Eric Foner - Lincoln Scholar

Last Thursday night I had the pleasure of hearing highly esteemed historian Eric Foner of Columbia University speak at UAB on the legacy of Abraham Lincoln.  It was a highly rewarding experience for me.

The event was at UAB's Alumni Hall, a great new facility on the campus.  The place was packed with faculty, students, and the public.

Here are the notes I took of his talk.

Abraham Lincoln is the most iconic figure in American history.

You can find many Lincolns.  Everyone tries to claim Lincoln for their own.

There have been many Lincoln movies so not just the recent Speilberg one.  Foner is dismissive of Speilberg calling him a "megalomaniac" for postponing the release of his Lincoln movie until after the 2012 election.  In general Foner is dismissive of movies.

The end of slavery was a process and not a sudden thing like the passage of the 13 Amendment.

From the beginning of the war slaves ran away to Union lines.

The key turning point was the Emancipation Proclamation.  If there is one key point that Foner makes it is that he stresses the importance of the EP.

There is no Lincoln document where he authoritatively summarizes his views on slavery.

If there is another Foner theme in addition to his emphasis on the importance of the EP it is his belief in Lincoln's capacity for growth.  The liberal Foner sees Lincoln moving toward a liberal view on slavery and race.  This vew comes thru clearly in his Lincoln book.

Lincoln was not an abolitionist but he was influenced by the abolitionists and moved in that direction during the war.

Lincoln was a consumate politician in a time when politicians were admired unlike today.

Lincoln rose to prominence thru his oratory condeming slavery via the Declaration of Independence.

The baseline of L's opposition to slavery was economic: slavery was a theft of labor.

Each person has the right to enjoy the fruits of one's own labor.

Lincoln spoke of natural rights embodied in the Declaration of Independence not political rights: the right to the fruits of one's labor as a natural right but not political and social equality.

Lincoln, Clay, and others could speak of ending slavery which included colonization and thereby avoid the issue of what to do with freed former slaves in this country.

Lincoln did not degrade blacks like Jefferson.

Foner takes a shot at Doris Kearns Goodwin.  She does not mention colonization in her book.  The subject doesn't fit the story she wishes to tell.

Before the war it seemed that colonization was necessary to deal with eliminating slavery.

Lincoln's plan to eliminate slavery: 1)gradual 2) compensated 3) colonization.  But the war changed everything.

Lincoln was not an abolitionist.  He was not a "secret abolitionist."

The natural rights of the DOI but not political rights.

Colonization was a way to end slavery without dealing with its consequences in this country.

The most important Lincoln act was the Emancipation Proclimation.

Military emancipation was common in this time.

The South heard "ultimate extinction."

The South clearly thought slavery was threatened which triggered secession.

Foner does not see how slavery could have peacefully ended.

The border states rejected gradual, compensated emancipation.

Circumstances forced Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation.  This was the larget EP in history.  Lincoln acted under his war powers.  If the Union wins, the slaves freed by he EP would be free.

There was no moral sentiment in the EP.

The EP ended gradual and compensated emancipation.  According to Foner, it also ended colonization.

Lincoln's greatness was his capacity change.  In the last 2 years of his life he started thinking about a biracial society.

In his last public speech he asserted that some blacks should have the right to vote.  He was pushing the envelope forward.

The second inaugural was a humble speech.  It was only 8 minutes long.  All knew the war was about slavery.  The entire nation was at fault for the sin of slavery.

We are still in this country confronting the legacy of slavery.
The speaker invites questions after the lecture.  I get to ask the last question.

"If you could go back in time to April of 1865 and could ask Lincoln one question, what would that question be?"

Foner chuckles and I don't know if he is just amused by the question or if he thinks it a dumb question.  He responds, "I suppose I would ask what his plans were for Reconstruction."