

在大多數(shù)人看來，他是一位偉大的總統(tǒng)。
林肯當(dāng)選時，他是一位來自伊利諾伊州的高大瘦削的律師，曾在眾議院任職幾年。在林肯宣誓就職之前，前總統(tǒng)詹姆斯·布坎南已經(jīng)離任，一些州已經(jīng)開始宣布脫離聯(lián)邦。有傳言說布坎南在離職時宣稱自己是“美利堅合眾國的最后一任總統(tǒng)”。

Most people thought nothing of Lincoln at first, and assumed he would be a figurehead, but he basically told everyone how this whole Civil War thing was gonna go (they would be fair, civil and forgiving if they just said sorry), and put all of the greatest political leaders on his team (including his rivals), overseeing countless failures on the part of his men and army officers who squandered opportunities for victory, all the while being patient and building the right team to achieve their goals of keeping America together (although millions of lives were lost in the effort).

一開始，大多數(shù)人對林肯并不抱有期望，認為他不過是個傀儡。然而，他明確告訴大家這場內(nèi)戰(zhàn)將如何進行（只要他們道歉，政府就會公平、文明且寬容），并將所有最優(yōu)秀的政治領(lǐng)袖（包括他的競爭對手）納入他的團隊。在此期間，盡管他手下的士兵和軍官屢次錯失勝利機會，遭遇無數(shù)失敗，但他始終保持耐心，不斷組建合適的團隊，最終實現(xiàn)了維持美國統(tǒng)一的目標，盡管這一過程犧牲了無數(shù)人的生命。
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He had a great personality and was very empathetic towards others. Here's a relevant quote from him:
"Why, madam, do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?"

他有著迷人的個性，對他人充滿同情。他曾經(jīng)說過一句著名的話：
“夫人，當(dāng)我把敵人變成朋友時，不就等于消滅了他們嗎？”

He was often referred to as ugly but people gravitated towards him for his presence, he was extremely well read and always had a good story to share and he was an all around brilliant man who always sought out the good in those around him. His speeches are often regarded as some of the greatest speeches in history, perhaps the greatest in American history. Many of his writings and quotes are scattered throughout the internet and are great reads. Certainly the favorite president of myself and many others.

盡管經(jīng)常被人說長得不好看，但人們卻被他的個人魅力所吸引。他學(xué)識淵博，總有精彩的故事分享，是一個全方位出色的人，總是試圖發(fā)現(xiàn)周圍人的優(yōu)點。他的演講被視為歷史上最偉大的演講之一，甚至可能是美國歷史上最出色的。他的許多著作和名言廣泛流傳于網(wǎng)絡(luò)，讀來令人深思。毫無疑問，他是我和許多人的最喜愛的總統(tǒng)。

So he was a good person, a great leader and a crowd favorite. As far as his actual presidency, he did far more in his 4 years in office for the survival of the country than perhaps any other president, against the worst of odds. I think that's good.

因此，他不僅是個好人，也是出色的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者，深受群眾的喜愛。在他的四年任期內(nèi)，面對極其不利的局勢，他為國家的生存做出的貢獻或許超過了任何其他總統(tǒng)，我覺得這非常了不起。

亞伯拉罕·林肯是個好總統(tǒng)嗎?