Who Is Abraham Lincoln Racist?

Abraham Lincoln on various occasions exposed his weak stance against slavery and the pursuit of justice against those responsible for atrocious mistreatment of the African American former slaves. The film Lincoln successfully uses dialogue between Lincoln and his counterparts as a way of showing his personal investment, or lack thereof, in justice for the slaves. One example is when Lincoln, who is played by Daniel Day Lewis, is seen speaking to Union Army General Ulysses S Grant regarding the fate of the Confederate leaders. In this scene Lincoln refers to Confederate Army General Robert E Lee and says “Once he surrenders, send his boys back to their homes and their farms, their shops” (Lincoln). This scene captures the true attitude of Lincoln

There were many instances in President Lincoln’s career as a politician that actually point to the contrary. A number of Lincoln’s view regarding race and the status of African Americans in the United States could be viewed as racist. Lincoln was repeatedly quoted of statements that many people today would find repugnant. One example that focus on Lincoln’s racist views was when he was quoted making anti-civil rights statements in his debate against Stephen A. Douglas in their historic presidential debate. In For a Vast Future Also: Essays From the Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association author of chapter one, Arthur Zilversmit, quotes Lincoln’s rebuttal to Douglas’s accusations against him that said that he was for racial equality. Lincoln responded to Douglas’s claims by saying “I am not, nor have ever been in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races” (Schwartz 6). This answer earned Lincoln much praise and applause from the crowd. This quote made by Lincoln is significant because it proves that he was a man of his time. In and era riddled with racism and white supremacism, Lincoln did not take a stand for what was right and made an effort to gain the approval of a racist crowd of supporters. Although it could be argued that Lincoln was just pandering to a crowd that was opposed to racial equality, his descriptive rebuttal should still convince us to hold Lincoln more accountable for his words and not just grant him misnomers such as pro civil rights. Another quote made by Lincoln that revealed his lack of moral investment in the plight of African Americans was when he wrote a letter to the founder of the New York Tribune, Horace Greeley