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BrendaPeter
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In another post, Macbeth mentioned Thomas Woods' book How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization. A friend recently showed me a page from The Polically Incorrect Guide to American History also by Thomas Woods. Mr. Woods quotes President Lincoln who, at one point, expressed very racist sentiments to Stephen Douglas. I've never heard this about Lincoln. Does anyone else have any insight? I checked "Christ the King, Lord of History" and everything Anne Carroll writes goes along with the usual line of thinking - i.e. that Lincoln was against slavery and wanted freedom for blacks.
Thanks for your help!
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Brenda (mom to 6)
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MacBeth
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Brenda, see the complete texts of the Lincoln/Doglas debates. It is enlightening.
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guitarnan
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Brenda,
I've read The Politically Incorrect Guide...one thing to be aware of when reading any book by an historian is that he or she has either a point of view (for example, Howard Zinn is very socialist) or a point to make. Lincoln, for example, didn't think that freeing the slaves was a great idea at first. But, over time, and as he personally saw the carnage of the Civil War, he decided that freeing the slaves in southern states would be a good way to bring the Civil War to a quick end (and thus preserve lives and restore the Union). So, it's accurate to say that Lincoln did not always believe in freeing every single slave...but his point of view changed as he witnessed the horrific war.
It is very important to read all history books with an eye open toward that point of view/point to make thing. (This is called historiography...determining why historians write what they do.) (I am not a history major, but dh is, and he went to a great history school, UCLA...I was along for the ride during his historiography seminar. Fortunately, I also took lots of great UCLA history courses!) Even if an author tries to be as objective as possible, he or she usually is trying to make a unique point or focus readers' attention on a particular event/trend/family/conflict...you get the idea. So, Woods does indeed use historical truths in his book, but you might need to do further research to get the big picture.
(I sound like Paul Harvey..."the rest of the story..." That must mean it's time to stop posting!)
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Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
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BrendaPeter
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| Posted: Jan 04 2006 at 9:10am | IP Logged
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Thx Macbeth for the link - I'm still working my way through it. Also thank you Nancy for the history lesson. Makes learning about history a little more complicated, doesn't it  ?
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Brenda (mom to 6)
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BrendaPeter
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| Posted: Jan 04 2006 at 9:25am | IP Logged
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Nancy & Macbeth,
Would you say that Lincoln's racist views were considered pretty "normal" in his day?
Thx!
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Brenda (mom to 6)
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guitarnan
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Brenda,
Reading historians' works is indeed challenging at times. I usually flip to the author's bio to see where he/she works/teaches/writes for a living. This helps me figure out what the author's POV/bias might be.
There was such a huge range of viewpoints about slavery during Lincoln's time that I would hesitate to call any of them "normal". Abolitionists believed in an immediate end to slavery. There were many people who wanted to see slavery end but did not want former slaves to remain in the United States. They wanted to send them to Liberia, a colony in Africa. Others believed in a gradual abolition of slavery. Some abolitionists had no idea what to do with the former slaves; others advocated integrating them into society right away (even though they were uneducated).
Lincoln was pretty mainstream for a politician. One important thing to remember is that he really and truly believed that the Union should stay together. All of the things he did to liberate slaves, engage the South in discussions and then in battle, and all of his major actions while President were done with this ultimate goal in mind. Lincoln was no country bumpkin. He was a savvy politician and, when President, was able to bring together a very diverse and antagonistic group of people to serve as his Cabinet (guess what, I'm reading Doris Kearns Goodwin's new book on this topic!). Together they worked to save the Union. When Lincoln felt that the war effort needed a big boost, he drafted up the Emancipation Proclamation and then waited for a Union victory before he enacted it. Even then, he freed Southern slaves, not Union slaves.
When we covered this topic last year, I tried to emphasize that Lincoln wanted to save the Union above all else. He did believe, ultimately, that slavery should be abolished and that the Union could not survive if slavery were allowed to flourish. He came to see the evils of slavery. He wanted the Union to be free of these evils. Preserving the Union was his goal, though, and all his actions flowed from this goal. As time passed, Lincoln was more clearly able to see that freeing the slaves would not only achieve his purpose but also rid the Union of a great evil.
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Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
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BrendaPeter
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Thx Nancy for your reply & all the info.
The debates that Macbeth has the link to were very interesting indeed. It was interesting to read Lincoln's "racist" remarks in the 4th debate and then to read that the audience responded with "laughter." In the 5th talk, Lincoln mentions the evils on slavery, so on 1st glimpse it all seems contradictory.
Another lesson in how things must be taken in context. Thank you again!
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Brenda (mom to 6)
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4Real Forums : Across Time and Place
Topic: The Politically Incorrect Guide
