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By Dr. Christopher Bell Jr.
September 6, 2009
ALL Men Should Be Free
Go Tell it on the Mountain/Over the hills and every where
Go Tell it on the Mountain/ TO SET MY PEOPLE FREE
Who’re those people dressed in red
(Set My People Free)
Must be the children that Moses led
(Set My People Free)
Who are those black people that I see
(Set My People Free)
They’re slaves that live in the Land of the Free
(Set My People Free)
Go Tell it on the Mountain/Over the hills and every where
Go Tell it on the Mountain/ TO SET MY PEOPLE FREE
Who’s the Pharaoh of this Land
(Set My People Free)
It’s Abraham Lincoln figuring his plan
(Set My People Free)
What’s that shooting and crying I’m hearing
(Set My People Free)
It’s the Civil War with its killing and burying.
(Set My People Free)
Introduction:
Yes, Abraham Lincoln was the pharaoh in a new-world slavery land. He
was the President of the United States of America during the period
1861 to 1865, and his hands were full with the problem of trying to
preserve the Union.
Abraham Lincoln is important to us all. From the time of Lincoln’s
death in 1865 to the 200th anniversary of his birth, February 12,
2009, there has never been a decade in which his influence has not
been felt by most Americans. Abraham Lincoln’s actions and words
still influence the way Americans of today, both white and black,
think about themselves as individuals, and think about each other,
and think about themselves as citizens of a nation whose leaders
claimed from the nation’s beginning, and still claim today that all
men were created equal.
Let’s admit it, for most of us, when we see the picture or hear the
words of Abraham Lincoln, we intuitively think about race or race
relations. And one of the many reasons why we think this way is that
race or race relations has been one of the greatest problems and
challenges that our country has faced since its founding, and
Lincoln was the President when the problem of race and race
relations reached a crisis point that caused the southern section of
the country to separate from northern section of the country in what
became known as the War of Insurrection.
Church, you should know from the start that I am an ardent fan of
President Abraham Lincoln. To ensure that you and I have the right
setting for this sermon, I have a piece of information that you
should hear at this point. In 1654, the first Negro who was declared
a slave for life (in 1654) was a man named John Casor of Northampton
County in the Virginia Colony.. Casor’s slave master was Anthony
Johnson, another Negro man. Now having provided you this piece of
information lets discuss Abraham Lincoln.
Americans have formed many different ideas and attitudes concerning
President Abraham Lincoln. These ideas and attitudes have resulted
in mythic stories and hero-like attributes being bestowed on Abraham
Lincoln. Some of today’s prevailing stories and myths about Lincoln
refer to him as: The Great Emancipator, Honest Abe, Redeemer
President, Preserver of the Union, etc. With our restriction of
time, I have chosen to discuss with you the myths that refers to
Lincoln as the Great Emancipator, and if time permits, to comment
about his reputation as “Honest Abe.”
Concerning the Great Emancipator:
Many in the public credit Lincoln with being the Great emancipator
because he issued the Emancipation Proclamation on Jan 1, 1863, and
this proclamation promised freedom to all the slaves. However, most
of the historians that I’ve read insist that Lincoln was not the
Great Emancipator that some people have made him out to be? A Great
Emancipator would have been one who comes to the scene or the drama
with a self-sacrificing, moral and visionary impulse that drives him
to initiate or make changes or to take actions that would influence
the culture of the people to end slavery. Lincoln was no such
person. Let’s examine the facts.
On Sept 22, 1862, Lincoln issued a preliminary emancipation which
stated than on January 1, 1863 all slaves would be free in those
states or parts of states which were still in rebellion against the
Federal government. This proclamation was not a morally inspired
mandate, but a document intended to promote the Union’s military
advantage against the South, and to provide the Union with a
diplomatic advantage in dealing with foreign countries, especially
England and France, who had already abolished slavery and who were
closely watching the conflict in America. Historians believed that
Lincoln’s emancipation proclamation convinced these countries not to
recognize the Confederacy as a separate country.
The proclamation itself did not free one slave! This is because the
proclamation addressed the freeing of slaves in those states in
rebellion, and the power of the federal government was not in effect
in such states. The proclamation did not disturb or end slavery in
those slave holding states that were not in rebellion. This means
that the slaves in Maryland were not effected by the proclamation
nor were the slaves in the border states that did not rebel.
