Author: Albert Morales

Abolitionists played an important role during the 1850’s and 1860’s. Several Newspapers wrote articles explaining their role during this era. The New Times, Baltimore Sun and the New York Daily Times are just a few of these Newspaper distributors that wrote articles chronicling these events. I discussed an article by the New York Daily Times which writes about Wendell Phillips and their beliefs against slavery. The other article is by Ira Berlin. Dr. Berlin articles explains the affect the Emancipation Proclamation had on slavery. He writes “a document whose grand title promised so much but those bland words delivered so little”.[1]

“Alleged Abolitionists.” The Sun (1837-1995), Dec 10, 1860, 1.

Berlin, Ira. “How the Slaves Freed Themselves: After 130 Years, Reading the Emancipation Proclamation Right.” The Washington Post (1974-Current File), Dec 27, 1992. 1.

“CONVENTION OF SLAVE-HOLDERS ANNAPOLIS, Jan. 15, 1842: Propositions Recommended by the Convention to the Consideration of the Legislature.” The Sun (1837-1995), Jan 18, 1842, 1.

Grinspan, Jon. “Was Abolitionism a Failure?” New York Times (1923-Current File), Feb 01, 2015, 1.

“The Abolitionists.” New York Daily Times (1851-1857), May 14, 1857, 4.

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[1] Ira Berlin, “How the Slaves Freed Themselves: After 130 Years, Reading the Emancipation Proclamation Right”, The Washington Post, 1974-Current File, Dec 27, 1992), 1

What was the role of Abolitionist towards Emancipation? This topic has endless possibilities. On this week video, we discuss the database called America: History and Life with Full Text. We found multiple secondary sources to help discuss this topic. Michael Fellman explains, the abolitionist movement had crystallized both in philosophy and in leadership into two categories: Garrisonian radicals, who believed American society, North as well as South was fundamentally immoral, with slavery only worst of its many sins and who looked forward to a thorough-going change in tis institutional structure and ideology”.[1] In the article, A Cultural Analysis of the Role of Abolitionists in the Coming of the Civil War, the writers explained the role of abolitionist as “igniting and then fanning a dynamic process of cultural escalation”.[2]

Carvalho III, Joseph. “John Brown’s Transformation: The Springfield Years, 1846-1849.” Historical Journal of Massachusetts 48, no. 1 (Winter 2020): 46–95.

Dillon, Merton. “The Failure of the American Abolitionists.” Journal of Southern History 25, no. 2 (May 1959): 159–77.

Ellis, Richard, and Aaron Wildavsky. “A Cultural Analysis of the Role of Abolitionists in the Coming of the Civil War.” Comparative Studies in Society & History 32, no. 1 (January 1990): 89–116.

Fellman, Michael. “Theodore Parker and the Abolitionist Role in the 1850’S.” Journal of American History 61, no. 3 (December 1974): 666–84.

Lande, Jonathan. “‘Lighting Up the Path of Liberty and Justice’: Black Abolitionist Fourth of July Celebrations and the Promise of America from the Fugitive Slave Act to the Civil War.” Journal of African American History 105, no. 3 (Summer 2020): 364–95.

Staudenraus, P. J. “The Popular Origins of the Thirteenth Amendment.” Mid America 50, no. 2 (April 1968): 108–15.

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[1] Michael Fellman, “Theodore Parker and the Abolitionist Role in the 1850’S”, (Journal of American History 61, no. 3 December 1974), 666

[2] Richard Ellis and Aaron Wildavsky, “A Cultural Analysis of the Role of Abolitionists in the Coming of the Civil War”, (Comparative Studies in Society & History 32, no. 1 January 1990), 116

W.E.B DuBois was born William Edward Burghardt Du Bois in Great Barrington, MA. In 1895, he became the first African American to earn a Ph.D. degree at Harvard University. He taught history and economics at Atlanta University. He was a leading spokesman against racial discrimination during the early 1900s, “an advocate for people of colour around the world, few claims greater importance than W.E.B. DuBois”.[1]

DuBois works include Black Reconstruction in America and The Autobiography of W.E.B DuBois. These narratives provided many of his ideas. DuBois believed African Americans needed to be more vocal. He believed that education was key to the success to the race.  Du Bois’s articulate “the important role of higher education, and the need for a commitment to service enabled me to make sense of my own experiences as an African American man within the realm of the academy”.[2] DuBois wanted the educated African Americans to lead the fight against discrimination.

