As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy. Whatever differs from this, to the extent of the difference, is no democracy.
Genial Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln, the 16th and arguably the most famous President of the United States of America, was born in Hardin County, Kentucky, on this day in 1809. In America Lincoln's Birthday is theoretically a national holiday, and so I am celebrating it here. I spent 3 years at University working towards a BA in American Studies, but despite this I still have an almost embarrassing lack of knowledge about Abraham Lincoln. Thinking about it, I'm not quite sure whether we just failed to cover Lincoln or if I just failed to attend that particular lecture. We definitely covered slavery, and the Civil War, I just don't remember any actual profiling of Lincoln himself. It seems unlikely that Lincoln wasn't covered as an individual subject, but also entirely possible. Oh well, I shall find out about him now regardless, and provide you with a synopsis of my discoveries.
Lincoln was what John Lennon would deem a working class hero, a man who rose from a decidedly humble birth and childhood to one of the most powerful offices in the world. The very epitome of that much sought after thing; the American Dream. Almost incredibly, he seems to have done this without sacrificing his ideals and integrity along the way. Born to Thomas and Nancy Lincoln in a log cabin on the western frontier, life as the son on an intrepid pioneer was tough. In his own words;
As a young adult Lincoln moved to New Salem, Illinois, and worked as a shopkeeper and then general store owner, slowly earning the trust of the locals and becoming a respected member of the community. When the Black Hawk War broke out in 1932, Lincoln was elected to be captain of the local militia, although his detachment saw no fighting. Once the short war was over, taking advantage of his new-found political connections he managed to secure election to the state legislature of Illinois in 1834, as a member of the Whig party. In this new position Lincoln began to teach himself the principles of law, and in 1837 he succeeded in getting himself admitted to the bar, and moved to Springfield to practice law soon afterwards. In 1840, he became engaged to Mary Todd, a well-educated woman from a good family, and after a wobble or two they finally married in 1842. Mary went on the bear Lincoln four children, but unfortunately infant mortality at this time was still very high, and only one of them survived to adulthood. It was during this period that Lincoln began to formulate his own opinion of slavery as illegal, although at this point he did not view it as a moral wrong so much as an economically unviable situation that was standing in the way of progression.
Lincoln joined the Republican Party in 1856, but it was only after the controversial and much maligned Dred Scott Decision that he felt compelled to stand for office. The Dred Scott decision is widely regarded as being one of the worst decisions ever made by the Supreme Court. It essentially asserted that African-Americans were not citizens, and therefore had no rights and could never have any rights. Lincoln felt strongly that this was an unacceptable decision, and during his campaign he made his own opinions on the matter very clear, and the 1852 campaign trail debates were highly publicised and attracted a lot of attention from the media and the public. Lincoln did not go on to win the seat, but he'd certainly made himself and his position known in the political sphere. 1860 was to be Lincoln's year, and with the support of Illinois he managed to beat all of the competition in a four way race to the presidency. Before his inauguration in March 1861, seven states had already seceded from the country and soon they were embroiled in what would come to be known as the American Civil War.
Lincoln was what John Lennon would deem a working class hero, a man who rose from a decidedly humble birth and childhood to one of the most powerful offices in the world. The very epitome of that much sought after thing; the American Dream. Almost incredibly, he seems to have done this without sacrificing his ideals and integrity along the way. Born to Thomas and Nancy Lincoln in a log cabin on the western frontier, life as the son on an intrepid pioneer was tough. In his own words;
"I was born Feb. 12, 1809, in Hardin County, Kentucky. My parents were both born in Virginia, of undistinguished families--second families, perhaps I should say. My mother, who died in my tenth year, was of a family of the name of Hanks.... My father ... removed from Kentucky to ... Indiana, in my eighth year.... It was a wild region, with many bears and other wild animals still in the woods. There I grew up.... Of course when I came of age I did not know much. Still somehow, I could read, write, and cipher ... but that was all."
