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Nullification and Liberty
Lew Rockwell ^ | 12/10/02 | Thomas E. Woods, Jr.

Posted on 12/10/2002 6:57:25 AM PST by billbears

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To: ThomasJefferson
One thing is a matter of history, Linclon was a racist.

That word did not even exist in Lincoln's day.

But use the record and show that his attitudes on race were more extreme than other people of the day.

What you'll find is that Lincoln's views on race were -much- advanced over his contemporaries. You would put modern judgments on an historical person. That is just silly. You can't show what you suggest in the record in any case.

BUT: You have summoned the Lincoln quote dump:

"I confess that I hate to see the poor creatures hunted down down, and caught, and carried back to their stripes and unwarranted toils; but I bite my lip and keep quiet. In 1841 you and I had together a tedious low-water trip, on a Steam Boat from Louisville to St. Louis. You may remember, as I well do, that from Louisville to the mouth of the Ohio there were, on board, ten or a dozen slaves, shackled together with irons. That sight was a continual torment to me; and I see something like it every time I touch the Ohio, or any other slave-border. It is hardly fair for you to assume, that I have no such interest in a thing which has, and continually exercises, the power of making me miserable. You ought rather to appreciate how much the great body of the Northern people do crucify their feelings, in order to maintain their loyalty to the Constitution and the Union."

8/24/54

"If A can prove, however conclusively, that he may, of right, enslave B. -- why not B. snatch the same argument, and prove equally, that he may enslave A.?

-- You say A. is a white, and B. is black. It is --color--, then; the lighter, having the right to enslave the darker? Take care. By this rule, you are to be the slave to the first man you meet, with a fairer skin than your own.

You do not mean color exactly? -- You mean the whites are --intellectually-- the superiors of the blacks, and therefore, have the right to enslave them? Take care again. By this rule, you are to be slave to the first man you meet, with an intellect superior to your own.

But, say you, it is a question of --interest--; and, if you can make it your --interest--, you have the right to enslave another. Very well. And if he can make it his interest, he has the right to enslave you."

1854

"I will say here, while upon this subject, that I have no purpose directly or indirectly to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so. I have no purpose to introduce political and social equality between the white and the black races. There is a physical difference between the two, which in my judgment will probably forever forbid their living together upon the footing of perfect equality, and inasmuch as it becomes a necessity that there must be a difference, I, as well as Judge Douglas, am in favor of the race to which I belong, having the superior position. I have never said anything to the contrary, but I hold that notwithstanding all this, there is no reason in the world why the negro is not entitled to all the natural rights enumerated in the Declaration of Independence, the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. [Loud cheers.] I hold that he is as much entitled to these as the white man. I agree with Judge Douglas he is not my equal in many respects---certainly not in color, perhaps not in moral or intellectual endowment. But in the right to eat the bread, without leave of anybody else, which his own hand earns, he is my equal and the equal of Judge Douglas, and the equal of every living man."

August, 1858

"I do not expect the Union to be dissolved--I do not expect the house to fall--But I do expect it will cease to be divided. Either the opponents of slavery, will arrest the further spread of it, and place it where the public mind shall rest in the belief that it is the course of ultimate extinctioon; or its advocates will push it forward, till it shall become alike lawful in all the States, old as well as new--North as well as South. Have we no tendency towards the latter condition?"

1858

"The principles of Jefferson are the definitions and axioms of free society. And yet they are denied, and evaded, with no small show of success. One dashingly calls them "glittering generalities"; another bluntly calls them "self evident lies"; and still others insidiously argue that they only apply to "superior races."

These expressions, differing in form, are identical in object and effect. -- the supplanting the principles of free government, and restoring those of classification, caste, and legitimacy. They would delight a convocation of crowned heads, plotting against the people. They are the van-guard -- the miners and sappers -- of returning despotism. We must repulse them, or they will subjugate us. This is a world of compensations; and he that would -be- no slave, must consent to --have-- no slave. Those that deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves, and under a just God cannot long retain it."

