Just when you thought nothing more could be written on Lincoln, Eric Foner comes out with a new book that tackles Lincoln as the Great Emancipator. By focusing on Lincoln's political background, Foner hopes to resolve some of the inconsistencies that surrounded his views on slavery and emancipation. I thought that William Lee Miller did a pretty good job of exploring Lincoln's texts in Lincoln's Virtues, so it would be interesting to see what more Foner finds in probing Lincoln's records.
I think we have a lot of great books to discuss here for the next few months. This one sounds fantastic.
ReplyDeleteFoner's book on reconstruction is brilliant. If this book is half as good, it will be worth reading.
ReplyDeleteGuest editorial by Professor Foner:
ReplyDeleteTuesday, October 12, 2010
Abraham Lincoln's Evolving Views On Slavery
Acclaimed Historian Eric Foner Separates Myth From Reality
From buy outs for slave owners and colonization to the Emancipation Proclamation, Eric Foner, one of the nation’s foremost historians, separated reality from myth and told a crowd at St. Francis College on Tuesday, October 12 about the evolution of Abraham Lincoln’s views on slavery. The talk was based on Foner’s just released book, The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery.
“Lincoln was not an abolitionist. They wanted freedom and equality immediately,” said Professor Foner. Rather, Foner said, Lincoln wanted to gradually end slavery through offering slave owners compensation for freeing the slaves and then having the slaves move to colonies in places like the Caribbean or Africa.
At the start of Lincoln’s political career, Foner said Lincoln did not believe in equality and was not in favor of letting African Americans vote or hold office. The core of Lincoln’s anti-slavery argument was that African Americans should have the right to enjoy the fruits of their labor. “Lincoln saw slavery as theft of services,” he said. However, Foner added, Lincoln’s views on race and black rights changed substantially; shown most clearly in the Emancipation Proclamation.
As a lifelong politician Foner said that Lincoln’s struggle was, “to translate a dislike or hatred of slavery into political action. But how do you confront an evil when you're in a system that supports this evil?”
During the Civil War, Lincoln’s first attempt to pay slave owners in border states to free their slaves, then move the slaves to colonies was rejected on all sides. When combined with the problems the North was facing in the war and the waning support from the general population, Foner said Lincoln had to rethink his position.
“Lincoln’s hallmark was his capacity for growth. His ideas changed,” added Foner, who said now a politician who changes his mind is seen as weak.
The Emancipation Proclamation shows a complete evolution from Lincoln’s earlier policy. It provides for immediate freedom, no compensation for slave owners, no re-settlement of freed slaves and let African Americans serve in the army.
Foner told the crowd that in Lincoln’s final speech before he was assassinated, he went far ahead of public opinion and current state laws and laid out a case to give the right to vote to African Americans of a certain intelligence and those who fought for the North.
Eric Foner, DeWitt Clinton Professor of History at Columbia University, is one of this country's most prominent historians. He received his doctoral degree at Columbia under the supervision of Richard Hofstadter. He is only the second person to serve as president of the three major professional organizations: the Organization of American Historians, American Historical Association, and Society of American Historians.
Fred Siegel, a visiting professor and a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute brought Professor Foner to St. Francis College. Professor Siegel has brought other noted authors, historians and political scientists to St. Francis College in recent months for talks and panels including historian Thomas Fleming (The Intimate Lives of the Founding Fathers) and panels on Journalism in the Age of the Internet and Independent Voices of the Middle East.
from St Francis (Brooklyn) College website
Interesting! I'm looking forward to this book, too.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link, trip.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't realized that Miller had written a follow-up book on Lincoln last year,
http://lincolniana.blogspot.com/2009/01/book-review-president-lincoln-duty-of.html
nice blog on Lincoln as well.
Just checked on my library requests online -- I'm #1 of 7 on the waiting list for Foner's book.
ReplyDeleteI was in Borders twice in the past two weeks and was going to take a look at the book but didn't see it in the store -- neither near the front nor in the history or biography section. I first found out about it while I was in Barnes & Noble the week it came out.
Marti, I haven't seen much about it either. Maybe there's just too much out about Lincoln to get any attention? Seems odd given that Foner is such an amazing historian.
ReplyDeleteI picked up the book at the library yesterday and started late last night. Haven't finished the first chapter yet. He writes about the aims of abolitionists and colonialism in connection with that.
ReplyDelete