Lincoln on Race and Slavery

Generations of Americans have debated the meaning of Abraham Lincoln's views on race and slavery. He issued the Emancipation Proclamation and supported a constitutional amendment to outlaw slavery, yet he also harbored grave doubts about the intellectual capacity of African Americans, publicly used the n-word until at least 1862, and favored permanent racial segregation. In this book - the first complete collection of Lincoln's important writings on both race and slavery - readers can explore these contradictions through Lincoln's own words. Acclaimed Harvard scholar and documentary filmmaker Henry Louis Gates, Jr., presents the full range of Lincoln's views, gathered from his private letters, speeches, official documents, and even race jokes, arranged chronologically from the late 1830s to the 1860s. Complete with definitive texts, rich historical notes, and an original introduction by Henry Louis Gates, Jr., this book charts the progress of a war within Lincoln himself. We witness his struggles with conflicting aims and ideas - a hatred of slavery and a belief in the political equality of all men, but also anti-black prejudices and a determination to preserve the Union even at the cost of preserving slavery. We also watch the evolution of his racial views, especially in reaction to the heroic fighting of black Union troops. At turns inspiring and disturbing, "Lincoln on Race and Slavery" is indispensable for understanding what Lincoln's views meant for his generation - and what they mean for our own.

Table of Contents:
List of Illustrations xiii Acknowledgments xv Abraham Lincoln on Race and Slavery Henry Louis Gates, Jr. xvii Chapter 1: Protest in Illinois Legislature on Slavery March 3, 1837 1 Chapter 2: Address Before the Young Men's Lyceum of Sringfield, January 27, 1838 3 Chapter 3: AL to Mary Seed September 27, 1841 9 Chapter 4: Temperance Address February 22, 1842 11 Chapter 5: AL to Williamson Durley October 3, 1845 16 Chapter 6: AL to Josephus Hewett February 13, 1848 20 Chapter 7: Seech at Worcester, Massachusetts September 12, 1848 23 Chapter 8: Remarks and Resolution Introduced in United tates House of Representatives Concerning Aolition of Slavery in the District of Columbia January 10, 1849 26 Chapter 9: Eulogy on Henry Clay& January 4, 1855, Outline for Seech to the Colonization Society July 6, 1852 31 Chapter 10: Hon. A. Lincoln's Address, Before the Sringfield Scott Club, in Reply to Judge Douglas' Richmond Seech August 14 and 26, 1852 43 Chapter 11: Fragments on Slavery July 1, 1854 48 Chapter 12: Speech at Bloomington, Illinois September 12, 1854 51 Chapter 13: Speech at Peoria, October 16, 1854 56 Chapter 14: AL to Ichabod Codding November 27, 1854 69 Chapter 15: AL to Oen Lovejoy August 11, 1855 71 Chapter 16: AL to George Robertson August 15, 1855 73 Chapter 17: AL to Joshua F. Speed August 24, 1855 77 Chapter 18: Speech at Kalamazoo, Michigan August 27, 1856 84 Chapter 19: AL to Newton Deming and George P. Strong May 25, 1857 90 Chapter 20: Speech at Sringfield, Illinois June 26, 1857 92 Chapter 21: A House Divided, Speech at Sringfield, Illinois June 16, 1858 103 Chapter 22: to John L. Scripps June 23, 1858 107 Chapter 23: Fragment on the Struggle Against Slavery July, 1858 109 Chapter 24: Speech at Chicago, Illinois July 10, 1858 111 Chapter 25: Speech at Sringfield, July 17, 1858 119 Chapter 26: Speech at Lewistown, August 17, 1858 124 Chapter 27: First Debate ith Stephen A. Douglas at Ottawa, Illinois August 21, 1858 127 Chapter 28: Second at Freeport Illinois August 27, 1858 137 Chapter 29: Speech at Carlinville, Illinois August 31, 1858 143 Chapter 30: at Clinton, Illinois September 2, 1858 149 Chapter 31: Speech at Edwardsville, Illinois September 11, 1858 152 Chapter 32: Fourth Debate ith Stephen A. Douglas September 18, 1858 156 Chapter 33: Fragment on Pro-slavery Theology October 1, 1858? 160 Chapter 34: Seventh and Last Debate with Stephen A. Douglasat Alton, Illinois, & October 18, 1858, AL to James N. Brown October 15, 1858 163 Chapter 35: to Salmon P. Chase June 9, 1859 174 Chapter 36: Speech at Columbus, Ohio September 16, 1859 177 Chapter 37: Speech at Cincinnati, Ohio September 17, 1859 187 Chapter 38: Fragment on Free Labor September 17, 1859 191 Chapter 39: Address at the Cooper Institute, New York City February 27, 1860 193 Chapter 40: Speech at Hartford, Connecticut March 5, 1860 202 Chapter 41: AL to John A. Gilmer December 15, 1860 210 Chapter 42: First Inaugural Address March 4, 1861 214 Chapter 43: AL to Orville H. Browning September 22, 1861 218 Chapter 44: Message to Congress March 6, 1862 222 Chapter 45: AL to James A. McDougall March 14, 1862 225 Chapter 46: AL to Horace Greeley & Aril 16, 1862, Message to Congress March 24, 1862 228 Chapter 47: Appeal to Border State Representatives to Favor Compensated Eancipation July 12, 1862 231 Chapter 48: Address on Colonization to a Deputation of Negroes August 14, 1862 235 Chapter 49: AL to Horace Greeley August 22, 1862 242 Chapter 50: Reply to Eancipation Memorial Presented by Chicago Christians of All Denominations September 13, 1862 245 Chapter 51: Preliminary Proclamation September 22, 1862 250 Chapter 52: Annual Message to Congress December 1, 1862 255 Chapter 53: Eancipation Proclamation January 1, 1863 265 Chapter 54: AL to AndrewJohnson March 26, 1863 270 Chapter 55: Resolution on Slavery April 15, 1863 272 Chapter 56: AL to John M. Schofield June 22, 1863 274 Chapter 57: Order of Retaliation July 30, 1863 276 Chapter 58: AL to Nathaniel P. Banks August 5, 1863 279 Chapter 59: AL to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant August 9, 1863 282 Chapter 60: AL to James C. Conkling August 26, 1863 284 Chapter 61: Fragment August 26, 1863 290 Chapter 62: Annual Message to Congress December 8, 1863 292 Chapter 63: Reply to Nework Workingmen's Democratic Republican Association March 21, 1864 295 Chapter 64: AL to Albert G. Hodges April 4, 1864 298 Chapter 65: AL to Edwin M. Stanton May 17, 1864 302 Chapter 66: Interviewith Alexander W. Randall and Joseph T. Mills August 18, 1864 305 Chapter 67: Resolution Submitting the Thirteenth Aendmentto the States February 1, 1865 308 Chapter 68: Second Inaugural Address March 4, 1865 310 Chapter 69: Speech to One Hundred Fortieth Indiana Regiment March 17, 1865 313 Chapter 70: Last Public Address April 11, 1865 316 Appendix: Lincoln, Race, and Humor 321 Index 329