As We Honor the Fallen at the Battle of Gettysburg, Can We Have an Honest Discussion About Abraham Lincoln?
1) Lincoln was at heart an abolitionist. Historians often point to the Lincoln-Douglas debates to prove that Lincoln was not in favor of the abolition of slavery. This is hard to conclusively prove given his Peoria Speech (1854), his opposition to the Kansas-Nebraska act which wanted to give states popular sovereignty on the issue of slavery, and several private writings in the 1850s. What might be more accurate to say is that in private he was a confirmed abolitionist, but in public he knew that in order to make a difference he had to take a more moderate approach. One might also suggest that his convictions grew more resolved over time as evidenced by his Copper Union Speech (1860) which is decidedly more anti-slavery than his previous speeches.
2) Lincoln was the right man for the job. As a politician, Lincoln had to balance his abolitionist leanings with keeping the United States united. In other words, Lincoln needed to keep his cards close to his chest in order to allow the country to move forward collectively on the issue of slavery. It is probably a fair assessment that Lincoln was not an abolitionist of the caliber of William Seward or John Quincy Adams. It is also fair to suggest that if William Seward had won the Republican nomination of 1860, as he was supposed to being the front runner, that the Republicans would have lost the election — and that would have been an even bigger disaster. Moreover, just as Lincoln realized that he needed to moderate his politics in order to win the Republican nomination, he also realized he needed a balanced approach in order to both abolish slavery and keep the union together. We tend to forget that both accomplishments were necessary to perpetuate the United States forward. In the end, he was willing to give his life for what he believed.
3) Lincoln was just a man. Some people believe that Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation should catapult him into the annals of history. Others suggest that is was a more calculated move by someone who was gaming the system or desperate for a new military strategy. Some want to judge Lincoln by his results (by any means necessary) while others see the means as just as important. It is easy to Monday-morning quarterback 150+ years into the past in order to analyze a man’s actions in a totally different time. People can say that they might have acted differently or more decisively in order to abolish slavery (and maybe there is some truth to that). But we need to recognize that Abraham Lincoln is not a god. He is only a man and given the circumstances (circumstances we have the benefit of hindsight, but the lack of understanding to consider) did a pretty fine job all things considering. If we are critical of what Lincoln did or didn’t do in terms of slowing or halting slavery, we should ask ourselves what we are doing at the present to abolish slavery today.
4) Lincoln knew that God was key to the everything. Lincoln read the Bible and was a man of God. He knew how scripture could inspire and he knew how to use it to inspire others. Furthermore, he knew that we as a nation had (over the past 80 years) hearkened less and less to God’s will and we were guilty of grievous sins. One of those sins was not considering every man to be worthy of the life, liberty and pursuit of happiness laid out in the Declaration of Independence. Lincoln constantly refocused people’s attention back on our founding documents and God’s will. To that end, Lincoln covenanted with God and urged the nation to make the same covenant. It is this covenant and the blessings that followed that allowed the Union to turn the tide of the war, declare victory at Gettysburg and bring the south to its knees.
5) Lincoln believed in reconciliation. In his second inaugural address, Lincoln clarified that he wanted to reunite the Union without punishing the south. While there were many in the North who wanted to punish the South for their secession and all the death they had caused, Lincoln knew that revenge and retribution were never the answer. He knew that the North was not in a position to judge the South for its sins (that only God could judge them for their crimes), and that the best he could do with the time and power that he had was to begin to mend, and not exacerbate, the wounds of the past.
Conclusion — As we hold men and women of the past in high esteem and elevate some to hero status because of their great accomplishments, we need to separate the accomplishments from the human failings and recognize that though none are perfect, some did the best they could.