DuBois fight did not stop with writing books or articles. He founded the Niagara Movement, “the first African American political organization of the twentieth century”.[3] This was instrumental as it provided African Americans advancements. His efforts to fight race relations were documented and historians have written articles explaining Dubois impact to Americans.

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[1] Brandon Kendhammer, “DuBois the Pan-Africanist and the Development of African Nationalism.” Ethnic and Racial Studies 30, (no. 1 2007, 51-71), 51

[2] Larry L. Rowley, “W.E.B. DUBOIS: Role Model and Mentor for African American Undergraduate Men.” About campus. 6 (no. 5, November 2001, 20–25), 21

[3] Ibid., 22

I started to research on an important event that occurred in Loudoun, VA. John Brown raid occurred nearby Loudoun County, VA at Harper’s Ferry having a deep and lasting effects. Brenda Stevenson book, Life in Black and White: Family and Community in the Slave South, focuses on events that occurred in Loudoun County, VA. Stevenson book explains “John Brown’s short-lived and ill-fated rebellion and its far-reaching impact on the institution of slavery in the Southern town of Loudoun”.[1]  

When using the Oxford Scholarship Online site, I was not successful with gathering multiple sources. I had to search all presses to gather more than historical background information. It’s appears this site did not provide much sources on this said topic.

Byas, Steve. “John Brown’s Lethal Legacy: John Brown, the Abolitionist-Turned-Murderer Who Tried to Incite a Slave Revolt, Is Held as a Role Model for Liberals Because His Murders of Innocents Directly Fueled the Civil War.” The New American. 33, no. 3 (2017).

Laughlin-Schultz, Bonnie. The Tie That Bound Us: The Women of John Brown’s Family and the Legacy of Radical Abolitionism. Cornell University Press, 2013. Cornell Scholarship Online, 2016.

McGlone, Robert E. “Forgotten Surrender: John Brown’s Raid and the Cult of Martial Virtues.” Civil War History 40, no. 3 (September 1994).

Stevenson, Brenda E. Life in Black and White: Family and Community in the Slave South. Oxford University Press, 1997. Oxford Scholarship Online, 2011.

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[1] Brenda E. Stevenson, Life in Black and White: Family and Community in the Slave South, (Oxford University Press, 1997), 320

African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) was established and “became increased and feeling a desire for the privilege of holding meetings of their own, where they might have an opportunity to exercise their spirituals gifts”.[1] Freed Slaves wanted to preach the gospels and hold meetings similar to white preachers and denominations. They faced resistance from slaves’ owners and white church members. But individuals like David George, Lemuel Hayes and Richard Allen believed they their gospels brought hope to their race.

Prior to the establishment of the AME, the first black church was “Silver Bluff Church in Aiken County, South Carolina”.^[2] An African American preacher named David George established the congregation.^[3] They were hearing sermons from an individual which they could relate too. It provided hope and a sense of prosperous days ahead. These black congregations were rare during this time. Most black Christians were attached to a white congregation and denomination.

White missionaries allowing African Americans to attend white services was paramount to the growth of Christianity within the community. The first ordain African American minister in a major white denomination was Lemuel Haynes.^[4] His reputation grew the next 30 years as he traveled throughout the Northeast spreading Calvinism. Although with his great success it could only reach certain heights, as some racial bias grew. Hayes felt the resistance from white members, “in order to take into consideration the evils under which they labored, arising from the unkind treatment of their white brethren, who considered them a nuisance in the house of worship”.[5]

African Americans felt they needed to establish their own churches. Methodist allowed African Americans regardless if freed or enslaved, to become licensed preachers. This included the South which was not common. Eventually led to black churches, first black Episcopal Church (1794), first black Methodist Church (1794), first black Northern Baptist Church (1809).[6] These congregations remained with the National Level but in due time, after some disputes with land and other factors, there was a congregation that separated. This congregation would eventually become its own separate denomination. The Bethel Methodist Church would become the African Methodist Episcopal Church which was the one establishment under black control.[7]

African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) started its own discipline in 1817. It led to another independent African American denomination joining the church. The Zion Church created in New York City follow suit. The history of these churches, which soon became its own denomination, is the most critical aspect to the growth of Christianity with the African American community.

