How Perceptions Of Major Historical Figures Have Changed Over Time

As much as Lincoln's memory has been venerated in the decades after his untimely assassination, in his own time he was one of the most divisive political figures in American history. Despite not even being on the ballot in the Southern states, he won the presidency in a four-way contest in the 1860 election. Upon his election, seven states announced their secession from the Union, which ultimately triggered the outbreak of the Civil War. As a wartime president, Lincoln endured fractious relationships with generals who chafed under his instructions and politicians who accused him of overstepping his executive boundaries. The suspension of habeas corpus was an example of his willingness to use heavy-handed tactics to see the war through. He remained unsure of his reelection in 1864, but some timely military successes helped to swing the campaign in his favor. He won a decisive victory but would not get the opportunity to see through his plans for reconstruction after the conflict. While his sudden end was a major blow to postwar rebuilding - his successor Andrew Johnson did not share Lincoln's vision - it did help to craft his legendary historical legacy. Lincoln was to be remembered for eternity as the president who freed the slaves and kept the Union together. His name became synonymous with freedom and he continues to be remembered as one of the greatest American presidents, if not the greatest. It was no coincidence that Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech was delivered in front of the Lincoln Memorial. To some scholars and civil rights leaders, Lincoln didn't quite live up to his heroic billing. Rather, he was a bigoted moderate who reluctantly took up the mantle of great emancipator. Another interpretation recognizes his limitations on race from a modern perspective but understands the magnitude of his actions and character. In 2005, a then little-known law professor named Barack Obama said of Lincoln: As a law professor and civil rights lawyer and as an African American, I am fully aware of his limited views on race. Anyone who actually reads the Emancipation Proclamation knows it was more a military document than a clarion call for justice. Scholars tell us too that Lincoln wasn't immune from political considerations and that his temperament could be indecisive and morose. But it is precisely those imperfections - and the painful self-awareness of those failings etched in every crease of his face and reflected in those haunted eyes - that make him so compelling.

There were many Cleopatras in history, but only one is truly synonymous with the name. Cleopatra VII was the last member of the Macedonian Ptolemaic dynasty that ruled Egypt for 300 years. Her 39 years had all the ingredients needed for historical immortality: intrigue, romantic entanglements with the two most powerful men of the era, and a tragic end. The Roman view of Cleopatra was of a toxic seductress whose lust for power and wealth presented a dire threat to the stability of Rome. In the immediate aftermath of her passing, Octavian, the victor of the last war of the Roman Republic, was only too keen to tarnish her reputation. As a foreigner and a woman, she presented a convenient scapegoat for the conflict. Her infamy grew in the wake of her passing with a series of wild claims from Roman writers about her sexual proclivities and lavish lifestyle. Cassius Dio’s assessment was one of the more restrained accounts of the Egyptian queen, "Cleopatra was of insatiable passion and insatiable avarice." Her dramatic story proved to be an irresistible artistic foil during the Renaissance period. Many of the myths propagated by the Romans were amplified by artists and playwrights in the late Middle Ages. In the Victorian era, notable for its fascination with ancient Egypt, her popularity soared. Some 20th-century filmmakers were also drawn to her story. The 1963 epic starring Elizabeth Taylor is perhaps the most iconic of the dozens of depictions of Cleopatra shown on screen to date. More recently, feminist reevaluations of Cleopatra have offered a more complete understanding of one of history's most iconic female rulers. A polyglot who had unusually mastered the tongue of her subjects (her predecessors never bothered), she was a fiercely intelligent and capable ruler who successfully kept the peace in her kingdom for several years.

