There is a conception in America that Abraham Lincoln was some kind of civil rights advocate.
Consider the following, written by Honest Abe:
"I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the states where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so." Two years later, President Lincoln wrote: "My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that. What I do about slavery, and the colored race, I do because I believe helps to save the Union (Letter to Horace Greeley, August 22, 1862)."
In 1858,Lincoln had written: "I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races. I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of making voters or jurors of Negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people. There is a physical difference between the white and black races, which I believe will forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality."
Lincoln was not the humanitarian that you were lead to believe. His values and constitution authority was challeneged by many people, inlcuding the influencial abolitionist/ conservative/anarchist: Lysander Spooner.. Not to mention the entirely new republic of the South! Ask yourself... Was it a war of northern agression???
Lincoln was a lot of things, but he was not the moral authority of the day... He never ended slavery in Union States. In fact, he wanted to ship all back people back to Africa. America, Please learn your history! None of your preconceptions are bullet-proof... and the Lincoln Myth is an injustice on our heritage!
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1 comment:
This is not a terribly thoughtful post: three cherry-picked quotes to support the statement that Lincoln was a racist.
Where did he fit in the context of his age? Surely the first half of the nineteenth century with its leanings toward manifest destiny was the highwater mark in American racism.
And Lincoln spoke passionately against the moral ills of slavery.
While I agree with what I take to be the spirit of this post, namely: that simplification of history to whitewash a political figure is dishonest; I would suggest that your characterization of Lincoln as a racist similarly simplifies complex history and adds very little to the discussion.
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