Tag Archives: Eric Foner

The Racism of Abraham Lincoln, Part 4

The Emancipation of Abraham Lincoln The pivotal moment in both the Civil War and in Lincoln’s views on race occurred on January 1, 1863, when Lincoln signed the final version of the Emancipation Proclamation. While criticized by contemporaries and scholars for … Continue reading

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The Racism of Abraham Lincoln, Part 3

From Colonization to Emancipation Thus far, we have examined Lincoln’s words to understand his racism. That’s important because statesmen (especially Lincoln) live by their words. But we must also examine his deeds—specifically, we need to look at Lincoln’s policy initiatives … Continue reading

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The Racism of Abraham Lincoln, Part 2

The Context of Lincoln’s Racism So let’s start with absolute reality, stripped of both wishful thinking and ideology: Abraham Lincoln was a racist. Yes, it’s true. For many of us, this is disappointing. But the simple fact that Lincoln was a … Continue reading

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The Racism of Abraham Lincoln, Part 1

The Racism of Abraham Lincoln In early August, this  came across my feed: Lincoln’s handwriting confirmed in nineteenth-century book on racism Experts have confirmed that handwriting in an Illinois library’s copy of Types of Mankind is that of the Great … Continue reading

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Phil Leigh Hates the Fourteenth Amendment

When I was in grad school taking courses in Constitutional history, we would argue. In one class on religion and the Constitution, my adversary made a point about the First Amendment being the most important amendment. The instructor, Tom Morris—the … Continue reading

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“We Must Disenthrall Ourselves”

“We Must Disenthrall Ourselves” In an interview promoting the Steven Spielberg film Lincoln, Daniel Day Lewis discussed how he read Lincoln’s speeches as a way to prepare his epic performance. In particular, Day Lewis told the interviewer, he was surprised … Continue reading

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