If Abraham Lincoln Were Alive Today....

[makelovenotwar]

Would he be a democrat or a republican?

The reason I ask is because I just ran across this quote:

In the famous Lincoln-Douglas debates, Lincoln did not hesitate to dispel the notion that he was a champion of racial equality:

"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 off 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 soc ial and political equality."
Abraham Lincoln, Fourth Lincoln-Douglas Debate, September 18, 1858


Wow!:wow: I am so disappointed!

[BlueEyedSon]

1. ... he would be rolling over in his grave!

:)

[IronLionZion]

2. Lincoln was quite the racist

Democrat Jefferson Davis was a good leader but obviously he too was a racist and terribly mistaken in his quest to secede.

[mmonk]

3. the same now as he was back then

a repub. He would have more wrinkles and look pretty bad though.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

4. I have a more abrangent question

Was it even POSSIBLE for an educated American white male NOT to be racist back then?

[makelovenotwar]

6. If you are serious...

I agree wholeheartedly! I am glad to see that someone else agrees with me.

I think he may have been a victim of his time! Back then, people didn't know anything other than using black people as slaves! It's absolutely sickening, but true. At least he stopped slavery.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

9. Hey, I may have a history of groaners and surreal one-liners...

...but sometimes I am serious, mmmkay? :toast:

[makelovenotwar]

13. hey

why are posts counted? I look like a loser with only 73 posts!

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

14. To distinguish the Zen Masters from the little grasshoppers...

...little grasshopper.

[Journeyman]

5. 1858. . .

You need to read considerably more than the fourth debate to understand the tenor and tempo of Mr. Lincoln's times. And then you'll need to read far more to garner an appreciation of Mr. Lincoln's mind and soul. There's far more to the man than the impression you seem to have.

[makelovenotwar]

10. OH, no you don't understand

he is absolutely my hero hands down! Has been for years and years!

I was just never knew that he said those things. I need to read more for sure!

[Faygo Kid]

7. Don't be disappointed. Read this.

The conclusion of Lincoln's Second Inaugural. He had come a long way:
"Fondly do we hope - fervently do we pray - that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue, until all the wealth piled by the bondsman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited tol shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash, shall be paid by another drawn by the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said, 'The judgments of the Lord, are true and righteous altogether.'
"With malice toward none; with charity for all, with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan - to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations."

[makelovenotwar]

11. oh thank goodness!

:7

[jpgray]

8. Read about his remarks about the Mexican War, the 'Spot' resolutions

He was more or less a man of his time, and hardly perfect. But he did have some good ideas, and was no fool when it came to what the country was doing and why.

edit: In other words, he didn't put up with a lot of bullshit excuses for going to war. Vietnam lefties touted this, and now I will as well. :D

[NNadir]

12. This quotation is often used against Lincoln.

It was politics. In 1858, it was impossible to be elected to the Senate in Illinois if one believed in racial equality.

Lincoln was notoriously secretive about his actual views as opposed to his publicly stated views. Historians note that many of his positions as stated conflict with his actions. Indeed, he was roundly villified in his own time for signing the Emancipation Proclamation. In 1864 he was very nearly defeated by George McClellan, who made overturning that proclamation an important part of his campaign using the following code words: "The Union as it was and the Constitution as it was." The Constitution at that time condoned slavery.

Frederick Douglass remarked that Lincoln was the only great man he'd ever met who didn't constantly make reference to the difference in their skin color. Moreover, Douglass, the greatest abolitionist of his time, assessing Lincoln noted that Lincoln was "bound to consult" his countrymen by virtue of his position. His countrymen at the time were rabidly, violently racist. Without a figure of Lincoln's political acumen, they might have never started on the road we still travel.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

15. OK, that's official. Abe rocks.

"Frederick Douglass remarked that Lincoln was the only great man he'd ever met who didn't constantly make reference to the difference in their skin color."

For some reason, I think this says more than even pushing Emancipation.