Lincoln on Inequality
“I think it cannot be shown that when I have once taken a position, I have ever retreated from it.”
This quote spoken by Abraham Lincoln to Frederick Douglass in 1863 is telling of his character in multiple regards. It has been cited within the context of his humble personality when he admitted he was not as quick and willing to support black soldiers as Douglass wished. However, it is also reflective of his strength of conviction in the beliefs he held throughout his life. While most historians agree that Lincoln was thoroughly consistent in his declaration that he was antislavery, it is less accepted as to the motivation of why he was antislavery. To address the motivations behind his antislavery beliefs and goal of the end of slavery requires that his beliefs about the role and status of African Americans be established.
Opinion amongst historians is diverse and wide-ranging in regards to how Abraham Lincoln approached issues of race and equality. Don Fehrenbacher criticized Lincoln’s failure to move beyond the immediate horror and damage of slavery towards confronting, “that systematic racial discrimination might be, like slavery, a stain on the national honor and a crime against mankind.”[1] David Lightner found that Lincoln employed a politician’s touch in determining when to support black equality in America and how much equality white Americans were willing to tolerate. “I believe that if Lincoln’s words and actions are understood within their specific historical context, it becomes evident that when Lincoln said or did things that were inconsistent with egalitarianism, he did so with the deliberate intent of misleading his countrymen with regard to his personal beliefs and ultimate aims.”[2] Lerone Bennet took the provocative stance that Lincoln did not care about black Americans at all, “Insofar as it can be said that Lincoln had a policy it was to rid America of both slaves and blacks.”[3] Others employ historical empathy in categorizing Lincoln’s views and attitudes on racial equality within the context of the generational attitudes of the mid-nineteenth century, “. . .whether Lincoln changed his mind, the weight of evidence and logic seems to support the hypothesis that Lincoln died with the same basic views on black-white relations that he had held tenaciously throughout his public life.”[4]
From a limited summary of the historical research on Lincoln’s personal beliefs about the role and status of black Americans in society, it is clear that his views were complex. At the most they were in flux and evolving and, at the least, they were stunted and inconsistent. Considering that his life was cut short before he could more specifically develop what post-emancipation America would look like, it is valuable for historians to consider how his beliefs on racial equality could have influenced the role and status of black Americans after the Civil War. By analyzing and evaluating a selection of primary documents and statements, both public and private, made by Lincoln throughout his life, one will not find an absolute answer to what his beliefs were about racial equality. But one can gain a clearer picture of the fault lines that Abraham Lincoln stood on and what distinctions he was willing to make about the role of African Americans in society. Throughout the selection of documents taken from three pivotal periods in Lincoln’s life consider the following question: How did Abraham Lincoln differ between his beliefs regarding racial equality and slavery?
Lincoln on Equality in the 1850s
The 1850s were a decade marked by a radicalization on both sides of the slavery issue. Much of the escalation over the issue of slavery was tied to America’s expansion westward. As Americans moved west the contentious topic of whether the institution of slavery would follow was aroused. While Congress was able to narrowly resolve this conflict in the short-term with the Compromise of 1850, the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 irritated the question of slavery’s expansion for the rest of the decade. This conflict and sectionalism destroyed the ideals of national unity as well as specific national institutions like the Whig party. Politicians and government officials alike had to figure out how to navigate around the political fault line of slavery. Likewise, Lincoln had to define his beliefs as a result of increased marginalization of sides of the slavery debate. The more that the institution of slavery expanded—geographically from the Kansas-Nebraska Act and legally from the Dred Scott decision—Lincoln defined his beliefs on slavery and racial equality with more depth. Lincoln opposed slavery’s expansion into the national territories of America and became more outspoken against slavery in the 1850s.
When examining how Abraham Lincoln approached the general topic of racial equality between black and white Americans it is significant to evaluate the audiences he addressed in the 1850s. Lincoln sought public office several times while he took an antislavery stance in state with complex racial beliefs. Many voting citizens in Illinois were racist or emigrated from southern states. Lincoln As someone who sought public office multiple times and lost, it was clear that Lincoln attempted to strike the right balance between his antislavery convictions and the realities of what the democratically voting public wanted in their governmental policies. Historian George Sinkler considered the role of Lincoln as a political manager in assessing what beliefs the public allowed an ambitious office-seeker to hold. Lincoln like all other politicians must have been confronted with the same question, “How, in the face of the divergent and ambivalent views found in his correspondence did Lincoln decide what the public’s opinion was?” When reading and evaluating this document set, consider the following questions:
Did racial equality hold a position in Abraham Lincoln’s efforts to limit and possible end slavery?
How did Abraham Lincoln alter his statements on racial equality throughout the 1850s?
Abraham Lincoln's Speech at Peoria (1854)
In the first half of 1854, the Kansas-Nebraska Act was passed through both houses of Congress and signed by President Pierce which reignited the agitation over slavery. Both national political parties resolved to the end of debate over the future of slavery and its expansion with the results of the Compromise of 1850 and committed to not campaign on the issue in the 1852 presidential campaign. However, the Act allowed for the remaining unsettled portion of the Louisiana Territory—the Nebraska Territory—to be divided into the Nebraska and Kansas Territories, both of which would allow slavery based on the principle of popular sovereignty. Senator Stephen Douglas was the major sponsor and proponent of this bill. [Click image to continue reading. . .]
Abraham Lincoln's Speech on Dred Scott (1856)
Abraham Lincoln’s speech given in Springfield on June 26, 1857 is an overlooked speech often overshadowed by more well-known public comments and addresses, especially by the towering amount of academic material found in the Lincoln-Douglas debates that took place one year later. But considering that the June 26th Address was Lincoln’s first formal statement in public regarding the Supreme Court’s decision on the Dred Scott Case and its impact for African Americans, this is a significant work. What separates this address from other Lincoln primary documents is its length, which is uncharacteristically long, and the variety of topics addressed, which ranged from the Utah War to the events of Bleeding Kansas to the Dred Scott Decision to Lincoln’s belief in racial equality and racial amalgamation. [Click image to continue reading. . .]
Excerpts from the Lincoln-Douglas Debates (1858)
While the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the political inconsistencies of popular sovereignty were the main focus of Abraham Lincoln, Sen. Stephen Douglas continually used the ambiguities of Lincoln's comments on race, emancipation and equality to make these debates about Lincoln's beliefs. [Click image to continue reading. . .]