Nancy Kendall and Abraham Lincoln lived during unbelievably turbulent times. The trauma of those years was etched on Abraham Lincoln’s face.
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​I have asked myself, was Abraham Lincoln really an abolitionist? 

I have asked myself, was slavery endemic to our country’s very core?

I have asked myself, is racism so embedded in our economy and collective thought that it will always be present? Are we capable of evolving from the racism that supported the enslavement of human beings based on the color of their skin?

A recent Smithsonian Magazine article, “Meet the Black Men Who Changed Lincoln’s Mind About Civil Rights,” explores these questions.   

​Author Jonathan W. White*, describes the daring 1862 escape of one of those influential men, Robert Smalls, a 23-year-old slave who commandeered a Confederate steamer, and against extraordinary odds, freed himself, his family and 12 other enslaved people.

Smalls met with Abraham Lincoln at the White House after his bold escape, to plant the seeds of emancipation and equality for Black men. Lincoln previously rejected the idea of Black volunteers in his militia, but after this fortuitous meeting of the minds with Smalls, Lincoln embraced the idea of enlisting Black troops, as a way to physically fortify their forces in order to win the war.

However, the newly enlisted Black men were only paid half as much as their white counterparts. They also had the added risk of deadly consequences if captured.     

Other petitioners, Arnold Bertonneau, Jean Baptiste Roudanez and Union Army surgeon, Anderson Ruffin Abbott appealed to Lincoln with the argument that the free Black men who had fought for the North, had “spilled their blood” and deserved to be treated equally with both pay and the unalienable rights they felt they had earned, one of which was the right to vote.

Lincoln agreed that “there was no reason that intelligent Black men should not vote.” He did not feel it was necessary to extend voting rights to those who were poor, uneducated, those who were born into bondage or those “who had not fought gallantly in our ranks.”

The evolution of his thinking had grave personal consequences. On April 11, 1865, John Wilkes Booth grew angry as he listened to Lincoln’s speech publicly calling for educated Black men and those who had served as soldiers to be given the right to vote. Three days later, Booth gunned Lincoln down.

In our history books, Lincoln his often lauded as a great abolitionist whose beliefs were the catalyst that started the conversation and the ensuing struggle for equality for Black Americans. A deeper delve into history, though, shines a light on his emerging enlightenment on this issue.

​For the first 30+ years of his career in public service, he ridiculed the thought of equality for Black men. In his final days, he took the opposite position, but only for the Black men he felt were worthy of those rights by their actions.

While his beliefs were changing with the help of these brave men advocating for full equality for all their brethren, he was not yet willing to grant those rights to all men of color. Some of his earlier held beliefs remained unchanged. Yet, Lincoln opined that he had “labored hard…for the good of the colored race” and “would continue to do so.”

Most of us abhor the notion of racism, and consider ourselves evolved from those views. Yet do we, like Lincoln, still also harbor bits of unconscious bias? It has only been very recently that we have begun to recognize and revise the subtle remnants of racism in the world around us.

Have we all looked within ourselves to examine if our own beliefs truly support equal treatment of all human beings? Are there things we could do better?    

What were Abraham Lincoln's motives for issuing the Emancipation Proclamation? Critics suggest Lincoln's act was a military necessity aimed at ending the war rather than a call for justice. 

A San Francisco Unified School district recently voted to rename Abraham Lincoln High School because of Lincoln's detrimental policy decisions regarding Native and African Americans.  

Author Jonathan W. White, associate professor of American Studies at Christopher Newport University and author or editor of 8 books, decided to examine the history. Using actual letters, correspondence and historical events, White attempts to answer the  "Did Black lives matter to Abraham Lincoln?" question.

Here's an excerpt:

"Lincoln also met hundreds of African Americans in Washington during the war years. Some came to the White House at his invitation; others walked through the White House gates uninvited and unannounced. Regardless of how they arrived at his doorstep, the president welcomed these visitors with open arms and an outstretched hand. As Frederick Douglass was proud to say after his first White House meeting in August 1863, Lincoln welcomed him “just as you have seen one gentleman receive another.”

Click here to read the article in its entirety: Black Lives Certainly Mattered to Abraham Lincoln.

Coming Soon: Families: Separation and loss - then and now.

With the election of Abraham Lincoln, Nancy Kendall’s world was about to enter one of the most volatile chapters in the history of the American Experience.
 
On the eve of the Civil War, President-elect Lincoln traveled two weeks on the long train trip from Springfield, IL, to Washington D. C. for his inauguration. Newspapers were the only reliable form of mass communication at the time. The citizens of a troubled nation wanted to know their new president on a more personal level than newsprint could offer. As Lincoln wound his way through cities both small and large, he got off the train at each stop to speak directly to the people.
 
Lincoln was in terrible danger as he traveled east whether he took it seriously or not. As he prepared to assume the office of President of the U.S., alarm bells were going off in the minds of those involved in not only the inaugural preparations, but also those in charge of security during the perilous trip to D.C. Provocateurs plotted against the president-elect and planned various, often violent actions to obstruct him along the way. 

Historian Ted Widmer examines this 13 day journey in his book, "Lincoln on the Verge: Thirteen Days to Washington."  

​In a World Affairs Council Dallas/Forth Worth interview, Widmer and fellow historian Jeffrey Engel discuss Lincoln's "odyssey to save democracy" as he traveled from Springfield to Washington D.C. 

​The parallels between Lincoln's election and inauguration and that of President-elect Joseph Biden are striking. Biden steps on a stage every bit as fraught with dangers. He assures the citizens of the U.S. that he is not afraid to meet the challenges as our leader, and he cares deeply for "we the people."
 
Next time: Thoughts about President-elect Joe Biden as he faces leading a country  filled with unrest.