An important figure within the African Methodist Episcopal Church was Richard Allen. Allen was born a slave and converted by Methodists in his teen years. This church background “reveals much about the lengths to which African Americans Christians went to express the faith for themselves”.^[8] Allen conversion began when Bishop Francis Asbury, leader of American Methodism, asked Allen to become his traveling companion.^[9] Asbury saw the potential in Allen and ordained him several years later. By 1786, Allen preached to interracial groups of Methodists at St. George’s Church, Philadelphia and in Radnor Pennsylvania.^[10] Allen’s mission was to find and spread the gospel to his fellow African Americans. He was aided by others like Absalom Jones, William White and Dorus Ginnings. He sent out invitations to other black congregations and they all agreed to form African Methodist Episcopal (AME) church. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that the Bethel Church could control its own affairs and property.^[11]

AME mission was to spread the belief “that human nature was perfectible, and that if social order which oppressed the black man were rearranged, he would become a productive citizen”.^[12] They felt with the demise of slavery it allow all races to have a better society. The message was pure, and its goal was to destroyed slavery. They used spiritual singing to preach. Historian W.E.B Dubois explained “the most original and beautiful expression of human life and longing yet born on American soil.”^[13] These songs are a testimony to a community creative genius, collective desire for freedom.^[14]

Embry, James C., J. P. Campbell, and African Methodist Episcopal Church. General Conference. The doctrine and discipline of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, 18th ed. Philadelphia: A.M.E. Book Concern, 1885. Sabin Americana: History of the Americas, 1500-1926.

Howe, Daniel W. What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815-1848. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007

Long, Charles H. “African American Religion in the United States of America: An Interpretative Essay.” Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions 7, no. 1 (2003): 11-27.

Mills, Frederick V. “Allen, Richard (1760-1831), American Methodist preacher and founder of the African Methodist Episcopal church.” American National Biography.

Noll, Mark A. A History of Christianity in the United States and Canada 2^nd Edition. Michigan: William B. Errdmans Publishing Company, 2019

Rush, Christopher, and George Collins. A short account of the rise and progress of the African M.E. Church in America. New York: Republished by C. Rush, C.W. Robinson, A. Cole and J. Simmons, 1866, [c1843]. Sabin Americana: History of the Americas, 1500-1926.

Walker, Clarence E. “The A.M.E. Church and Reconstruction.” Negro History Bulletin 48, no. 1 (1985): 10-13.

Williams, Regennia N. “Of griots and grace: the art of oral history and the history of African American religion.” Black History Bulletin 68, no. 2 (2005): 15+. Gale In Context: World History.

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[1] Christopher Rush and George Collins, A short account of the rise and progress of the African M.E. Church in America. New York: Republished by C. Rush, C.W. Robinson, A. Cole and J. Simmons, 1866, [c1843]. Sabin Americana: History of the Americas, 1500-1926, 10

[2] Mark Noll, A History of Christianity in the United States and Canada 2^nd Edition, Michigan: William B. Errdmans Publishing Company, 2019, 98

[3] Ibid.

[4] Ibid., 182

[5] James Embry, J. P. Campbell, and African Methodist Episcopal Church. General Conference. The doctrine and discipline of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, 18th ed. Philadelphia: A.M.E. Book Concern, 1885. Sabin Americana: History of the Americas, 1500-1926, 3

[6] Daniel Howe, What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815-1848, 182

[7] Ibid.