3/1/59

"But to be plain, you are dissatisfied with me about the negro. Quite likely there is a difference of opinion between you and myself upon that subject. I certainly wish that all men could be free, while I suppose that you do not. ....peace does not appear as distant as it did. I hope it will come soon, and come to stay; and so come as to worth the keeping in all future time. It will have then been proved that, among free men, there can be no successful appeal from the ballot to the bullet; and that they who take such appeal are sure to lose their case, and pay the cost. And then, there will be some black men, who can remember that, with silent tongue, and clenched teeth, and steady eye, and well-poised bayonet they have helped mankind on to this great consumation; while, I fear, there will be some white ones, unable to forget that, with malignant heart, and deceitful speech, have strove to hinder it. Still let us not be over-sanguine of a speedy final triumph. Let us be quite sober. Let us dilligently apply the means, never doubting that a just God, in his own good time, will give us the rightful result."

8/23/63

"I am naturally anti-slavery. If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong. I can not remember when I did not so think, and feel...

In telling this tale I attempt no compliment to my own sagacity. I claim not to have controlled events, but confess plainly that events have controlled me. Now, at the end of three years struggle the Nation's condition is not what either party, or any man devised, or expected. God alone can claim it. Whither it is tending seems plain. If God now wills the removal of a great wrong, and wills also that we of the North as well as you of the South, shall pay for our complicity in that wrong, impartial history will find therein new cause to attest and revere the justice and goodness of God."

4/4/64

"it is also unsatisfactory to some that the elective franchise is not given to the colored man. I would myself prefer that it were now conferred on the very intelligent, and on those who serve our cause as soldiers."

4/11/65

sources: "Abraham Lincoln, Mystic Chords of Memory" published by the Book of the Month Club, 1984 and:

"Lincoln, Speeches and Writings, 1859-65, Library of the Americas, Don E. Fehrenbacher, ed. 1989

Lincoln clearly was preparing the way for black suffrage.

Consider these letters:

Private

General Hunter

Executive Mansion

Washington D.C. April 1, 1863

My dear Sir:

I am glad to see the accounts of your colored force at Jacksonville, Florida. I see the enemy are driving at them fiercely, as is to be expected. It is mportant to the enemy that such a force shall not take shape, and grow, and thrive, in the south; and in precisely the same proportion, it is important to us that it shall. Hence the utmost caution and viglilance is necessary on our part. The enemy will make extra efforts to destroy them; and we should do the same to perserve and increase them.

Yours truly

A. Lincoln

_________________________________________________________

Hon. Andrew Johnson

Executive Mansion,

My dear Sir:

Washington, March 26. 1863.

I am told you have at least thought of raising a negro military force. In my opinion the country now needs no specific thing so much as some man of your ability, and position, to go to this work. When I speak of your position, I mean that of an eminent citizen of a slave-state, and himself a slave- holder. The colored population is the great available and yet unavailed of, force for restoring the Union. The bare sight of fifty thousand armed, and drilled black soldiers on the banks of the Mississippi, would end the rebellion at once. And who doubts that we can present that sight, if we but take hold in earnest? If you have been thinking of it please do not dismiss the thought.

Yours truly

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hon Soc of War

Executive Mansion

Washington

July 21, 1863

My Dear Sir:

I desire that a renewed and vigorous effort be made to raise colored forces along the shores of the Missippi [sic]. Please consult the General-in-chief; and if it is perceived that any acceleration of the matter can be effected, let it be done. I think the evidence is nearly conclusive that Gen. Thomas is one of the best, if not the very best, instruments for this service.

Yours truly

--------------------------------------

Lincoln also proposed --privately-- to the new governor of Louisiana that the new state constitution include voting rights for blacks. A year later, in April, 1865 he came out --publicly-- for the suffrage for black soldiers, because his great --political-- skill told him that the time was right.

It was a direct result of this speech, and this position, that Booth shot him.