Lincoln and the officials of the Federal government saw the
proclamation as a means toward victory in winning the war, but not
as an objective for waging the war. It was reasoned that a far
larger proportion of the South’s eligible young men were freed to
fight than in the North, because the south employed Negro slaves in
farming, hauling, manufacturing and military construction. Because
Negro slaves were forced to work without regard for age or sex their
numbers would be equal to three times the number of non-combatants
that would be available to the North and that an emancipation act
would strike a heavy blow against the South’s slave resources and
punish the South’s war effort and abilities. The proclamation
allowed the federal forces to “free” Negro slaves when such federal
forces had occupied the lands held by the rebel forces.
And so at best, we may reasonably conclude that Lincoln was not the
Great Emancipator. He didn’t step forth with the fire and passion of
a reformer or change-maker. He came forward as a man who was being
pulled and pushed forward and responding to the pushing and pulling
as best he could. The Proclamation may be viewed as Lincoln’s “Hail
Mary” pass to keep the North from losing the war.”
Other consequences: of the Proclamation:
It was a strong political and propaganda ploy in that the border
states who were slave states would not feel threatened or consider
joining with the Confederacy.
It was a tremendous morale booster for the North because now the
Federal government had claimed the high ground in an increasingly
liberal culture and world. . Although the Proclamation was not valid
until the Union soldiers occupied southern land were the slave
lived, the promise of freedom, if the north should win was a
rallying point for antislavery forces, a god-sent blessing for Negro
slaves
It authorized the United States to recruit Negroes into the army as
fighting soldiers for front line duty..
Concerning Lincoln’s “Honest Abe” reputation:
Was Abe Lincoln really honest, or simply a savvy, double-talking,
and suave politician?. (Let us remember that a politician is one who
practices the art and science concerned with guiding and influencing
governmental policy or winning and holding control over a
government). Our information indicates that Lincoln was as honest
and as forthright as any of the practicing politicians of his day.
Most historian agree that Lincoln was blessed with oratory skills
that allowed him to stir the passion and hopes of his listeners.,
and that Lincoln was an extraordinary savvy, sauve, AND resourceful
politician. Lincoln however has been noted to have often shaded or
pinched his words with misleading meaning. Let us remember that
Lincoln was a politician and the first job of a good politician is
to get elected. To get elected, a candidate is required to explain
himself to the electorate in such a way that he would gain their
likeness, favor, respect, and vote. We must all remember also that
Lincoln was superb at speech writing and he wrote his own speeches,
and perhaps more than any other president he invoked and manipulated
powerful symbols in his speeches to move public opinion, especially
on the subject of race relations and slavery. Here are two examples
of such symbolic and manipulative language.
.Example One:
Lincoln’s Gettysburg address provides us an example of his ability
to inspire others. Most historians tell us that his Gettysburg
address displayed his speaking talents and enhanced his political
capital and convinced his backers of the moral and right aims of
their war against the rebellious states, even when Lincoln’s words
were untrue.
“ Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth on this
continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the
proposition that all men are created equal. (Lincoln knew that the
Constitution was conceived not in liberty, but in slavery , and that
it was dedicated to the proposition that all property-owning, white
European males were created equal, and nobody else),. Thus Lincoln
wrapped the Union cause in the rhetoric of the Declaration of
Independence, which emphasized freedom (even though many of its
signers were slave owners). Nevertheless, this speech was a
monumental psychological boost to the north in prosecuting the war.
. . . Another section of the same speech reads: “this war, testing
whether that nation or any nation, so conceived and dedicated can
long endure. And that this nation under God shall have a new birth
of Freedom, and that government of the people, for the people, by
the people shalt not perish from the earth.” (These words became
immortal in their penetrating meaning, but what new freedom did
Lincoln have in mind? Surely these words did not apply to Negro
slaves. Nevertheless, these words were inspirational to the northern
population.
Example Two
Lincoln’s powerful God-talk rhetoric in his 2nd inauguration address
to the Congress in December 1864 was one of his best political
speeches. Lincoln was not a member of any church or Christian
denomination. In fact, he was the last American President who was
not a member of a Christian denomination when taking office, but in
this speech he invoked the notion that God was the mastermind behind
the curtains or playing an unseen role in the drama of human
affairs.
