Talk:Levi Lincoln Sr./GA1

GA Review

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Reviewer: Khazar2 (talk · contribs) 20:04, 8 January 2013 (UTC)

I'll be glad to take this review. As it happens, I just reviewed the article of Lincoln's successor as AG a few days ago, so I'm a bit more knowledgeable about Jeffersonian politics than usual. I'll start with a close readthrough, noting any issues here that I can't easily fix myself, and then go through the criteria checklist. Thanks in advance for your work on this one! -- Khazar2 (talk) 20:04, 8 January 2013 (UTC)

Initial readthrough

This looks terrific on first pass: well-written, comprehensive without being excessively detailed, and well-sourced. A few quibbles to clarify:

• This isn't a necessary point under the GA criteria, but you might consider abbreviating "United States" as "US" or "U.S." after its first appearance in the article, including in names of organizations or positions. Done Magic♪piano 14:14, 9 January 2013 (UTC)
• "he remained politically active in a state that continued to be dominated by Federalists, establishing a Republican dominance in Worcester" -- slightly confusing, partly due to the distance of the modifier "establishing a Republican..." from the subject. Maybe split as "He returned to Massachusetts, where he remained politically active. Though the state as a whole continued to be dominated by Federalists, Lincoln established Republican dominance in Worcester." Rephrased Magic♪piano 14:14, 9 January 2013 (UTC)
• "Republican dominance" -- I'm not sure this needs the article "a" Removed Magic♪piano 14:14, 9 January 2013 (UTC)
• "Is not a law of nature that all men are equal and free ... Is not the law of God against slavery." --should these have question marks?
  • I agree there ought to be question marks, but this is a direct quotation, which does not have them. Magic♪piano 14:14, 9 January 2013 (UTC)
• "In 1804 Lincoln informed Jefferson that" -- I have no immediate solution to this, but it's a bit awkward to have this under the subheader "foreign policy". Perhaps it could be moved to the start of the next section? Moved Magic♪piano 14:14, 9 January 2013 (UTC)
• "for personal reasons, he would leave the post of attorney general." -- do historians have no idea what these were? This isn't a necessary action point, I'm simply curious.
  • Alas, I have not been able to find a reason. Lincoln is not covered by more than biographical sketches and memorials, from which these sorts of details are often missing (or expessed in vague 19th century hagiographic style), and the works on the Jefferson administration I've read don't say either. I'd speculate it was related to his health, given it became a major issue just a few years later, or just that it was the end of Jefferson's first term, but no sources say that. Magic♪piano 14:14, 9 January 2013 (UTC)
• "because Sullivan was distrusted by radicals in the party, they were able to secure Lincoln's place on the ticket" -- This phrasing seems slightly off--the radicals' distrust of Sullivan gave them the ability to add Lincoln? Perhaps just say "they secured"? -- Khazar2 (talk) 20:37, 8 January 2013 (UTC)
  • The issue here is that Sullivan was politically moderate (he had Federalist tendencies earlier in his career, more so than the rather partisan Lincoln); I've added words to that effect. Magic♪piano 14:14, 9 January 2013 (UTC)

I've added some images, and updated the license of the lead image. Magic♪piano 14:14, 9 January 2013 (UTC)

That's everything, then. Thanks for the quality work on this one. -- Khazar2 (talk) 14:21, 9 January 2013 (UTC)

Checklist

Rate	Attribute	Review Comment
1. Well-written:
	1a. the prose is clear, concise, and understandable to an appropriately broad audience; spelling and grammar are correct.	Prose is excellent; spotchecks show no evidence of copyright issues.
	1b. it complies with the Manual of Style guidelines for lead sections, layout, words to watch, fiction, and list incorporation.
2. Verifiable with no original research:
	2a. it contains a list of all references (sources of information), presented in accordance with the layout style guideline.	Article is excellently sourced.
	2b. reliable sources are cited inline. All content that could reasonably be challenged, except for plot summaries and that which summarizes cited content elsewhere in the article, must be cited no later than the end of the paragraph (or line if the content is not in prose).
	2c. it contains no original research.
3. Broad in its coverage:
	3a. it addresses the main aspects of the topic.
	3b. it stays focused on the topic without going into unnecessary detail (see summary style).
	4. Neutral: it represents viewpoints fairly and without editorial bias, giving due weight to each.
	5. Stable: it does not change significantly from day to day because of an ongoing edit war or content dispute.
6. Illustrated, if possible, by media such as images, video, or audio:
	6a. media are tagged with their copyright statuses, and valid non-free use rationales are provided for non-free content.
	6b. media are relevant to the topic, and have suitable captions.	You might consider adding images of Jefferson, Madison, or other relevant figures as well, but not necessary for GA.
	7. Overall assessment.	Pass--high-quality article.