President Lincoln, besides ordering the army (note that this is only a few months after the EP) to use black soldiers more vigorously, made many public speeches to prepare the people for the idea of black suffrage.

"

"When you give the Negro these rights," he [Lincoln] said, "when you put a gun in his hands, it prophesies something more: it foretells that he is to have the full enjoyment of his liberty and his manhood...By the close of the war, Lincoln was reccomending commissioning black officers in the regiments, and one actually rose to become a major before it was over. At the end of 1863, more than a hundred thousand had enlisted in the United States Colored Troops, and in his message to Congress the president reported, "So far as tested, it is difficult to say they are not as good soldiers as any." When some suggested in August 1864 that the Union ought to offer to help return runaway slaves to their masters as a condition for the South's laying down its arms, Lincoln refused even to consider the question.

"Why should they give their lives for us, with full notice of our purpose to betray them?" he retorted. "Drive back to the support of the rebellion the physical force which the colored people now give, and promise us, and neither the present, or any incoming administration can save the Union." To others he said it even more emphatically. "This is not a question of sentiment or taste, but one of physical force which may be measured and estimated. Keep it and you can save the Union. Throw it away, and the Union goes with it."

--"Lincoln's Men" pp 163-64 by William C. Davis

Lincoln's sense of fairness made him seek to extend the blessings of citizenship to everyone who served under the flag.

His great political skill made him realize that blacks --were--not-- leaving -- he played that card and no one was biting, black or white. That being the case, he knew he had to prepare for the future, and that future involved full rights for blacks.

Walt

141 posted on 12/12/2002 8:23:03 AM PST by WhiskeyPapa
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To: WhiskeyPapa
Cut and paste posting is boring. The main reason is that you can post whatever you wish and ignore other things. Dueling quotations is a boring hobby.

Lincoln was a racist. The use of the word describes his attitudes. It matters not whether the word existed or not.

And I don't grade on the curve so I couldn't care less if others were better worse or the same as him in their attitudes.

I don't put modern judgements on historical people. I put personal judgements on behavior and attitudes.

We have the benefit of hindsight now and I don't deny it. Nor do I run from it. We live and learn. Slavery was wrong then, it is wrong now. Judging people by race is merely a sign of ignorance. People were relatively ignorant in his time.

I stated that he was a racist and he was. He is neither a hero or villian because of it.

He was a bad President in my view for other reasons.

142 posted on 12/12/2002 8:39:50 AM PST by Protagoras
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To: ThomasJefferson
I have no fear as long as my trusty chihuahua is ready for defense. When he is not available a gerbil will do. Either would be sufficient to have you running away screaming like a little girl.

Though you would LIKE to have me committed you have no grounds nor ability. Thought control is so fitting for a Jeffersonian. I am sure you like court packing as well as he.
143 posted on 12/12/2002 9:13:47 AM PST by justshutupandtakeit
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To: justshutupandtakeit
When he is not available a gerbil will do

Wow! Gerbils too? And I thought you confined your sin to the opposite sex!

144 posted on 12/12/2002 9:18:37 AM PST by Protagoras
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To: ThomasJefferson
If you are interested in sin study your namesake.
145 posted on 12/12/2002 9:19:46 AM PST by justshutupandtakeit
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To: justshutupandtakeit
I'm not interested in it per se. I'm just interested in the concept of ordained people condoning unrepentant sin. People like you.
146 posted on 12/12/2002 9:22:00 AM PST by Protagoras
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To: ThomasJefferson
Dueling quotations is a boring hobby.

We're not dueling.

The record doesn't support you.

It supports the idea that Lincoln's ideas were much advanced compared to most people of the day.

"Recognizing me, even before I reached him, he exclaimed, so that all around could hear him, "Here comes my friend Douglass." Taking me by the hand, he said, "I am glad to see you. I saw you in the crowd to-day, listening to my inaugural address; how did you like it?" I said, "Mr. Lincoln, I must not detain you with my poor opinion, when there are thousands waiting to shake hands with you." "No, no," he said, "you must stop a little, Douglass; there is no man in the country whose opinion I value more than yours. I want to know what you think of it?" I replied, "Mr. Lincoln, that was a sacred effort." "I am glad you liked it!" he said; and I passed on, feeling that any man, however distinguished, might well regard himself honored by such expressions, from such a man."