[8] Noll, A History of Christianity in the United States and Canada 2^nd Edition, 183

[9] Frederick V. Mills, “Allen, Richard (1760-1831), American Methodist preacher and founder of the African Methodist Episcopal church.” American National Biography.

[10] Ibid.

[11] Ibid.

[12] Clarence E Walker, “The A.M.E. Church and Reconstruction.” (Negro History Bulletin 48, no. 1 1985), 10

[13] Regennia N. Williams, “Of griots and grace: the art of oral history and the history of African American religion.” (Black History Bulletin 68, no. 2 2005), Gale In Context: World History.

[14] Ibid.

The Battle of Bunker Hill was early in the War for Independence.  Historians call the battle pivotal to the colonist independence. The British did prevail during the battle but it was a hard fought effort by the colonist. How could this early battle really affect the War for Independence? What made this battle matter so much still to this day?

During my years in the classroom, many of my students found interest in this battle. The best part was explaining how to properly research any historical topic or event.

Brackenridge, H.H. The Battle of Bunkers-Hill, A dramatic piece, of five acts in heroic measure, By a Gentleman of Maryland. Robert Bell: Philadelphia, PA, 1776.

Brackenridge, H.H. Battle of Bunkerhill. S.N., 1776.

Burk, John. Bunker-Hill; The Death of General Warren: an Historic tragedy. Greenleaf: New York, NY, 1797.

Ferling, John. Almost A Miracle: The American Victory in the War of Independence. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007.

Frederick Douglass played a massive role during the abolitionist movement. He advocated for the emancipation of slavery. He devoted his life fighting for equal rights. During the Civil War, Douglass met President Abraham Lincoln only a few times. “Yet, they developed parallel and complementary goals and strategies to end slavery.”^[1] Douglass was a candid critic of Lincoln’s until the Emancipation Proclamation. To this point of his life, he fought for freedom for all African Americans. But, how did Frederick Douglass perceive President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation? Did his views change over time or remain the same?

Frederick Douglass was born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey in Tuckahoe, Maryland. His story is remarkable and known to many American students. “The life of Frederick Douglass is the history of American slavery epitomized in a single human experience.”^[2] His family was owned by Captain Aaron Anthony. Captain Anthony had several plantations with over thirty slaves.

Douglass did not have a close relationship with his mother and called his father “a white man”.^[3] Although, he did not know if this was accurate. Around the age of 7 or 8, he was sent to Baltimore by his master, Colonel Lloyd. It was in Baltimore; Douglass learns how to read and write by Mrs. “Sophia” Auld. He learned his first impression of slavery during this time. At a young age, the “thought of being a slave for life began to bear heavily upon my heart”.^[4] As Douglass grew older, he educated himself and learned about the abolitionist movement. “Very often I would overhear Master Hugh, or some of his company, speak with much warmth of the abolitionist”.^[5]

Douglass was sold several times, jumping from farm to farm. He became depressed and felt it would never end. However, it was an incident with one of his masters that changed his path. In his autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, he explains in detail the battle he had with Mr. Covey. “The battle with Mr. Covey was the turning point in my career as a slave.”^[6] Four years later, Douglass escaped from slavery, “reaching New York without the slightest interruption of any kind”.^[7]

While in New York, Douglass decided to change his name when concerns grew that he could be captured. It was four months after the escape, Douglass read issues of The Liberator. The readings gave him motivation; “my brethren in bonds-its scathing denunciations of slaveholders-its faithful exposures of slavery- and its powerful attacks upon the upholders of the institution”.^[8] He joined the anti-slavery movement and decided to tell his story of bondage to freedom.

Douglass moral basis was to advocate for black patriotism and encourage groundbreaking change.  However, by 1862, like many abolitionists, Douglass believed in the evils of the South rather than “Northern virtue”.^[9] He believed there were two loyalists and they spoke alike in the Union. Both wanted to end the war, but one group wanted to end slavery and the other was against abolishing slavery. It wasn’t until March 6, 1862, Douglass began to alter his views. Lincoln requested Congress to authorize funds for gradually compensating emancipation “for the border slave states still in the Union”.^[10] This provided progressive change to the Union and it sent a message to the Confederate States. 