Alexander's premature demise ensured his empire would immediately fracture into many smaller parts, but also guaranteed a great legacy. He perished at the height of his power, long before old age and the endless responsibility of actually running such a vast empire would inevitably have crushed him. His successors were all men of great talent but none could emulate Alexander. He wasn't universally admired in his own lifetime; his cruel excesses on his campaigns and lust for power alienated his friends and galvanized his enemies. The mysterious circumstances of his demise were very likely caused by foul play. His family members were all eliminated in the aftermath of his passing; his only legitimate son was slain on the orders of Cassander, a hated contemporary of Alexander's. He was regarded as a heroic conqueror by the Romans; Julius Caesar and Pompey Magnus were noted admirers. Alexander's Egyptian tomb became a major tourist destination of the ancient world. His campaigns have been studied extensively by military leaders for thousands of years, with Napoleon rating him as history's greatest commander. While his empire proved to be short-lived, the cultural impact of Alexander's conquests had a profound impact on the area for centuries, known as the Hellenistic Age. Greek kingdoms spanned from the Hellas to Pakistan, fusing a wide array of cultures and scientific knowledge. Although seen in his own time as a drunken tyrant, his indisputably enormous historical impact continues to draw interest and admirers.

Churchill was a deeply controversial figure in his own time; his leading role in the disastrous Gallipoli campaign during WWI almost sunk his political career before it took off. He never truly shook off the taint of Gallipoli, despite his best efforts to defend his reputation. He gained notoriety for changing political parties not once but twice. In 1904 he crossed the aisle from the Conservatives to the Liberals before rejoining the Conservatives again in 1924. In the 1930s he was one of the few outspoken critics of appeasement to Germany, an unpopular view at the time that saw him sidelined politically. He also opposed Irish home rule and greater autonomy for India. Even in the 1930s, his imperialist views were considered behind the times. After WWII broke out, Churchill assumed the role of Prime Minister during the bleak days of May 1940. The British army narrowly avoided annihilation at Dunkirk and the French were knocked out of the conflict. Churchill refused to seek terms with the Germans, and the struggle continued. His strong wartime leadership was seen by many as a means to an end. Despite emerging from the great struggle victorious, the British people voted him out of office less than two months later. Perhaps the most significant outcome of that election was the adoption of the National Health Service in 1948. Churchill still wasn't finished with politics and made one last comeback to return as Prime Minister from 1951-55. In the years immediately after his passing at age 90 in 1965, he was lauded as a national hero who guided Britain through its darkest days in WWII. Churchill's legacy was bolstered by his own hand, as he was a prolific writer who penned a six-volume history of WWII. While generally well-regarded for his wartime leadership, his historical reputation has been tainted by his complicity in the Bengal Famine in 1943 and his racist views. More recent assessments of Churchill tend to be more nuanced, accepting the importance of his role in WWII without excusing his many flaws.

From humble beginnings, the man history would remember as Genghis Khan rose to unite the Mongol tribes into an unstoppable force that carved out a gigantic empire. His remarkable life had an enormous impact on the course of history that is still felt today - an astonishing 1 in 200 men can tie their ancestry directly to Genghis Khan. Contemporary accounts of him are few in number. The Secret History of the Mongols is an anonymous Mongolian account that tells the life story of Genghis Khan. Another less sympathetic account comes from a Persian scholar who served in the Mongol court. The History of the World Conqueror spares no detail in recording the wanton violence and destruction of the Mongols, but also acknowledges the wisdom and innovations of the leaders. Renaissance writers tended to view Genghis Khan favorably as a wise and noble leader, but the civic achievements of the Mongols were largely forgotten by the time of the Enlightenment. Genghis Khan represented the stereotypical bloodthirsty barbarian and destroyer of civilization to writers such as Voltaire. The same European intellectuals who lauded Alexander the Great did not hold the Asian conqueror in the same regard. In more recent years, a better understanding of Genghis Khan and the Mongols has emerged in the Western world. He was and remains a national hero in Mongolia, while the views of the peoples conquered by his army aren't quite so favorable. Far removed by time from the atrocities committed during the conquests, historians have been able to take a more detached view of the seismic historical impact of the Mongols. Perhaps the greatest of all was the revival of the Silk Road under Mongol rule. Merchants traveled safely across the vast empire and ushered in an era of economic and cultural prosperity. Religious tolerance and a military based entirely on merit were other Mongol ideas far ahead of their time.

