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?
Presidential Policies on Equality
As president of the United States of America, Abraham Lincoln held more influence and power to put action towards his long-held convictions than ever before in his life. However, abolitionist critics were exasperated by Lincoln’s slow actions to emancipate the slaves, abolish the institution, and establish racial equality between black and white Americans. Lincoln’s power to establish change in any and all of those fronts was increased even further by his expansion of executive authority as Commander-in-Chief during the Civil War. While Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation and put forth political capital towards the passing of the 13th Amendment, his motivations behind these actions may help provide context for tardiness to act. Historian James Oakes offered to distinguish between the different types of equality that Abraham Lincoln and other Americans held in the 19th century. These different types of equality often were distinguished by spheres of life and levels of government enforcement. On one level, Lincoln believed that black Americans were just as human as white Americans and, therefore, were endowed with certain unalienable rights specifically defined by the Declaration of Independence. These rights were protected by the federal government of the United States of America. However, more specific rights such as the right to vote and serve on a jury, rights held and practiced by citizens were not as confidently defended by Lincoln. As he practiced the law and held the Constitution as the “supreme law of the land,” Lincoln understood that citizenship was left under the jurisdiction of the states (or, at least, rights practiced by citizenship were defined by the states). Therefore, it was left to the states to determine if black Americans could practice such rights and be considered political equals. Lastly, social equality was also defined and protected (or not protected) by the individual states. Consider these distinctions that Lincoln made throughout his political career and how those different types of equality were achieved under Lincoln’s presidential administration, if they were. When reading and evaluating this document set, consider the following questions:
What types of equality did Abraham Lincoln believe should be established in America in the 1860s?
According to Abraham Lincoln, did emancipation lead to complete racial equality in America?
Emancipation Proclamation Drafts
On July 13, 1862, Abraham Lincoln consulted with Secretary of State William Seward and Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles about drafting an executive order with the aim to emancipate slaves in states in rebellion. A week later, he presented his executive cabinet with a draft for an emancipation proclamation. It consisted of two paragraphs that offered a gradual and compensated plan of emancipation. Seward and Secretary of the Treasury Salmon Chase strongly supported the document’s release while other members of the cabinet were worried about the political fallout of such a measure in the upcoming fall elections. Secretary of State William Seward cautioned and convinced Lincoln to wait until a major victory to make the measure public. Lincoln waited until the victory at the battle of Antietam in September to issue a preliminary copy of the Emancipation Proclamation to the public. [Click on image to continue reading. . .]
Letter to General Nathaniel Banks (1863)
Throughout most of Abraham Lincoln’s political career he espoused antislavery goals along a gradualist mentality. His obvious efforts as president were pivotal towards the first permanent actions of emancipation in America. He stood by those beliefs and, later in life, actions with conviction and a variety of rationales supporting that conviction. However, his beliefs regarding the status and equality of black Americans (former slave or otherwise) were fluid and left undeveloped in the face of a largely racist nation. Colonization was the most consistent answer Lincoln advocated for to address what the role of black Americans would be post-emancipation. The fact that he held this view well into his presidency demonstrated the reluctance or lack of success Lincoln had in finding an alternative to permanent segregation and separation. [Click image to continue reading. . .]
Abraham Lincoln's Last Public Address (1865)
On April 11, 1865 Abraham Lincoln addressed a crowd that gathered outside the White House. Two days after the formal surrender of Gen. Robert E. Lee’s army, Americans sought to celebrate the end of the Civil War and hear from their victorious president. From the balcony above the main entrance into the White House, Lincoln did not deliver a rousing speech meant to uplift the nation as it conquered a vanquished enemy, instead he addressed the crowd on the complex work that lay ahead in reconstructing not just the South, but the nation as a whole. This was the last public address Lincoln delivered before he was assassinated three days later by John Wilkes Booth, who was amongst the crowd on April 11. [Click image to continue reading. . .]