I wish the inscription above Lincoln in DC had a quote about freedom for us all, not just saving the union.

@JeffreytheLibrarian

3 жыл бұрын

Yes, indeed. I guess we can also interpret that abolition was what ultimately "saved the union" in a moral sense.

@snipeswashere

3 жыл бұрын

@@JeffreytheLibrarian I do agree. Lincoln is my top 2 President of all time. Oddly, the reason I actually prefer Lincoln over Cadillac (sidenote) but overall there is much work to be done. The fact of the matter is a large portion of this country was/is used as free labor for a considerable amount of time, not only was this an issue of morality but it also created economic disparities that have yet to be reconciled to this day. Just some thoughts I wanted to get off. Keep up the great work, I've been learning so much about our history. Esp the Civil war series. Much love. - North Carolinian

Agreed

I used to have the Gettysburg Address memorized. I would break it out at big parties, surprise everybody.

@JeffreytheLibrarian

2 жыл бұрын

The Gettysburg Address will be one for the ages. Lincoln is the American Cicero.

And to think the BLM/antifa crowd want to tear down Lincoln statues. Great vid

@rayhughel1508

3 жыл бұрын

It is really not a surprise that BLM behaves that way, they are a communist organization that has chosen a name that is a false flag and belies the proposition that any lives matter as history has proven again and again that communism/socialism ultimately crushes human flourishing.

@Zarastro54

2 жыл бұрын

Not quite. Please give the full context. One statue in Oregon was torn down by rioters in honor of Indigenous People’s Day. It’s important to remember that while Lincoln was a great help to black Americans he also expanded the colonization of the west and was brutally repressive to Native Americans. It is understandable that many of them have no love for Lincoln. Though I do not support the vandalization or destruction of that statue, one should at least understand why the people did what they did. “Riots are the language of the unheard” as MLK put it, and Native Americans are some of the most underserved people in the country. Another statue in Boston was legally removed after petitions and debate because, while its sentiment was good, the image depicted was demeaning to black people. That monument, depicting Lincoln generously looking down on a freed slave on his knees, actually drew criticism since it was first erected from people including none other than Frederick Douglass precisely for the same reason it’s being criticized now.

Abraham Lincoln in the Fourth Lincoln/Douglas debate, September 18, 1858… “I will say, then that I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races - that I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of making voters or jurors of negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people; and I will say, in addition to this, that there is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality. And in as much as they cannot so live, while they do remain together there must be the position of superior and inferior, and I as much as any other man am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race.” …Great emancipator indeed. Lincoln wasn’t the saint people wish he was. He suspended habeas corpus, jailed dissenters, censored the press, among other violations of our rights when it wasn’t in line with his agenda. No amount of us wanting something to be true, will ever make it true.

@neilpemberton5523

2 жыл бұрын

Your closing line is quite ironic. All you've done is cut and paste a statement Lincoln made while campaigning in the most racist part of Illinois against Stephen Douglas, a man dismissed by William Seward as being unfit for the presidency because he spelt negro with two g's. The United States changed so much in four years of war one person (whose name I forget, sorry for that) said it was no longer the same country in which he was born. There is no doubt Lincoln was changed himself during this time. He gave up on the idea of sending unwilling black people to Africa. He enlisted black men into the army, an action which totally undermined what you quoted. He met with the most important black leader, Frederick Douglass, on several occasions. As for the people whose rights he suppressed, a very large number of them hated the idea of losing slavery. In the South even before the war anti-slavery literature was banned, so be careful who you highlight as violating the first amendment. What Lincoln did was less extreme than decades-long practice in the South.

@JeddieT

2 жыл бұрын

@@neilpemberton5523 …So it seems you are saying two things, first, that Lincoln, far from being the racist bigot he was in 1858, and in attempting to appeal to a particularly racist demographic just to get votes, became in later years a _changed_ man. One who saw the error of his ignorant, not-so-distant past and shed the chrysalis of his biases. And second, that subverting the U.S. Constitution and destroying dissent is all well and good as long as it’s in agreement with YOUR personal hindsight. So in regard to your first point, here’s a sample of the new and “reformed” Lincoln and his point of view well into the war years… Lincoln in letter to Horace Greely, August 22, 1862… “My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by 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; and what I forbear, I forbear because I do not believe it would help to save the Union.” …Still convinced that the magnanimous Lincoln was this great champion of the the slaves and black people in general? How about this quote, also stated _during_ some of the darkest days of the war… Lincoln addressing an audience of black people August 14, 1862... "You and we are different races. ...But even when you cease to be slaves, you are yet far removed from being placed on an equality with the white race. You are cut off from many of the advantages which the other race enjoy. The aspiration of men is to enjoy equality with the best when free, but on this broad continent, not a single man of your race is made the equal of a single man of ours. It is better for us both, therefore, to be separated.” So your pathetic excuse that Lincoln became a _changed_ man as the horrors of the Civil War progressed, is just another glaring example of wishful thinking and your need to believe in myth. As for your easily dismissed second point, please remember that it is your very thoughts - that it’s just fine to subvert and oppress our human and constitutional rights just as long as it suits YOUR agenda - that is the foundation for EVERY fascist dictator that’s ever existed. Good luck with that. Moreover, there’s _nothing_ ironic about the last sentence of my original post as you claim. That is, unless for you and those like yourself, who so desperately _need_ to cling to this sanctimonious Lincoln myth, _want_ to believe in this myth more than you want to pursue and face the truth. _”You can avoid reality, but you cannot avoid the consequences of avoiding reality.”_ ~ Ayn Rand