Victoria's astonishingly long reign came at a time when the British Empire reached its peak. Her name is synonymous with Britain's most prosperous historical period: the Victorian era. As well as colonial expansion and overseas trade, the age was defined by a vibrant culture and significant improvements in public health. Over the course of her reign, Victoria's popularity with her subjects changed with the circumstances. Well-regarded in the early years of her reign, she withdrew from public life for many years after the passing of her husband Albert in 1861. She never truly got over the loss and wore black for the remainder of her life, but made something of a comeback into public life in 1872, which revived her standing. In her twilight years, she was seen as the "grandmother of Europe" due to the many European thrones her 42 grandchildren married into. She served as a unifying figurehead for the empire, held up as an ideal wife and mother. This helped raise the royal family's standing at a time when anti-monarchy sentiment was sweeping across Europe. The tradition of wearing a white wedding dress and sending out Christmas cards are two examples of her influence in the present day. Her most impactful decision was the shaping of Canada. She gave her ascent to the 1840 Act of Union that united Lower and Upper Canada into a single entity. This was followed by the 1867 Canadian Confederation and self-governing status. Victoria's renown as the face of the British Empire makes for a complex legacy. On the one hand, her longevity stabilized the British monarchy and she's generally considered one of Britain's most successful royals. Unsurprisingly, the areas that came under British rule are less disposed to view that time favorably. Monuments of Victoria in Cape Town, South Africa and in Canada have been vandalized and toppled by protesters outraged by the relics of the colonial era. Great interest remains in the Victorian era, but with an increased understanding of the darker aspects of that period.

Elizabeth I was the last monarch of the Tudor dynasty to rule England. After the brutal, short, but often misunderstood reign of her elder sister Mary, Elizabeth ruled for 44 years. Her great longevity helped to stabilize a kingdom beset by religious turmoil and helped form a sense of national identity. She was a canny and ruthless monarch who used the prevailing attitude of the day regarding gender to her own advantage. She used perceptions of womanly weakness to delay the execution of Mary Queen of Scots, allegedly saying, "my sex doth not permit it." Her refusal to marry allowed her to maintain a firm grip on power but also kept a series of suitors dangling to her advantage. In her later years, she did not acknowledge an heir, though it was widely known that James, son of Mary Queen of Scots, was next in line. The failures of her successors to live up to her standards ensured she would be thought of fondly in the immediate years following her passing. She was far more successful in working with rather than against parliament, unlike the members of the Stuart monarchy. The flowering culture, exploration, and prosperity of her reign were remembered favorably during the Victorian era by a people who saw parallels between Elizabeth and Victoria. One of Elizabeth's most iconic victories, over the Spanish Armada, actually didn't have much to do with her and owed a great deal to good fortune. Her speech to the fleet was a triumph of propaganda that cemented her legacy and would be revived by future generations: I know I have the body of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too, and think foul scorn that Parma or Spain, or any prince of Europe, should dare to invade the borders of my realm: to which rather than any dishonour shall grow by me, I myself will take up arms, I myself will be your general, judge, and rewarder of every one of your virtues in the field. During the Napoleonic Wars, the memory of the Spanish Armada speech was revived as the British faced up to the threat of invasion once more. Britons would again turn to her legacy during the darkest days of WWII when a German incursion seemed imminent in the summer of 1940. The speech was a masterful performance where Elizabeth gained a great deal of credit for a success that she had relatively little part in. When it came to military matters, she was a notorious cheapskate who was typically cautious in her diplomacy and left her allies hanging. While it's fair to say Elizabeth certainly enjoyed the rub of the green, her successful reign makes her one of the most recognizable of all British monarchs.