Young Lincoln
As a young adult Lincoln moved to New Salem, Illinois, and worked as a shopkeeper and then general store owner, slowly earning the trust of the locals and becoming a respected member of the community. When the Black Hawk War broke out in 1932, Lincoln was elected to be captain of the local militia, although his detachment saw no fighting. Once the short war was over, taking advantage of his new-found political connections he managed to secure election to the state legislature of Illinois in 1834, as a member of the Whig party. In this new position Lincoln began to teach himself the principles of law, and in 1837 he succeeded in getting himself admitted to the bar, and moved to Springfield to practice law soon afterwards. In 1840, he became engaged to Mary Todd, a well-educated woman from a good family, and after a wobble or two they finally married in 1842. Mary went on the bear Lincoln four children, but unfortunately infant mortality at this time was still very high, and only one of them survived to adulthood. It was during this period that Lincoln began to formulate his own opinion of slavery as illegal, although at this point he did not view it as a moral wrong so much as an economically unviable situation that was standing in the way of progression.
Dred Scott
Lincoln joined the Republican Party in 1856, but it was only after the controversial and much maligned Dred Scott Decision that he felt compelled to stand for office. The Dred Scott decision is widely regarded as being one of the worst decisions ever made by the Supreme Court. It essentially asserted that African-Americans were not citizens, and therefore had no rights and could never have any rights. Lincoln felt strongly that this was an unacceptable decision, and during his campaign he made his own opinions on the matter very clear, and the 1852 campaign trail debates were highly publicised and attracted a lot of attention from the media and the public. Lincoln did not go on to win the seat, but he'd certainly made himself and his position known in the political sphere. 1860 was to be Lincoln's year, and with the support of Illinois he managed to beat all of the competition in a four way race to the presidency. Before his inauguration in March 1861, seven states had already seceded from the country and soon they were embroiled in what would come to be known as the American Civil War.
Lincoln's campaign banner
Abraham Lincoln responded to the crisis wielding powers as no other present before him. He distributed $2,000,000 from the Treasury for war materiel without an appropriation from Congress; he called for 75,000 volunteers into military service without a declaration of war; and he suspended the writ of habeas corpus, arresting and imprisoning suspected Confederate sympathizers without a warrant. Crushing the rebellion would be difficult under any circumstances, but the Civil War, with its preceding decades of white-hot partisan politics, was especially onerous. From all directions, Lincoln faced disparagement and defiance. He was often at odds with his generals, his Cabinet, his party, and a majority of the American people.Lincoln battled against seemingly everyone in his attempts to wrestle his fractured country back together again. It was a difficult struggle and progress was slow, but by the end of September 1862, shortly after the Union Army had repelled the invading Confederate forces in a short but bloody battle at Antietam, he felt confident enough to reorder his priorities. He changed the Union's main justification for the fighting from the necessity of reunification to the abolition of slavery, following this with the Emancipation Proclamation, a document that promised to free all slaves in states held by the Union. The Union Army continued to slowly wear down the Confederacy until the South changed to guerilla tactics. By this point Lincoln had little faith in his ability to survive to serve a second term as president but to his surprise he was re-elected with a good majority of votes. It would seem that the people still had faith in him. The struggle continued until March 28, 1865, when General Robert E Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S Grant and the war was effectively over. Lincoln had succeeded in reunifying his beloved country, and the Emancipation Proclamation could now be enforced in the rebellious Confederate states, officially putting an end to slavery in the United States of America.
Robert E Lee. No relation to Colonel Sanders
Much of the South had been devastated by the war. Many had lost their loved ones, their homes and their livelihoods. Lincoln had initiated measures to restore the land to peace and prosperity as early as 1863 in some tightly held Union lands, while the war still raged fiercely in others. Lincoln was not a vengeful man, and supported a general policy of forgiveness with little punishment for the rebellious states, an approach that some of his cabinet were not happy with. They had little time to remonstrate with the president, however, as he was assassinated during a visit to the theatre less than a month after the conclusion of the war, by a relatively well known actor and Confederate supporter, John Wilkes Booth. Lincoln is lauded as being the great man who brought America through the civil war and ended slavery, and rightly so. I believe that a transcript of the Emancipation Proclamation is worthy of being included here in it's entirety;By the President of the United States of America:
A Proclamation.
Whereas, on the twenty-second day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, a proclamation was issued by the President of the United States, containing, among other things, the following, to wit:
"That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, 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, thenceforward, and forever free; and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom.
"That the Executive will, on the first day of January aforesaid, by proclamation, designate the States and parts of States, if any, in which the people thereof, respectively, shall then be in rebellion against the United States; and the fact that any State, or the people thereof, shall on that day be, in good faith, represented in the Congress of the United States by members chosen thereto at elections wherein a majority of the qualified voters of such State shall have participated, shall, in the absence of strong countervailing testimony, be deemed conclusive evidence that such State, and the people thereof, are not then in rebellion against the United States."