More Douglass:

"Viewed from the genuine abolition ground, Mr. Lincoln seemed tardy, cold, dull and indifferent; but measuring him by the sentiment of his country, a sentiment he was bound as a statesman to consult, he was swift, zealous, radical and determined."

Walt

147 posted on 12/12/2002 10:06:40 AM PST by WhiskeyPapa
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To: ThomasJefferson
Oh, suure. You are just a regular Savonarola aren't you? Do you like to burn witches too. I expect you will accuse me of that next.
148 posted on 12/12/2002 10:10:26 AM PST by justshutupandtakeit
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To: WhiskeyPapa
It supports the idea that Lincoln's ideas were much advanced compared to most people of the day.

I already told you I don't grade on the curve. You seem stuck on it. Oh well.

149 posted on 12/12/2002 10:10:38 AM PST by Protagoras
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To: WhiskeyPapa
Has he started accusing you of being crazy, yet? His ability to tolerate contradiction is quite limited.
150 posted on 12/12/2002 10:12:07 AM PST by justshutupandtakeit
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To: justshutupandtakeit
Witches? You date them too? Are they white or otherwise?
151 posted on 12/12/2002 10:12:08 AM PST by Protagoras
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To: justshutupandtakeit
Has he started accusing you of being crazy, yet?

He's not crazy, he's just incorrect. YOU are crazy.

152 posted on 12/12/2002 10:13:12 AM PST by Protagoras
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To: ThomasJefferson
I don't date them just give them a ride on my broomstick on occasion.
153 posted on 12/12/2002 10:13:39 AM PST by justshutupandtakeit
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To: justshutupandtakeit
I don't date them just give them a ride on my broomstick on occasion.

Kinky. Unusual sexual device, but not surprising in your case.

154 posted on 12/12/2002 10:17:58 AM PST by Protagoras
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To: ThomasJefferson
If they want a dipstick I'll send them your way.
155 posted on 12/12/2002 10:21:08 AM PST by justshutupandtakeit
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To: justshutupandtakeit
No thanks, I don't want anyone sent my way. I'm married and I don't need need any of your illict girlfriends to have "interludes" with. The Mayfair congregation may condone unrepentant sin in it's ordained ministers but I don't.
156 posted on 12/12/2002 10:28:01 AM PST by Protagoras
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To: ThomasJefferson
I see now that anything you say can pretty much be discounted without comment.

I think I will award you the first:

"FREE DIXIE CUPS NOW" award.

Congratulations.

Walt

157 posted on 12/12/2002 10:35:28 AM PST by WhiskeyPapa
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To: justshutupandtakeit
I know that you are very fond of your opinions but let me ask you what claim power or property that the Federal Government has could it not exercise to negotiate a mutually agreed upon secession? And don’t waste either of our time by running on and on about how you feel that all the evidence taken as a whole leads you to the opinion that Secession should never be allowed.
158 posted on 12/12/2002 10:38:53 AM PST by Libertarianize the GOP
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To: WhiskeyPapa
I see now that anything you say can pretty much be discounted without comment.

I discounted what you said too, but I decided to comment on it. That is why we are allowed to post here, to comment.

I award you the "CUT AND PASTE SOME STUFF" award. Your prize is one week with your buddy Justshutup and his harem. :-)

159 posted on 12/12/2002 10:53:49 AM PST by Protagoras
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To: WhiskeyPapa
You will say anything. The words I quote, "particular cases" are from Marbury, not Merryman.

Very good Walt. And Merryman was the particular case on habeas corpus. So what's your complaint?

160 posted on 12/12/2002 11:22:23 AM PST by GOPcapitalist
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