Historian David Blight, an expert in African American studies explains in his book, Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom, Douglass began to breath a new tone, “it is really wonderful”.^[11] Douglass added “how all efforts to evade, postpone, and prevent its emancipation coming have been mocked and defied by the stupendous sweep of events”.^[12] This recommendation by the President delighted Douglass. He started to believe the nation was growing and Lincoln’s views were imperative to the nation’s health, “he is tall and strong, but is not done growing; he grows as the nation grows”.^[13] Blight articulated that Douglass warmed up to the President at this moment.

President Lincoln felt he needed to take another drastic step. On a trip with the Secretary of Navy, Gideon Welles and Secretary of State Steward, he stated, “unless the Rebels ceased the war-and he saw no evidence they would – he would take a drastic step”.^[14] Strategically, he felt the Union had to free the slaves, so on July 22, 1862, he read the first draft of the Emancipation Proclamation. The Proclamation was not declared until January 1, 1863. The Proclamation did not actually free any slaves as there was no way to enforce it in states that were still under the Confederates control. But, the Proclamation “represented a symbolic landmark for the nation that purported to live by the words of the Declaration of Independence”.^[15]

It shouldn’t be a surprise; Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation was met with resistance. In an article on October 5, 1862 by the New York Herald, it provides details of the reaction by citizens of Richmond. There were resistance and suggestions that anyone against the Confederate should be put to death. Samuel Clark of the Missouri Artillery Unit believed Jefferson Davis “should be authorized immediately to proclaim that every person found in arms against the Confederate government and its institutions on our soil should be put to death”.^[16] The South reaction was anticipated, but it was abolitionists especially Douglass that amazed Lincoln.

When Lincoln issued the preliminary draft in July 1862, some wondered if it was too late. Frederick Douglass was one of those critics. He admitted “disappointment that the Proclamation was so modest in its demands and so legalistic in tone”.^[17] Douglass felt the wordings lacked moral regret towards slavery. He felt that the Proclamation needed to completely disenfranchise the institution of slavery. The nation should’ve felt disgraceful not to end slavery sooner. Although, this was simply the first draft, it was not met as kindly as Lincoln expected from abolitionist and Douglass.

Douglass’s tone did alter after the proclamation was signed. But, it was not long, as Douglass understood the proclamation was supposed to end slavery “but never destroyed” it.^[18] He pointed out several examples why he believed this statement, “when the government persistently refused to employ colored troops-when the emancipation proclamation of General John Fremont, in Missouri, was withdrawn-when slaves were being returned from our lines to their masters” are just a few examples.^[19] He quoted Secretary of War, William Seward had given notice to the nation that “the war for the Union might terminate, no change would be made in the relation of master and slave”.^[20]

Like David Blight, historian Graham Culbertson explains in an article, Douglass believed the primary goal was to preserve the union and not end slavery. However, it was the Proclamation that brought a sense of belief that change was coming. Douglass echoed Pierre L’Enfant’s idea on how to bring the nation to the middle, “kill slavery at the heart of the nation, and it will certainly die at the extremities”.^[21] Douglass believed as long as there was Southern culture in Washington, slavery would never be completely abolished.

Lincoln did not officially declare the final draft until January 1, 1863 almost 5 months after the initial draft. Douglass explains in his autobiography many years after the proclamation was signed, “this Proclamation changed everything. It gave a new direction to the councils of the Cabinet, and to the conduct of the national arms.”^[22] During his speech of the Boston celebration on January 1, he had “more emotional veracity” than any other.^[23] This tone was different than a few months earlier. There was relief that Lincoln did not lessen the magnitude to this important declaration.

