Commentary: Lincoln's remarkable tie to former slave

[babylonsister]

Commentary: Lincoln's remarkable tie to former slave
Special to CNN
By James Oliver Horton


Editor's note: James Oliver Horton is Benjamin Banneker professor emeritus at George Washington University and a professor at the University of Hawaii. He is a member of the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission and author of "Landmarks of African American History."
James Horton says Lincoln and abolitionist Frederick Douglass had a relationship of shared respect.


(CNN) -- Few relationships in American history have been more remarkable than that between President Abraham Lincoln and black abolitionist and former slave Frederick Douglass.

Lincoln was born a Southerner 200 years ago, on February 12, in a rough-hewn cabin near Hodgenville, Kentucky. He spent most of his adult life in the North, working a series of odd jobs before becoming a lawyer and a leading Illinois politician.

Finally, in 1860, he became the first Republican president of the United States.

Douglass escaped slavery in Maryland in 1838 and found shelter with the Underground Railroad's Vigilance Committee in New York.

He was joined there by Anna Murray, a free black woman from Maryland who had helped him escape. The couple married and soon moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts, where Douglass became deeply involved in the abolition movement and became one of its most effective anti-slavery speakers. iReport.com: Hear Douglass's descendants read Lincoln's second inaugural address

After an abolitionist lecture tour in Ireland, Scotland and England, Douglass moved his family to Rochester, New York, where he started a newspaper, The North Star. For more than 30 years, he edited a variety of newspapers that focused on issues of racial justice and equality.

Through the 1850s, Douglass became one of the most respected and influential abolitionists in the nation. His support of Lincoln's presidential candidacy in 1860 was measured and based on his pragmatic analysis of national politics at that time.

more...

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/02/11/horton.lincoln.douglass/

[Ilsa]

1. I saw an interview on NBC about Lincoln this morning, and I learned alot.

It was only during the last four years or so of Lincoln's life that he truly began to consider real equality. He had originally wanted former slaves to start a new african colony somewhere else, because he didn't believe in equality. Douglass changed that in Lincoln, and Abe died for changing his mind, invoking the need for voting rights for former slaves.

[Two Americas]

4. that is a little misleading

Lincoln thought that former slaves would never be accepted or get fair treatment from white society, hence his remarks on support of re-colonization, as it was called. When a group of Black clergy met with him and explained why that was wrong, he switched positions.

Douglas (Stephen) and others campaigned on ideas that the Republicans were trying to force intermarriage, etc. to stir up white fears. Lincoln continually shifted the discussion away from whether or not Blacks and whites "were" equal, to whether or not they had an equal right to freedom. "Whether or not we think the two races are equal, the rights expressed in Declaration of Independence apply equally to both races" was his approach.

"Believing in equality" a "re-colonization" are two separate issues, and Lincoln is being misrepresented on both.

Lincoln "believed in equality" as much as any politician probably could at that time. Half the states seceding over that - how much more proof do people need that this was the case? Can you imagine any politician today risking half of the states seceding and taking up arms over their position on anything?

I think that much of the recent revisionism about Lincoln is a reaction to the idolization of him for so long, and the use of that to promote some fundamental lies about American history and to minimize slavery and racism. But that really has nothing to do with Lincoln.

I am not arguing for putting Lincoln on a pedestal. I think that the arguments for pacing him on a pedestal and the arguments for pulling him off the pedestal both miss the mark. We need to look at the pedestal, not the person on the pedestal. The pedestal is made up of white privilege and a defense of the ruling class version of history.

Funny that in a time when ideas of "pragmatism" and "practicality" and "baby steps" and "working within the system" are so popular, that Lincoln is being held to the opposite standard.

[nichomachus]

5. I was just reading

that Lincoln, like Jefferson, thought that slavery was wrong, but thought that abolition couldn't be forced on people. They believed, according to the author I read, that over time people would come to realize it was wrong and that there would then be consensus on abolishing slavery.

It's sort of like the view now that gay and lesbian rights have to wait until "people are ready" to accept it, and that it will come if we just wait, form a few study commissions, and don't force the issue.

Then, according to legend, Lincoln awoke one morning with a terrible hangover and said "I freed the who?"

[Two Americas]

7. bad comparison

The public already supports many things, including GLBTQ equality, and it is the politicians and conservatives within the Democratic party at all levels who are fighting that. They are misusing the "practicality" and "priorities" arguments to actually suppress GLBTQ equality and to influence public opinion in that direction, while claiming to be "pragmatic" or "bipartisan" or whatever the latest nonsensical excuse is.

It is true that politicians in a representative democracy cannot get too far ahead of the public. It is also true that conservatives within the Democratic party today are using that as an excuse, as cover for their effort to drive the party to the right.

There is a lot of confusion about this today, not because there is any confusion about Lincoln but rather because people are confused - after decades of destructive right wing propaganda on the topic, which has had a more profound and damaging effect on liberals than it has on the right wing "base" which doesn't really exist - as to how a representative democracy works. It is is not as simple as people think - that we make a "personal choice" that aligns with "our personal values" and then once having made a selection, root on our team no matter what.

[Ilsa]

8. My comments were based from a clip on theToday Show. Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

was promoting "Looking For Lincoln" a re-examination of Lincoln's life. This has a different slant. Thanks for the differing opinion. I'll stay neutral on it until I see/read something more concrete. A documentary is coming soon.

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/18424824#29137427

[Two Americas]

9. yes

I heard him on NPR. I think this is a matter of opinion, as supported by the agreed upon evidence. I also don't think that it is all or nothing, or that any one documentary could possibly decide the issue comprehensively.

I don't know if there is any human being who ever lived who has been examined as thoroughly as Lincoln. I have read everything he ever wrote, and hundreds of examinations of his life. Every few months or so someone is on the air and in the press with "startling new revelations" or some such.

It is difficult for anyone to get a new "slant" on Lincoln, since there are thousands of slants already published. The more time goes by, the more of a reach each new slant needs to be.

He is promoting a book. I will read it. We shall see.

[liberalmuse]

2. Wow, that brought me to tears.

What a beautiful story. I don't know...it just touched me for some reason. I love both men. People joke that Barack Obama is the reincarnation of Lincoln, but why not Douglass? What a fascinating man.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

3. Douglass and Lincoln were both giants in their time

Douglass was fearless--he wrote his biography and named names--he had to leave the US for a while because there were threats to re-enslave him. It was Douglass that lobbied for black troops--and Lincoln often spoke of the courage of the black soldiers. My favorite one was when, during a battle, the flag fell. A captain looked around for someone to bear the colors, and a black sergeant came up to him. The captain looked at him skeptically and said, "Will you carry the banner through this battle?" The sergeant replied, "I'll carry the flag--or report to God the reason why I didn't." He died defending the colors.

[boomerbust]

6. Excellent Article

[Two Americas]

10. good article, thanks

Frederick Douglass gets too little attention. He may have had more a more profound influence on Lincoln than anyone else.