Abraham Lincoln
This morning came a 4-minute YouTube I ask you to NOT watch until you read the rest, below, first.
Today is Abraham Lincoln’s birthday. Heather Cox Richardson offers a marvelous summary, here.
The column got me to thinking back to my own history, which includes lots of tourist stops over many years. Among these stops at various times earlier in life were Lincoln’s birth home; where he grew up; thence practiced Law and got into politics; the White House; Gettysburg; Ford’s Theatre and across the street where he died; his grave in Springfield….
Abe Lincoln
The image of Lincoln (above) is at arms length from where I’m typing this post. It’s been there for years. It was a small impulse purchase at an antique store on the edge of Dickeyville WI. The store had been a home of one of my family ancestors who arrived in Wisconsin from Germany about 1872. It’s just an iron cast hanging on a wall. Somebody might wonder “why did he keep this?” when they’re cleaning out my home office….
We all know about the Civil War and related. It doesn’t take much study to know that Lincoln led in tumultuous times in the U.S.
It was a time of explosive growth in the United States. It was a not a time of kind and gentle treatment of Native Americans. The rapid expansion of railroads and technology like the telegraph made settlement simpler. All of my migrant ancestors from French Canada and Germany arrived in this part of the United States in this general time. The U.S. population increased from about 31 million in 1860 to about 39 million in 1870 (2026 estimate: about 349 million). There is a great plenty to criticize.
Lincoln, a country boy, had an impossible task.
What made the difference for him as compared to most U.S. Presidents?
He had, it seems to me, a profound sense of community – a place for all of us – that he actually managed to convey in the limited ways available at the time. It was a daunting task – when he became president he appointed what Doris Kearns Goodwin called “A Team of Rivals” integral to his cabinet. And you know the rest.
I leave it to each of you to fill in the blanks, as you see him, as compared to today’s chaotic time in which we currently live…and then to implement in each of our own small way some improvements in the status quo.
Which leaves the YouTube I asked you to hold till now:
It came from one of the readers of this post, Fred, who in turn had received it from his friend, Bob. Here are their few words of introduction:
Bob: I have never been so moved by Shakespeare. The man had a way with words. This is powerful, powerful stuff.
Fred: Check this out. It is a powerful message that those needing to hear it would likely not understand. McKellan was speaking on the Colbert show.
COMMENTS:
from Jeff: I thought Professor Richardson today did a great job noting how Lincoln dated the beginning of the USA to the Declaration, not the Constitution which enshrined slavery into the country.
from Molly:
POSTNOTE: The word today is that the Minneapolis Surge by ICE is ending. I will believe it when it actually happens. I think the response by Minneapolis (and by my state, generally) should be used as a tutorial for other places which ICE etc plan to mobilize. The fight is not over, it is just beginning. March 28 is the next nationwide protest with focus on Minneapolis. Mark your calendar and participate where you live.
Sidenote: I am aware that President Obama enters the “me-too” conversation. He was tough on deportation. This is probably true, however, the process used, apparently, was totally different than present-day ICE. The focus was on illegal foreign nationals already sentenced and in jail or prison. In the present instance, the focus was on reaching quotas, which led to the abundant abuses. The whole story will be told in coming months. Also, I keep thinking of the bipartisan House-Senate-Biden White House immigration reform bill towards the end of the Biden administration, which DJT had the Republicans pull so it was never voted on. He had a different strategy, which is what we’re living through now. Keep that in mind/
Have we made any progress in 400 years? Perhaps, but not enough.
Another reason to keep studying Shakespeare.