James McPherson, a Civil War historian, writes many abolitionists and radical Republicans mirrored Douglass words, “to fight against slaveholders, without fighting against slavery, is but a half-hearted business”.[24] McPherson explained the Proclamation changed the war for the North. It moved “from one to restore the Union into one to destroy the old Union and build a new purged of human bondage”.[25] Douglass was invited to the White House by Lincoln. During his meeting with Lincoln, Douglass grasped a better picture of Lincoln intentions. He had both positive and negative reviews about the Proclamation. But the meeting showed Lincoln had “a deeper moral conviction against slavery than I have ever seen before in anything spoken or written by him”.[26]

Graham Culbertson explains during the unveiling of Freedmen’s Memorial Douglass seemed farsighted. Douglass had positive and negative reviews about the Proclamation since its first draft. In 1876, it was no different, Lincoln “was ready and willing at any time during the first years of his administration to deny, postpone, and sacrifice the rights of humanity in the colored, people to promote the welfare of the white people of this country”.^[27] However, Douglass did celebrate the Emancipation Proclamation for many years after the war. On the first week of January, many abolitionists and freed slaves celebrated the anniversary of the Proclamation. Douglass stressed the event that occurred under Lincoln’s Presidency. He explained if anyone tries to downplay the event, African Americans “should calmly point to the monument we have this day erected to the memory of Abraham Lincoln”.[28] Douglass appreciated Lincoln at times and the Proclamation, but his rhetoric changed from time to time.

African Americans were struggling to find its path during the Reconstruction era. Douglass took note and continued to speak about the treatment of his people. It was doing an Emancipation Proclamation anniversary in New York; Douglass spoke about the importance of voting against politicians still bitter about the emancipation. “Each color voter of this State should say, in scripture phrase, may my hand forget its cunning and my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth if ever I raise my voice or give my vote for the nominees of the Democratic Party.”[29] Douglass constantly spoke about the importance to keep moving forward after emancipation occurred.

David Blight explains that Douglass felt responsible to remind the country about the genuine connotation of the Civil War and Proclamation. “Well the nation may forget; it may shut its eyes to the past, but the colored people of this country are bound to keep fresh a memory of the past till justice shall be done them in the present”[30] Douglass felt all Americans should never forget about the first day of January, 1863. He explains “can any colored man, or any white man friendly to the freedom of all men, ever forget the night” the proclamation was signed.[31] It was important for whites to appreciate black liberty and blacks to appreciate white “statesmanship”.[32]

Douglass perceived the Emancipation Proclamation as a step to a long quest for equal rights as written in the Constitution. The Proclamation was the first and most important step. Douglass spoke both favorably and with disappointment about the proclamation during his life. At times, he appreciated the Proclamation and it showed every year he gathered with other freemen to celebrate its anniversary. Douglass made it a point to remind both whites and black the importance of the document. Were there occasions Douglass felt the proclamation did not accomplish its task? Absolutely, these times were difficult for African Americans. Many felt they weren’t treated equally even after the Civil War. Research shows Douglass’s views on the proclamation alters throughout his lifetime.  

Bibliography:

Blight, David W. Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2018.

Blight, David W. “”For Something beyond the Battlefield”: Frederick Douglass and the Struggle for the Memory of the Civil War.” The Journal of American History 75, no. 4 (1989): 1156-178.

Culbertson, Graham. “Frederick Douglass’s “our National Capital”: Updating L’Enfant for an Era of Integration.” Journal of American Studies 48, no. 4 (11, 2014): 911-35.

Douglass, Frederick, and Ruffin, George L. Life and Times of Frederick Douglass. North Scituate: Digital Scanning, Incorporated, 2000. Accessed July 5, 2020. ProQuest Ebook Central.

Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. Simon & Brown, 2012.

Douglass, Frederick, John W. Blassingame, John R. McKivigan, and Peter P. Hinks. The Frederick Douglass Papers. Series Two, Autobiographical Writings. New Haven, Conn: Yale University Press, n.d.

“Emancipation Celebrated: Frederick Douglass’s advice to the Colored People of New York at Elmira.” New York Times (1857-1922), Aug 04, 1880, 1.

“Frederick Douglass’s Rhetorical Legacy.” Rhetoric Review 37, no. 1, 2018, 1-76.