In this speech Lincoln peppered its flowing prose with “God-speak”
or with reference to God many times as if he himself was a
Christian. Lincoln said,
“The Almighty has His own purposes”, “If we shall suppose that
American slavery is one of those offenses which, in the providence
of God, must needs come, but . . .through His appointed time, He now
wills to removed, and that He gives to both North and South this
terrible ward, . Fondly do we hope fervently do we pray, that this
mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Lincoln ends this
speech by saying, “The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous
altogether, . . with firmness in the right as God gives us to see
the right “ he finished his speech. This is masterful, God talk from
a non-religious man! Yes Lincoln was a glib and polished speaker and
politician. He would not have been elected to the Presidency if he
had been otherwise.
Was Lincoln a white racist ?
Yes, Lincoln was racist, but he was not the embodiment of the
American traditional racism of his period as some black revisionist
writers have tried to make him.. A racist is one who believes that
race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and
that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a
particular race. Why do I say that Lincoln was not the traditional
American racist. We know that racism was the dominant controller of
race relations during the 1850’s and 1860’s. Why do I say this? I
say this because:
a. Lincoln personally objected to slavery being allowed
to expand in the western and northwestern territories, and a
traditional racist in Lincoln’s day would not have cared one way or
the other.
b.. Lincoln did not own slaves and he stated
emphatically that he thought that slavery was an abomination. This
is not the testimony of a traditional racist in the 1850s in
America.
c. Lincoln’s racism did not prevent him from his duty
as President of the United States and attempting to strive for the
ideals expressed in the Declaration of Independence.
Closing:
This morning we have learned that Lincoln was not the Great
Emancipator.
Davies, you should understand that emancipation was one of the
unanticipated and astounding results of the Civil War, and that
Lincoln did not have anything like this in mind.
This morning we learned that Honest Abe was not “honest and pure,”
but that he was a politician who sought the same ends as most other
politicians, the control of his government within Constitutional
bounds. We also know that he used his blessings of speech and
writing to move people to help him accomplish his goals.
This morning we learned that Lincoln was a racist, but he was not
the traditional racist of his day. Lincoln was a product of his
time, and the record shows that he did the right thing according to
how he saw the right; and in his day and time many people did not
see the right as he did. We know that Lincoln wrestled with the race
question more openly than any other presidents except perhaps Thomas
Jefferson, and unlike Jefferson, Lincoln’s actions sometimes,
matched his words. We could ask ourselves the following types of
questions
Was President Eisenhower a racist; because he didn’t intervene in
the Little Rock school situation until the very last possible
minute? We only know that he did the right and moral and legal
thing.
Was President Kennedy a racist; because he didn’t send federal
troops to the University of Mississippi in support of James
Meredith, or down to Selma, Alabama until the very last minute? We
only know that he did the right and moral and legal thing.
Church, the key question is what does one do, whether one is racist
or not, when one is confronted with a racial issue or problem? The
answer is to do the right and moral thing as your Creator has given
you the light to see the right and the moral. This is what this
sermon is about: to do the right thing! If Lincoln did it, you can
do it too. Lincoln was not a religious man, but he believed in “Holy
Willie’s Prayer,” (written by Robert Burns) and I recommend that
prayer to you.
Lord, when I do good, I feel good
Lord, when I do bad, I feel bad
Lord help me to feel good all the time
Go Tell it on the Mountain/Over the hills and every where
Go Tell it on the Mountain/ THAT ALL MEN SHOULD BE FREE
Why were those black people singing the Blues
(All Men Should be Free)
They’re slavery-scarred and Jim Crow-abused
(All Men Should be Free)
They’ve been in a wilderness since slavery’s ban
(All Men Should be Free)
And they ain’t yet allowed into Freedomland.
Go Tell it on the Mountain/Over the hills and every where
Go Tell it on the Mountain/ THAT ALL MEN SHOULD BE FREE
Then who are those people in Freedom Land
(All Men Should be Free)
Must be the children of the slave masters’ clan!
(All Men Should be Free)
So what do we do, you and me?
(All Men Should be Free)
Pray and then help God to set all men free.”
Go Tell it on the Mountain/Over the hills and every where
Go Tell it on the Mountain/ THAT ALL MEN SHOULD BE FREE
THAT ALL MEN SHOULD BE FREE
THAT ALL MEN SHOULD BE FREE
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