President Abraham Lincoln

Kentucky governor Thomas E. Bramlette disagreed with Lincoln over many major issues, including the enlistment of African American soldiers. However, after Lincoln's assassination the governor recognized the enduring legacy of Lincoln's policies. Bramlette said, "We may differ with him, and have differed with him, but when the judgment of future events has come, we found we were differing blindly; that he was right and we were wrong . . . experience and time has demonstrated that his was the only line of salvation for our country." Courtesy of the Kentucky Historical Society.