Guelzo, Allen. Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation: The End of Slavery in America. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2004.

Kelley, William Darrah, Wendell Phillips, Frederick Douglass, Elizur Wright, William Heighton, George Luther Stearns, and Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society. The Equality of All Men Before the Law: Claimed and Defended. Boston: Press of Geo. C. Rand & Avery, 1865. Sabin Americana: History of the Americas, 1500-1926.

Masur, Kate. “The African American delegation to Abraham Lincoln: a reappraisal.” Civil War History 56, no. 2, (2010).

McFeely, William S. Frederick Douglass. New York: W&W Norton Company, 1991.

McPherson, James M. “How President Lincoln Decided to Issue the Emancipation Proclamation.” The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, no. 37 (2002): 108-09.

Schaub, Diana J. “Learning to Love Lincoln: Frederick Douglass’s Journey from Grievance to Gratitude.” In Lincoln and Liberty: Wisdom for the Ages, edited by MOREL LUCAS E., by Thomas Clarence, 79-102. Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky, 2014. 

Schneider, Thomas E. Lincoln’s Defense of Politics: The Public Man and His Opponents in the Crisis Over Slavery. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2006.

Shenk, Joshua W. Lincoln’s Melancholy: How Depression Challenged a President and Fueled His Greatness. Houghton Mifflin Company: 2005

Sturdevant, Katherine Scott and Stephen Collins. “Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln on Black Equity in the Civil War: A Historical-Rhetorical Perspective.” Black History Bulletin 73, no. 2 (Summer, 2010): 8-15.

“President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation at Richmond–A Significant Sensation.” The New York Herald (1840-1865), Oct 05, 1862. 4.

Washington, Booker. Frederick Douglass. New York: Routledge, 2012.

Wickenden, Dorothy. “Lincoln and Douglass: Dismantling the Peculiar Institution.” The Wilson Quarterly (1976-) 14, no. 4 (1990), 102-12. 

Wilson, Kirt H. “Debating the Great Emancipator: Abraham Lincoln and Our Public Memory.” Rhetoric and Public Affairs 13, no. 3 (2010): 455-79. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41936461.

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[1] Katherine Scott Sturdevant and Stephen Collins. “Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln on Black Equity in the Civil War: A Historical-Rhetorical Perspective.” (Black History Bulletin 73, no. 2 Summer, 2010), 8

[2] Booker Washington, Frederick Douglass, (New York: Routledge, 2012), 1

[3] Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, (Simon & Brown, 2012), 4

[4] Ibid., 33

[5] Frederick Douglass and Ruffin, George L. Life and Times of Frederick Douglass, (North Scituate: Digital Scanning, Incorporated, 2000), 108

[6] Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, 57

[7] Ibid., 83

[8] Ibid., 89

[9] David W Blight, Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom, (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2018), 361

[10] Ibid., 363

[11] Blight, Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom, 361

[12] Ibid.

[13] Ibid., 364

[14] Ibid., 185

[15] Ibid., 261

[16] “President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation at Richmond–A Significant Sensation”, (The New York Herald, 1840-1865, Oct 05, 1862), 4

[17] Allen Guelzo, Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation: The End of Slavery in America, (New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2004), 180

[18] Douglass and Ruffin, Life and Times of Frederick Douglass, 410

[19] Douglass and Ruffin, Life and Times of Frederick Douglass, 410

[20] Ibid., 426

[21] Graham Culbertson, “Frederick Douglass’s “our National Capital”: Updating L’Enfant for an Era of Integration”, (Journal of American Studies 48, no. 4, 11, 2014), 929

[22] Ibid., 427

[23] William S. McFeely, Frederick Douglass, (New York: W&W Norton Company, 1991), 236

[24] James M. McPherson, “How President Lincoln Decided to Issue the Emancipation Proclamation”, (The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, no. 37, 2002), 108

[25] Ibid., 109

[26] Dorothy Wickenden, “Lincoln and Douglass: Dismantling the Peculiar Institution.” The Wilson Quarterly (1976-) 14, no. 4 (1990), 102-12. 

