Groves Civil War Blog

One of the things I try to do as a history teacher is to give you both sides of the issue and not just present it from one side only.  I believe that does a disservice to you and to the subject matter, and by examining both sides can push you to think more critically about that subject. 

As if you haven’t figured out, our central theme this semester is Abraham Lincoln.  He’s been called Honest Abe, the Great Emancipator, and the Rail Splitter (in reference to his frontier days of chopping wood).  As Dr. Henry Louis Gates mentioned in the Today broadcast we watched yesterday, Lincoln’s picture was in almost every black American’s household along with a picture of Jesus. 

In this six minute interview, Dr. Gates gives a more human (and complex) side of Lincoln that few of us may know. Lincoln did not argue, initially, for full and equal rights for black Americans.   During the Lincoln-Douglas debates in 1858, Senator Douglas was race-baiting his opponent by calling him a “black Republican”  and asking the audience (knowing full well what the answer would be) if the men in the audience would like their daughters and wives to ride in a carriage with Frederick Douglas. 

So Lincoln had to respond to these charges and distance himself; otherwise he’d lose the race.   He said soon after this charge that he’d rather no sooner take a black woman for his wife than consider black people his equals.  Sounds racist to 21st Century ears, right?  Well, it is, no doubt.  But within the context of what was going on, America was a very white, racist nation at that time.  Dr. Gates even mentioned the Illinois law that disallowed any black people from settling in that state.        Betcha didn’t know he was a punk rocker!

Here’s Dr. Gates’ website for his documentary, Looking for Lincoln.  http://www.pbs.org/wnet/lookingforlincoln/   Also, take the Myths and Misconceptions quiz and see if you can beat my score – 12/15. 

The fact that there even is a Republican Party, a group created after the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act which allowed for slavery to be voted on in the territories, founded on anti-slavery principles, was, in some ways, amazing.  And by 1858, the year of the debates, the anger over slavery had intensified even more after the Dred Scott decision (1857) by the Supreme Court that allowed slavery to spread from coast to coast.  Yet, still in Illinois, there was a sizable Democratic majority to elect a state senate that favored sending Stephen Douglas back to the U.S. Senate for another 6 years. 

My question is: when you learn new information about the person from history (like we are with Lincoln), warts and all, does this lessen your image of that person or does this new info give you a better picture of that historic icon?   Even if the picture isn’t a pretty one, taken within the context of the time period, the person can be better understood as to why he/she felt that way or said what they said. 

Here, visiting General McClellan in the field after the battle of Antietam, you can really get an idea of how tall he is. 

150 words minimum – Due Monday, March 16th – before class begins.

I’ve been wondering, with the 2008 election in full swing, how Abe Lincoln would do against the other candidates.  It’s something that I’ve mused about for a while now, especially when I saw John Kerry, an Abe-Lincoln look-alike if there ever was one, try to pretend he had something in common with the average working man in 2004.  Kerry rode a Harley, went hunting, rode a windsurfer, and visited Lambeau field and pretended to be a NASCAR fan.  I guess his handlers thought that the average guy couldn’t identify with a multi-millionaire, so they forced him to play somebody he wasn’t. 

So, what would Abe do in 2008?   Would he go bowling?  Would he go chugging a beer and a shot of whiskey?  Would he tell stories about his humble upbringings?  What about the log cabin story? 

And what about Lincoln’s image?  He’s not a handsome fella, and though Mary Lincoln tried hard to get him to dress like the wealthy lawyer he was, there were times he looked like a rube.    What would be his campaign slogans?   Would he have enough money for the campaign? 

How would Lincoln handle the inane questions from debate moderators?  Would reporters tell stories about Abe and Mary’s stormy marriage?   Would they dig up stories about his friends, Joshua Speed and William Herndon?  Instead of slavery, where would Lincoln stand on abortion?  The war in Iraq?  Fixing the economy and oil prices?  Which party would he find a home in? 

What qualities do you look for in your president?  Are there any of the three candidates that match your ideal qualities?  Would Lincoln’s honesty get the best of him? 

Here’s an interesting comparison between Lincoln and Obama and Stephen Douglas.  http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2005/06/obama-closer-to-douglas-than-lincoln.html 

Another comparison between Obama and Lincoln.  http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/04/on-barack-obama.html

Historian Garry Wills compares Obama’s recent speech on race in Philadelphia to Lincoln’s Lyceum speech in February 1860.  http://www.nybooks.com/articles/21290

Your response should be a minimum of 200 words.  Due Wednesday, April 30th.