Defending Lincoln
There have been headlines this past week about a new book which documents Lincoln’s efforts in support of recolonizing black Americans to Liberia. The undercurrent seems to me to be trashing our American hero by pointing out that the great Emancipator partook in the great sin of all time, racism. Clearly, the release of the book was timed to shock just in time for Lincoln’s birthday. I vigorously object.
I am not sure if the book’s real focus is to tear down Lincoln or whether the media spin-meisters have simply been out in force to grab more readers. Whatever the case, it cannot diminish Lincoln the man, the president or his accomplishments. As I have said before, I’m not historian but the idea of recolonizing black people to Liberia was definitely an option discussed by many in the 1800’s. One must put on the eyeglasses of history, however. Until someone proves otherwise, I’m going to view this as having been a compassionate idea, in its time. I’m going to assume that the supporters of recolonization to Liberia believed this would be most beneficial to blacks who became free in America. Give them their own country where they can flourish on their own. Granted, supporters of this likely presumed that blacks and whites in American would never be able to get along anyhow. We now identify such thinking as racist but I contend if it were racist, they did not know it was so at the time. Therefore, it is grossly unfair to pluck out of history scenarios which to the modern observer’s eye and ear seem retroactively racist.
As I myself have tried to communicate through my book, what seems to have been is not necessarily so. Lincoln twice defended slave owners in court. Yet, a closer look at the situations very strongly tends to show he was not a supporter of slavery. Lincoln never supported slavery. I do not know of any claim by anyone, that he ever believed in the morality of the institution of slavery.
Does Thomas Jefferson’s ownership of slaves take away his actual contribution to his country? Was Robert E. Lee less of an admirable figure because he graduated from West Point but chose not to break his devotion to Virginia when the Civil War came? A more recent example: Should we regard Franklin Roosevelt as a disgraceful racist because he ordered the detention of Japanese Americans? And in our present day: Is the Pope a diminished moral leader because as a youth Germany conscripted him into the Nazi Youth? These facts of history are indeed ironic. But let’s not jump on the runaway media train to trash anyone immediatel*y when he hear of something our modern sensibilities cannot tolerate. Let’s not be so gullible or gossip-oriented to believe a headline as true. Like the elementary school teachers used to say, “put on your thinking caps.” Read, think and discuss more to gain a human, historical understanding of what happened before. Great figures in history were human beings. They didn’t have all the right answers. They made mistakes, grew and pursued goals which later turned out to be great milestones of human advancement. I still admire Lincoln. I scold those who try to unseat Lincoln’s greatness.
There have been headlines this past week about a new book which documents Lincoln’s efforts in support of recolonizing black Americans to Liberia. The undercurrent seems to me to be trashing our American hero by pointing out that the great Emancipator partook in the great sin of all time, racism. Clearly, the release of the book was timed to shock just in time for Lincoln’s birthday. I vigorously object.
I am not sure if the book’s real focus is to tear down Lincoln or whether the media spin-meisters have simply been out in force to grab more readers. Whatever the case, it cannot diminish Lincoln the man, the president or his accomplishments. As I have said before, I’m not historian but the idea of recolonizing black people to Liberia was definitely an option discussed by many in the 1800’s. One must put on the eyeglasses of history, however. Until someone proves otherwise, I’m going to view this as having been a compassionate idea, in its time. I’m going to assume that the supporters of recolonization to Liberia believed this would be most beneficial to blacks who became free in America. Give them their own country where they can flourish on their own. Granted, supporters of this likely presumed that blacks and whites in American would never be able to get along anyhow. We now identify such thinking as racist but I contend if it were racist, they did not know it was so at the time. Therefore, it is grossly unfair to pluck out of history scenarios which to the modern observer’s eye and ear seem retroactively racist.
As I myself have tried to communicate through my book, what seems to have been is not necessarily so. Lincoln twice defended slave owners in court. Yet, a closer look at the situations very strongly tends to show he was not a supporter of slavery. Lincoln never supported slavery. I do not know of any claim by anyone, that he ever believed in the morality of the institution of slavery.
Does Thomas Jefferson’s ownership of slaves take away his actual contribution to his country? Was Robert E. Lee less of an admirable figure because he graduated from West Point but chose not to break his devotion to Virginia when the Civil War came? A more recent example: Should we regard Franklin Roosevelt as a disgraceful racist because he ordered the detention of Japanese Americans? And in our present day: Is the Pope a diminished moral leader because as a youth Germany conscripted him into the Nazi Youth? These facts of history are indeed ironic. But let’s not jump on the runaway media train to trash anyone immediatel*y when he hear of something our modern sensibilities cannot tolerate. Let’s not be so gullible or gossip-oriented to believe a headline as true. Like the elementary school teachers used to say, “put on your thinking caps.” Read, think and discuss more to gain a human, historical understanding of what happened before. Great figures in history were human beings. They didn’t have all the right answers. They made mistakes, grew and pursued goals which later turned out to be great milestones of human advancement. I still admire Lincoln. I scold those who try to unseat Lincoln’s greatness.
RSS Feed