Now, therefore I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, by virtue of the power in me vested as Commander-in-Chief, of the Army and Navy of the United States in time of actual armed rebellion against the authority and government of the United States, and as a fit and necessary war measure for suppressing said rebellion, do, on this first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and in accordance with my purpose so to do publicly proclaimed for the full period of one hundred days, from the day first above mentioned, order and designate as the States and parts of States wherein the people thereof respectively, are this day in rebellion against the United States, the following, to wit:
Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, (except the Parishes of St. Bernard, Plaquemines, Jefferson, St. John, St. Charles, St. James Ascension, Assumption, Terrebonne, Lafourche, St. Mary, St. Martin, and Orleans, including the City of New Orleans) Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia, (except the forty-eight counties designated as West Virginia, and also the counties of Berkley, Accomac, Northampton, Elizabeth City, York, Princess Ann, and Norfolk, including the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth[)], and which excepted parts, are for the present, left precisely as if this proclamation were not issued.
And by virtue of the power, and for the purpose aforesaid, I do order and declare that all persons held as slaves within said designated States, and parts of States, are, and henceforward shall be free; and that the Executive government of the United States, including the military and naval authorities thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of said persons.
And I hereby enjoin upon the people so declared to be free to abstain from all violence, unless in necessary self-defence; and I recommend to them that, in all cases when allowed, they labor faithfully for reasonable wages.
And I further declare and make known, that such persons of suitable condition, will be received into the armed service of the United States to garrison forts, positions, stations, and other places, and to man vessels of all sorts in said service.
And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, warranted by the Constitution, upon military necessity, I invoke the considerate judgment of mankind, and the gracious favor of Almighty God.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the City of Washington, this first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty three, and of the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-seventh.
By the President: ABRAHAM LINCOLN
WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State.
Serious Lincoln
Probably the easiest way to honour the man who put an end to slavery in one of the biggest countries in the world is by learning more about him. Conveniently, a new highly rated biopic of the man himself, a detailed portrait of the last few months of his life - simply entitled Lincoln - came out in UK cinemas on January 24th, and should still be showing somewhere near you. Failing that, you could always have a crack at the disappointing (and I like quite a lot of rubbish films) Abraham Lincoln; Vampire Hunter, which covers a longer period of Lincoln's life (ie, all of it) but is admittedly, much less realistic, being full of vampires and whatnot. Lincoln's skill with an axe is, however, documented fact. Or if you're a hipster wearing a bow tie would probably also wear a bow tie to commemorate his birthday, seeing as Lincoln was himself a big fan. At the very least you can go and read some of his Wikipedia page. You don't have to be from the US of A to appreciate that Lincoln was an important figure in history, and all knowledge is worth having.
The probability that we may fall in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just; it shall not deter me.
References
Campaign banner http://history1800s.about.com/od/abrahamlincoln/ig/Lincoln-s-1860-Campaign/Lincoln-Campaign-Flag.htm
Quotes http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln
Images 1. http://www.wallpapermaven.com/cat/people/Abraham-Lincoln-2.html
2. http://www.wallpapermaven.com/cat/people/Abraham-Lincoln-2.html
Lincoln in general 1. http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/abrahamlincoln (also childhood quote)
2. http://www.biography.com/people/abraham-lincoln-9382540 (also Civil war actions quote)
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln
4. http://www.civilwar.org
Emancipation proclamation http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured_documents/emancipation_proclamation/transcript.html
Campaign banner http://history1800s.about.com/od/abrahamlincoln/ig/Lincoln-s-1860-Campaign/Lincoln-Campaign-Flag.htm
Quotes http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln
Images 1. http://www.wallpapermaven.com/cat/people/Abraham-Lincoln-2.html
2. http://www.wallpapermaven.com/cat/people/Abraham-Lincoln-2.html
Lincoln in general 1. http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/abrahamlincoln (also childhood quote)
2. http://www.biography.com/people/abraham-lincoln-9382540 (also Civil war actions quote)
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln
4. http://www.civilwar.org
Emancipation proclamation http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured_documents/emancipation_proclamation/transcript.html
Lincoln film promo posters http://www.imdb.com/
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