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Stand, remember ole Jube Early's words "What a gentle institution slavery must have been to have so well prepared the Negro for the ballot box" ? It is strange that Yankees call us racists but forcefully installing two Black US Senators to represent Mississippi and seating Blacks in administrative positions all over the South during Reconstruction is supposed to be Enlightened in Yankee eyes.

It is easy for Southerners to see destruction as the hallmark of Lincoln. When its your down that is turned into a smoking gutted "chimneyville" it is easy. But Yankees can't imagine having their houses burned, their libraries burned, their colleges burned,..and then the Yanks wonder why we aren't grateful to Mr. Lincoln.

...and then the Yanks wonder why we aren't grateful to Mr. Lincoln

Some of us were and still are. Here's excerpts from the history of Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate Tennessee. Note the presence of the Confederate veteran Robert F. Patterson on the first board of directors in 1897. Mr. Patterson obviously did not see that participation in a project honoring Lincoln violated his respect for the values he fought for.

Lincoln Memorial University grew out of love and respect for Abraham Lincoln and today honors his name, values, and spirit. As the legend goes, in 1863 Lincoln suggested to General O. O. Howard, a Union officer, that when the Civil War ended he hoped General Howard would organize a great university for the people of this area.

Reverend A. A. Myers, a Congregationalist minister, came to the Cumberland Gap in 1888. He succeeded in opening the Harrow School, established for the purpose of providing elementary education to mountain youngsters. On a visit to the area to give a series of lectures at the Harrow School, General O. O. Howard remembered his commitment to fulfill Lincoln's request and he joined Reverend Myers, M. F. Overton, C. F. Eager, A. B. Kesterson, and M. Arthur in establishing Lincoln Memorial University. That group, along with Robert F. Patterson, a Confederate veteran, became a board of directors and purchased The Four Seasons property. In commemoration of Lincoln's birthday, the institution was chartered by the State of Tennessee on February 12, 1897, as Lincoln Memorial University.

The motto of Lincoln Memorial University is "We wear his name proudly".