Wikipedia:Peer review/Abraham Lincoln/archive1
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This peer review discussion has been closed.
I've listed this article for peer review because I want to help honor the 16th President an bring his article back to FA status.
Thanks, Guy546(Talk) 02:14, 5 March 2011 (UTC)
I just kind of skimmed thru but I do feel it's a fairly solid article.Serialjoepsycho (talk) 13:59, 15 March 2011 (UTC)
Finetooth comments: This is a good article about a truly famous person. I read carefully to the end of the "Assuming command for the Union in the war" section and made line-by-line suggestions. However, I don't want to devote any more hours to this particular article, and I would suggest a close copyedit of the remaining sections. Most of the errors that I spotted were small things, and the prose is generally clear and error-free. On the other hand, I'm not a historian, and I can't say whether the article is comprehensive or not or whether the research behind the article is complete or not. Does it perhaps rely a little bit too heavily on the Donald books? I don't really know, but it is something to consider.
Lead
- "passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, abolishing slavery" - Rather than running two linked phrases together like this, I'd suggest unlinking "abolishing slavery" here and linking "abolitionism" in the "Early career and military service" section: "He was known for his "free soil" stance of opposing both slavery and abolitionism."
Early life
- "which had high moral standards" - I'd leave this out since it's a judgment that somehow suggests that this particular church had higher standards than other churches. You could just say, "which opposed alcohol, dancing, and slavery" and let the reader make the judgment.
- "though Lincoln, as an adult, never joined a church" - Does "Lincoln" in this sentence mean "Thomas" or does it mean "Abraham"?
- It was Thomas Lincoln. Bulldog edit my talk page da contribs 03:44, 28 March 2011 (UTC)
Marriage
- "While preparing for the nuptials and having cold feet again" - It's not clear from the preceding sentences that Lincoln had "cold feet" in the earlier instances. Also, since "cold feet" is slang, something like "feeling reluctance" or "having doubts" would be more accessible to non-U.S. readers.
- Changed to "feeling reluctance". Bulldog edit my talk page da contribs 03:44, 28 March 2011 (UTC)
- "Edward Lincoln died on February 1, 1850, in Springfield, likely of tuberculosis." - Link tuberculosis?
Early career and military service
- "In the 1835–1836 legislative session, he voted to continue the restriction on suffrage to white males only while removing the condition of land ownership." - I think suffrage and "condition of land ownership" need to be briefly explained for readers unfamiliar with U.S. history. Perhaps "In the 1835–1836 legislative session, he voted to expand voting rights to white males who were not landowners... " if that was the case.
- Changed to "he voted to expand suffrage, or voting rights, to white males who were not landowners only." Bulldog edit my talk page da contribs 03:44, 28 March 2011 (UTC)
- "He closely followed Henry Clay... " - Link Henry Clay on first use.
Early national politics
- Unlink Henry Clay on second use in the quotation. Nothing should be linked inside a direct quote.
- "in order to challenge an eyewitness' credibility" - I think this should be "eyewitness's" credibility. However, maybe recasting as "in order to challenge the credibility of an eyewitness" would be better.
- Changed to latter suggestion. Bulldog edit my talk page da contribs 03:44, 28 March 2011 (UTC)
Prairie lawyer
- "From 1853 to 1860 Lincoln was a lawyer and lobbyist for the Illinois Central Railroad... " - Link Illinois Central Railroad?
- "and on disenchanted Free Soil, Liberty, and Democratic party" - Link to Free Soil Party and to Liberty Party (United States, 1840)?
Republican politics 1854–1860
- " 'A house divided against itself cannot stand'.(Mark 3:25) I believe this government... - "Mark" should not be linked directly from within the quote. You might explain the connection in a footnote or a parenthetical remark after the quote.
- "In March 1857, the Supreme Court issued its controversial pro-slavery decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford; Chief Justice Taney" - Link Roger B. Taney here? I believe it's the first use in the article?
Lincoln–Douglas debates and Cooper Union speech
- "Donald described the speech as a "superb political move for an unannounced candidate, to appear in one rival's (William H. Seward) own state at an event sponsored by the second rival's (Salmon P. Chase) loyalists, while not mentioning either by name during its delivery." - Remove links from inside this direct quote. Use a footnote instead or link on second use slightly later in the article.
1860 Presidential nomination and election
- Link Norman B. Judd, Leonard Swett, Hannibal Hamlin, and so on?
- Linked the three that you suggested. Bulldog edit my talk page da contribs 03:44, 28 March 2011 (UTC)
- Link Maine and Pennsylvania?
1860 election and secession
- "Douglas won Missouri, and split New Jersey with Lincoln." - Several states are linked in this section, while others, such as New Jersey, are not linked. I think you need to be consistent by linking each state once on first use. In some cases in this section, a state is linked on something other than first use. "Missouri" is an example.
- On my computer screen, File:Abraham lincoln inauguration 1861.jpg overlaps the "War begins" section and displaces its head. An easy fix would be to move the image up one paragraph.
War begins
- "Donald concluded Lincoln fairly estimated the events leading to the initiation of war." - Identify "Donald" in some way, as "historian David Donald" perhaps.
- "Maryland politicians were arrested and imprisoned as Lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus" - Link and italicize habeas corpus. Unlink the term in the next section, "Assuming command for the Union in the war", where it is linked on second use.
- "John Merryman, a leader in the secessionist group" - Link John Merryman?
Assuming command for the Union in the war
- Unlink but italicize habeus corpus.
- "The war effort was the source of continued disparagement of Lincoln from every direction... " - I'd remove "from every direction" since it is likely an overstatement; it implies that nobody supported him.
- "This decision, in part, prevented the secession of Kentucky while incurring the violence in the North." - If Fremont was in Missouri, what did this have to do with Kentucky? What exactly was the decision? Where was Fremont's new command? Was it a demotion or a promotion or neither?
- "The war assumed foreign policy implications in 1861 when James Mason and John Slidell, ministers of the Confederacy to Great Britain and France... " - Link "James Mason" to James Murray Mason? Link John Slidell?
- Linked both. Bulldog edit my talk page da contribs 03:44, 28 March 2011 (UTC)
- "Britain protested vehemently while the American public cheered." - "American" is probably not the right word in this context. Maybe "northern Americans" or "Union supporters"?
- Changed to "northern Americans." Bulldog edit my talk page da contribs 03:44, 28 March 2011 (UTC)
Other
- The dab checker in the toolbox at the top of this review page find one dab, "Weaver".
- Please make sure that the existing text includes no copyright violations, plagiarism, or close paraphrasing. For more information on this please see Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2009-04-13/Dispatches. (This is a general warning given in view of previous problems that have risen over copyvios.)
I hope these suggestions prove helpful. If so, please consider commenting on any other article at WP:PR. I don't usually watch the PR archives or make follow-up comments. If my suggestions are unclear, please ping me on my talk page. Finetooth (talk) 20:08, 16 March 2011 (UTC)