Abraham Lincoln can be the hero of American history in one conversation and the villain in the next. We hear the “dictator” claims all the time: suppressed free speech, abused executive power, ignored the Constitution. So we decided to treat a listener’s question seriously and give you something better than talking points: real context, solid sources, and an honest way to defend Lincoln without turning him into a saint. We start by rethinking how we rank presidents in the first place. If you...