Historic essay question

Abraham Lincoln is considered by many to be one of the greatest presidents in American history , as well as one of the great people in history overall . He has been immortalized as the Great Emancipator being widely regarded as a champion of black freedom ' as well as a supporter of social equality of the races (Morgan , np . However in recent years , many historians have come to the conclusion that although Lincoln was a great president , he should not be regarded as the Great Emancipator ' but rather as a typical white man who may

not have agreed with slavery on a moral level , yet still believed that blacks were inferior to whites

Evidence of this attitude now frequently subscribed to Lincoln can be found throughout his legal and political career . As is well known Lincoln was a self-taught lawyer and he began practicing law in his adopted home state of Illinois . On one occasion , he had a case in which he was counsel for a slave-owner . While the details of the case are important , they have little bearing on the issue at hand . What does matter is that the mere fact that Lincoln would defend a slaveholder pokes a hole in the image of him as the Great Emancipator

Another example that counters Lincoln 's Great Emancipator ' image pertains to his time as a representative in the Illinois legislature When Zachary Taylor was running for president in 1848 , Lincoln urged his fellow Whigs to support Taylor , knowing full well that he was urging his fellow party members to support a slave owner . Lincoln also supported an Illinois law that forbad interracial marriage . Along with these examples , many scholars use Lincoln 's own words to prove he is undeserving of his image as a great champion of slaves

In a speech given at Springfield , IL , Lincoln addressed his reason for opposing the Kansas-Nebraska Act , which would have admitted Kansas into the Union as a slave state . He stated that There is a natural disgust in the minds of nearly all white people to the idea of indiscriminate amalgamation of the white and black races .A separation of the races is the only perfect preventive of amalgamation , but as an immediate separation is impossible , the next best thing is to keep them apart where they are not already together (Morgan , np . He then went on to say that , to accomplish this racial separation , the policy of colonization - sending all freed blacks to a foreign land , particularly Africa - should be utilized . He conceded it would be difficult to do but not impossible . Furthermore , it would not succeed unless accompanied by humanitarian concern for blacks , and some respect for their rights and abilities (Morgan , np

The concept of resettling blacks was not a new one when Lincoln presented it . It had been thought of as early as 1714 , when a New Jersey man proposed sending blacks back to Africa . Again , in 1777 , a Virginia legislature committee headed by Thomas Jefferson proposed a plan that required gradual emancipating and then resettling the slaves of Virginia . In 1815 , a free black named Paul Cuffe actually transported 38 free blacks to West Africa at his own expense . This showed that there were some blacks that were eager to resettle in a country of their own and thus presented what could be possible if there was public and possibly government support

To that end , in December of 1816 , the American Colonization Society was formed . This group was successful in getting Congress to give them 100 ,000 to transport blacks to Africa . They also sent agents to acquire land (present-day Liberia ) on the western coast of Africa , and it was here that many free blacks began resettling to in 1822 .By 1827 , it was both free blacks and newly freed blacks that were resettling to the territory and by 1847 , the settlers had declared the country an independent republic . It was this success Lincoln had in mind when he promoted the idea of resettlement as the solution for the issue of slavery . However , Lincoln would not have the same success that the American Colonization Society had . His two attempts at resettlement - the Chiriqui Plan and the ?Ille d Vache ' Project - were both failures as each one met with a great deal of obstacles

Yet , it is the document from which the moniker Great Emancipator stems from that provides solid proof that Lincoln is undeserving of that title . Written midway into the Civil War , the Emancipation Proclamation is often misinterpreted as being the document that freed the slaves . In reality , however , it did no such thing . To understand this point , it is necessary to provide a brief explanation of how and why Lincoln wrote it . In late 1861 and early 1862 , there was increasing public outcry for the abolition of slavery . Lincoln responded initially by signing a law on June 19 , 1862 that abolished slavery in all federal territories However , he had something more dramatic in the works

Just a little over a month later , Lincoln read to his cabinet a draft of a document he prepared - a proclamation that would give the Confederate states a hundred days to stop their `rebellion ' upon threat of declaring all slaves in those states to be free (Morgan , np . He told his cabinet that he wanted no advice on whether the proclamation itself was a wise course of action , but rather advice on when it should be implemented . Secretary of State William Seward was able to convince Lincoln not to issue the proclamation until after a Union military victory , and that is exactly what Lincoln did

Following the Union success at the Battle of Antietam , Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation , in which he made the following points first , that the war was being fought for the object of practically restoring the constitutional relation between the United States , and each of the states , and the people thereof ' and second , that on January 1 , 1863 all persons held as slaves within any state , or designated part of a state , the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States , shall be then , thencefoward , and forever , free (Morgan , np

While the words of the Emancipation Proclamation seem to free the slaves , in reality , it only freed those slaves under Confederate control , while completely excluding slaves located in Union-held territories , including federal-occupied areas of the Confederacy , West Virginia , and the four slave states that were still part of the Union In short , the Proclamation emancipated slaves where it could not reach them , and left them in bondage where it could have set them free (Morgan , np . Furthermore , its long-term validity was questionable , and as such , could easily be revoked by another president

The Emancipation Proclamation , ultimately , was little more than a war measure . Lincoln , in response to Horace Greeley , made the following statement : My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union and is not either to save or destroy slavery . If I could save the union without freeing any slave , I would do it , and if I could save it be freeing all the slaves , I would do it and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone , I would also do that . What I do about slavery and the colored race , I do because I believe it helps to save the Union (Morgan , np . Clearly , the only goal that Lincoln had was to preserve the Union any way he could . This , then , is the ultimate proof that Lincoln was not a champion for the freedom of slaves

In light of all that has been presented , it is evident that Lincoln should not be viewed as the Great Emancipator ' He was like most of America in that he viewed blacks as inferior , and as such , could not and should not be allowed to live alongside whites as their equals . However Lincoln is deserving of being considered a great president . He guided the nation through four years of gruesome warfare that was extremely costly in terms of money and human life . He accomplished his goal of preserving the Union , and had he not been assassinated , the period of Reconstruction may have played out quite differently

Morgan , Robert (1993 . The `Great Emancipator ' and the Issue of Race The Journal for

Historical Review , 13 . Retrieved May 8 , 2008 from http /www .ihr .org /jhr /v13 /v13n5p-4_Morgan .html

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