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To: Ditto
Two days before his "dying day" he gave his last public address where he called for voting rights for blacks.

For some blacks. What he said in that speech was:

"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."
His exclusionary and conditional requirements were clearly stated. I wonder what he planned for the rest, the ones he didn't consider "very intelligent", or who didn't serve as soldiers? Perhaps his meeting with General Butler provides the answer to that very obvious question. At any rate, he felt it important enough to make it clear that he disagreed with the idea of "universal" black suffrage being promoted by some. That was the point of his statement.
282 posted on 08/17/2003 11:37:45 AM PDT by thatdewd (History without truth is just another lie.)
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To: thatdewd
His exclusionary and conditional requirements were clearly stated. I wonder what he planned for the rest, the ones he didn't consider "very intelligent", or who didn't serve as soldiers?

Lincoln lived in a nation where a large majority barely considered blacks to be humans let alone equals entitled to the vote. Progress had to be made in slow steps and it is to Lincoln's ever-lasting credit that he took those first steps. If Jefferson Davis or any of the toy soldiers you so admire were in charge, all blacks would have been back in chains yet you reserve all of your venom for Lincoln.

You, just like the leftists who spout the same nonsense counting on people to not understand the context of history, are a pure hypocrite and a demogog.

292 posted on 08/18/2003 7:26:35 AM PDT by Ditto ( No trees were killed in sending this message, but billions of electrons were inconvenienced.)
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