The David Duke of his day

Now that we're about to find out how many of those twelve nominations Lincoln has garnered will turn into actual Academy Awards, it seems an appropriate time to take a look at the real Lincoln -- not just the man who freed the slaves, but also the man who suspended habeas corpus and jailed his critics.

In Steven Spielberg's movie, there is a scene where his wife's maid asks Lincoln, "What is to become of us [blacks if slavery is abolished]?" Lincoln, with the demeanor of a kindly old college professor, gently replies that he does not know, since he cannot foretell the future.

This was misleading. In fact, if Lincoln had had his way, he would have exiled her and every other American black to other countries. (He was a lifelong proponent of the forced expatriation of blacks.)

Spielberg, in another ridiculous scene at the beginning of his movie, has a Union soldier recite the Gettysburg Address to Lincoln. (While the scene is silly, the speech itself was certainly beautifully written.)

But to get a complete picture of Lincoln, one must also hear this excerpt from the Lincoln-Douglas debate of September 18, 1858:

"I will say, then, that I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races; that I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of making voters or jurors of Negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people; and I will say in addition to this that there is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality….I as much as any other man am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race…I will to the very last stand by the law of this State, which forbids the marrying of white people with Negroes.”

A "physical difference"? Lincoln was evidently not just the David Duke of his day, but the Arthur Jensen as well.

That must be why they called him Honest Abe.

Of course, if Lincoln didn't actually believe the things he said at that debate, and was saying them purely for political expediency, that makes him just another dishonest politician who would say anything to get elected. 

It's one or the other. 

(Addendum, 5/1/13: I'm told by a Lincoln historian that he changed his mind about the expatriation of blacks in 1862, so I stand corrected about that.)