[27] Culbertson, Journal of American Studies 48, 935

[28] David W. Blight, “For Something beyond the Battlefield”: Frederick Douglass and the Struggle for the Memory of the Civil War”, The Journal of American History 75, no. 4, 1989, 1165

[29] “Emancipation Celebrated: Frederick Douglass’s advice to the Colored People of New York at Elmira”, (New York Times 1857-1922, Aug 04, 1880), 1.

[30] Blight, Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom, 681

[31] Diana J Schaub, “Learning to Love Lincoln: Frederick Douglass’s Journey from Grievance to Gratitude.” In Lincoln and Liberty: Wisdom for the Ages, edited by Morel Lucas E., by Thomas Clarence, (Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky, 2014), 92 

[32] Ibid.

As we continued to research, there were three articles written by Chandra Manning, Dorothy Ross and Manisha Sinha that caught my attention. All three articles focus on Abraham Lincoln. Each article has its own thesis question which is answered by the author.  

Manning’s article focuses on the shifting attitudes towards Abraham Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation. Ross’s articles explain “the ethical dimension of the story is always prominent, and since the 1960s, it has been influentially portrayed as the gradual, halting, but growing triumph of universalist liberal and Christian principles”.[1] The last article is by Manisha Sinha and focuses on the evolution of Lincoln’s views on slavery and race.

Manning, Chandra. “The Shifting Terrain of Attitudes Toward Abraham Lincoln and Emancipation.” Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association 34, no. 1 (2013): 18-39.

Ross, Dorothy. “Lincoln and the Ethics of Emancipation: Universalism, Nationalism, Exceptionalism.” In Abraham Lincoln and Liberal Democracy, edited by Buccola Nicholas, 73-109. Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas, 2016.

Sinha, Manisha. “Did He Die an Abolitionist? The Evolution of Abraham Lincoln’s Antislavery.” American Political Thought 4, no. 3 (2015): 439-54.

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[1] Dorothy Ross, “Lincoln and the Ethics of Emancipation: Universalism, Nationalism, Exceptionalism”, (In Abraham Lincoln and Liberal Democracy, edited by Buccola Nicholas, Kansas: University Press of Kansas, 2016), 73

The institution of slavery divided this nation still felt today. Many scholars have written books and dissertation about this issue. Diane Miller and Jeremy Prichard were no different. These two scholars wrote on the subject of slavery but in different methods.

Miller dissertation focuses on the relationship between Native Americans tribes and African Americans. Her research examines how slaves seeking bondage found help and disdain depending on the tribe or location. Whereas, Prichard Dissertation focuses on Abraham Lincoln and Springfield, Illinois relationship. His research examines how when Lincoln left Springfield; he barely won the popular vote. But, after his death, the city welcomed him as a “savior”. 

Bibliography

Miller, Diane. “Wyandot, Shawnee, and African American Resistance to Slavery in Ohio and Kansas.” Order No. 27663269, The University of Nebraska – Lincoln, 2019. In PROQUESTMS ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global.

Prichard, Jeremy. “In Lincoln’s Shadow: The Civil War in Springfield, Illinois.” Order No. 3682546, University of Kansas, 2014. In PROQUESTMS ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global.

The ratification of the Constitution led to debate between Federalist and Antifederalist. Federalist wanted a strong national government while Antifederalist preferred the power remain with the local and state’s government. Regardless, government was necessity in order to a nation to thrive. Thomas Hobbes explains without power of government, the citizens would be in a state of anarchy. Government was needed to prevent anarchy. But, could a large government effectively govern its body? Does the scale of a government affect its capability to operate?

Bailyn, Bernard. The Debate on the Constitution: Federalist and Antifederalist Speeches, Articles, and Letters During the Struggle over Ratification. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, 1993.

Peterson, Paul. “The Rhetorical Design and Theoretical Teaching of “Federalist” no. 10.” Political Science Reviewer 17, (1987): 193.

White, Morton. Philosophy, The Federalist, and the Constitution. New York: Oxford University Press, 1987.