"Lincoln's true feelings on racism..." response to reader inquiry

"Lincoln's true feelings on racism...."  Lincoln was only less racist than most when he became president of the United States; four years later, as circumstances allowed, he became the abolitionist in chief. 

Dear Ms. Rutherford

Thank you so much for writing, I am glad that you enjoy the Lincoln Douglass blog.  The wording of your question implies that racism and slavery were somehow equivalent but such was not the case.  At the time of the civil war both the North and the South were overwhelmingly racist, ie. they believed that a person's race was the strongest determinant of their potential and behavior.  They institutionalized racism, the practice of equality among the races was against the law.   But slavery only flourished in the south.  Still, even Abolitionists did not believe that Africans in America were their equal but they, like Lincoln, without question believed that slavery was morally wrong; typically out of personal or religious convictions.  The founding fathers were deeply conflicted but they legislated slavery into the constitution; it was law.  The same revolutionary republic that allowed Abraham Lincoln, by background a peasant anywhere else in the world, to become its leader also allowed slavery.

Discussing an individual's feelings on racism is a slippery topic as a person's feelings change with experience. One might argue that as a nation we are all still racist, just less so; but it is unequivical that Black Americans' elevated expectations of themselves in the eyes of the world in the time of Lincoln and Douglass.  White soldiers and the press, weary of the war, took notice when black soldiers showed themselves capable of discipine and courage.  The deadly burden of the soldier would be shared with the black man.  Northern whites could not help but look upon Black people with new respect and gratitude and soften their own racist views.  Lincoln had the advantage of starting with a more benevolent point of view, he risked his early political career by speaking against the morality of slavery and as a freshman congressman tried to outlaw slavery in the District of Columbia. He presided over a war that killed over half a million people, a war that many of his colleagues thought not worth fighting, a war to stop slavery.  He also had personal experiences with impressive people like Frederick Douglass.  

Lincoln said that he hated slavery, but for most of his life he accepted it because the racist views of the day dampened its inhumanity, he felt it would disappear over time and most important for him it was the law of the land. As President he initially pushed the popular progressive solution of the day to free the slaves and move them to another country.  But his experiences during the war changed his racial view.  He could no longer accept slavery; he issued the Emancipation Proclamation, resisted any negotiated peace that allowed for the continuation of slavery and campaigned for the 13th amendment to abolish slavery by law in the United States.

Sent: Friday, September 7, 2012 11:12 AM
Subject: Lincoln

Dear Dr. Prager,

This is a note to let you know how much I have enjoyed following your blog about the friendship between Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass.

I am  interested in your opinion about Lincoln's true feelings on racism....was it something that was separating the country politically and had to be eradicated or was it something he felt deeply to be morally wrong?

Thank you for taking the time.

Sincerely,

Mary Patience Rutherford

Vermont