Lincoln on Race and Slavery

by Gates, Henry Louis; Yacovone, Donald

• ISBN13: 9781400832088
• ISBN10: 140083208X
• Copyright: 2009-02-11
• Publisher: Princeton Univ Pr

Summary

Generations of Americans have debated the meaning of Abraham Lincoln's views on race and slavery. He issued the Emancipation Proclamation, authorized the use of black troops during the Civil War, supported a constitutional amendment to outlaw slavery, and eventually advocated giving the vote to black veterans and to what he referred to as "very intelligent negroes." But he also harbored grave doubts about the intellectual capacity of African Americans, publicly used the n-word until at least 1862, enjoyed "darky" jokes and black-faced minstrel shows, and long favored permanent racial segregation and the voluntary "colonization" of freed slaves to Africa, the Caribbean, or South America. In this book--the first complete collection of Lincoln's important writings on both race and slavery--readers can explore these contradictions through Lincoln's own words. Acclaimed Harvard scholar and documentary filmmaker Henry Louis Gates, Jr., presents the full range of Lincoln's views, gathered from his private letters, speeches, official documents, and even race jokes, arranged chronologically from the late 1830s to the 1860s.Complete with definitive texts, rich historical notes, and Gates's original introduction, this book charts the progress of a war within Lincoln himself. We witness his struggles with conflicting aims and ideas--a hatred of slavery and a belief in the political equality of all men, but also anti-black prejudices and a determination to preserve the Union even at the cost of preserving slavery. We also watch the evolution of his racial views, especially in reaction to the heroic fighting of black Union troops.At turns inspiring and disturbing,Lincoln on Race and Slaveryis indispensable for understanding what Lincoln's views meant for his generation--and what they mean for our own.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	p. xiii
Acknowledgments	p. xv
Abraham Lincoln on Race and Slavery Henry Louis Gates, Jr.	p. xvii
Protest in Illinois Legislature on Slavery March 3, 1837	p. 1
Address Before the Young Men's Lyceum of Sringfield, January 27, 1838	p. 3
AL to Mary Seed September 27, 1841	p. 9
Temperance Address February 22, 1842	p. 11
AL to Williamson Durley October 3, 1845	p. 16
AL to Josephus Hewett February 13, 1848	p. 20
Seech at Worcester, Massachusetts September 12, 1848	p. 23
Remarks and Resolution Introduced in United tates House of Representatives Concerning Aolition of Slavery in the District of Columbia January 10, 1849	p. 26
Eulogy on Henry Clay& January 4, 1855, Outline for Seech to the Colonization Society July 6, 1852	p. 31
Hon. A. Lincoln's Address, Before the Sringfield Scott Club, in Reply to Judge Douglas' Richmond Seech August 14 and 26, 1852	p. 43
Fragments on Slavery July 1, 1854	p. 48
Speech at Bloomington, Illinois September 12, 1854	p. 51
Speech at Peoria, October 16, 1854	p. 56
AL to Ichabod Codding November 27, 1854	p. 69
AL to Oen Lovejoy August 11, 1855	p. 71
AL to George Robertson August 15, 1855	p. 73
AL to Joshua F. Speed August 24, 1855	p. 77
Speech at Kalamazoo, Michigan August 27, 1856	p. 84
AL to Newton Deming and George P. Strong May 25, 1857	p. 90
Speech at Sringfield, Illinois June 26, 1857	p. 92
A House Divided, Speech at Sringfield, Illinois June 16, 1858	p. 103
to John L. Scripps June 23, 1858	p. 107
Fragment on the Struggle Against Slavery July, 1858	p. 109
Speech at Chicago, Illinois July 10, 1858	p. 111
Speech at Sringfield, July 17, 1858	p. 119
Speech at Lewistown, August 17, 1858	p. 124
First Debate ith Stephen A. Douglas at Ottawa, Illinois August 21, 1858	p. 127
Second at Freeport Illinois August 27, 1858	p. 137
Speech at Carlinville, Illinois August 31, 1858	p. 143
at Clinton, Illinois September 2, 1858	p. 149
Speech at Edwardsville, Illinois September 11, 1858	p. 152
Fourth Debate ith Stephen A. Douglas September 18, 1858	p. 156
Fragment on Pro-slavery Theology October 1, 1858?	p. 160
Seventh and Last Debate with Stephen A. Douglasat Alton, Illinois, & October 18, 1858, AL to James N. Brown October 15, 1858	p. 163
to Salmon P. Chase June 9, 1859	p. 174
Speech at Columbus, Ohio September 16, 1859	p. 177
Speech at Cincinnati, Ohio September 17, 1859	p. 187
Fragment on Free Labor September 17, 1859	p. 191
Address at the Cooper Institute, New York City February 27, 1860	p. 193
Speech at Hartford, Connecticut March 5, 1860	p. 202
AL to John A. Gilmer December 15, 1860	p. 210
First Inaugural Address March 4, 1861	p. 214
AL to Orville H. Browning September 22, 1861	p. 218
Message to Congress March 6, 1862	p. 222
AL to James A. McDougall March 14, 1862	p. 225
AL to Horace Greeley & Aril 16, 1862, Message to Congress March 24, 1862	p. 228
Appeal to Border State Representatives to Favor Compensated Eancipation July 12, 1862	p. 231
Address on Colonization to a Deputation of Negroes August 14, 1862	p. 235
AL to Horace Greeley August 22, 1862	p. 242
Reply to Eancipation Memorial Presented by Chicago Christians of All Denominations September 13, 1862	p. 245
Preliminary Proclamation September 22, 1862	p. 250
Annual Message to Congress December 1, 1862	p. 255
Eancipation Proclamation January 1, 1863	p. 265
AL to Andrew Johnson March 26, 1863	p. 270
Resolution on Slavery April 15, 1863	p. 272
AL to John M. Schofield June 22, 1863	p. 274
Order of Retaliation July 30, 1863	p. 276
AL to Nathaniel P. Banks August 5, 1863	p. 279
AL to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant August 9, 1863	p. 282
AL to James C. Conkling August 26, 1863	p. 284
Fragment August 26, 1863	p. 290
Annual Message to Congress December 8, 1863	p. 292
Reply to Nework Workingmen's Democratic Republican Association March 21, 1864	p. 295
AL to Albert G. Hodges April 4, 1864	p. 298
AL to Edwin M. Stanton May 17, 1864	p. 302
Interviewith Alexander W. Randall and Joseph T. Mills August 18, 1864	p. 305
Resolution Submitting the Thirteenth Aendmentto the States February 1, 1865	p. 308
Second Inaugural Address March 4, 1865	p. 310
Speech to One Hundred Fortieth Indiana Regiment March 17, 1865	p. 313
Last Public Address April 11, 1865	p. 316
Appendix: Lincoln, Race, and Humor	p. 321
Index	p. 329
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