As the primary author of the Declaration of Independence and the third American President, Jefferson has and always will occupy a prominent place in history as a founder of the US. However, his historical reputation has been subject to significant swings in popular opinion over the years. He was acutely aware of his place in history, and near the end of his life pleaded with his friend and colleague James Madison to "take care of me when I'm dead." Most of Jefferson's successors as president broadly followed his lead. Andrew Jackson called himself a "Jeffersonian Democrat," although Jefferson had little good to say about Jackson. Jefferson's support of states' rights and belief in limited central government saw his reputation suffer during the American Civil War and the Progressive Era. His reputation enjoyed a revival during Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidency due to Jefferson's embrace of democracy and equality under the law. Following WWII, the inherent contradiction in Jefferson's belief in liberty while owning slaves became harder to minimize. Attempts were made in the 1950s to present Jefferson as a benign slavemaster who treated his slaves well. A particularly egregious dereliction of historical duty came when a writer named Edwin Betts deliberately hid details of Jefferson's harsh treatment of child slaves when editing a collection of Jefferson's papers. The incriminating evidence lay hidden for more than 50 years. Jefferson's memory was once again taken up by Ronald Reagan in the 1980s; the 40th President of the US saw a kindred spirit in Jefferson, thanks to a shared belief in limited government. Since then, Jefferson's popularity has waned as more scrutiny has been paid to the darker elements of his private life, especially his relationship with his slave Sally Hemings.

Napoleon’s last campaign was one of his most successful - not the 100 days in 1815 that led to his final defeat at Waterloo, but his final years spent rebuilding his reputation while in exile at St. Helena. He turned his considerable talents toward crafting a legacy that would outlive him. In his own lifetime, he was considered a tyrant and warmonger by his many enemies and subject to some misleading propaganda about his short stature (he was of average height for the time). Napoleon's memoirs were published shortly after his passing and presented his career in a favorable light. The book's spectacular success - one of the 19th century's best-selling works - helped craft a sympathetic legend of the Frenchman. As well as being recognized as one of history's most accomplished generals, Napoleon's most enduring legacy was the comprehensive legal framework dubbed the Napoleonic Code. The overhaul of the archaic French legal system spread far beyond France and was adopted by several other nations, and its influence is still apparent in the present. Although his battlefield prowess commands a great deal of attention, Napoleon's most enduring achievements are civic rather than military. One of the most controversial aspects of his reign was the decision to reestablish slavery in the Caribbean in 1802, reversing the 1794 abolition law. The move sparked rebellions in Guadeloupe and Haiti; the latter succeeded despite the massive expedition launched by the French to retake the colony. For many, he remained the quintessential villain to be used to discredit political rivals in the same way Hitler and the Third Reich are so often used frivolously in the present. The French perception of Napoleon is mixed. French political figures have typically been wary of invoking Napoleon's memory in public life. In 2005, former French president Nicolas Sarkozy chose not to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Napoleon's coronation as emperor. Conversely, current French president Emmanuel Macron laid a wreath at Napoleon's tomb and acknowledged his memory, saying "he is part of us" to mark the 200th anniversary of Napoleon's passing.

The rise of Columbus as a heroic figure began in the years following the American Revolution and grew in the 1800s. Americans seeking to create a distinctive national identity latched onto the legacy of Columbus as integral to the founding of the US. In 1790, the District of Columbia became the permanent capital of the US, named in honor of the Italian explorer. In a similar vein, the state capitals of South Carolina and Ohio are also named for Columbus. An 1828 book, A History of the Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus, lacked historical credibility but helped to grow the legend of the Genoa native in popular imagination. Perhaps the most ludicrous claim was the idea that somehow Columbus alone knew the world was round. Educated people have been aware of this elementary fact for about 2,500 years, yet the myth persists. Large influxes of Italian immigrants to the US in the late 1800s were met with intense discrimination. In 1891 in New Orleans, an angry mob lynched 11 Italian Americans, the largest mass lynching in American history. No one was ever charged, and The New York Times wrote an approving editorial. In the wake of such widespread discrimination, Italian Americans saw Columbus as a unifying symbol of Italian-American identity. In 1892, a week-long celebration of Columbus took place in New York City to mark the 400th anniversary of his iconic voyage. After a lengthy campaign, Columbus Day became an American national holiday in 1937. Greater scholarly scrutiny since the 1970s has led to wider awareness of both the horrors carried out against the Taino people during his time as governor of Hispaniola (now Haiti and the Dominican Republic), and the longer-term impact of European colonization of the Americas. Accordingly, some US cities and states have replaced Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples' Day and other days of remembrance. Columbus unquestionably had a profound impact on the course of history, but an increasing understanding of the negatives of the Columbian Exchange makes for a complex and controversial legacy.