Lincoln and Race

This article discusses a new book on Lincoln that delves into his racial views. This books contends that Lincoln was very committed to the idea of colonization for freed slaves - moving them out of the country:
"For the sake of your race, you should sacrifice something of your present comfort for the purpose of being as grand in that respect as the white people," Lincoln said, promoting his idea of colonization: resettling blacks in foreign countries on the belief that whites and blacks could not coexist in the same nation.

Lincoln went on to say that free blacks who envisioned a permanent life in the United States were being "selfish" and he promoted Central America as an ideal location "especially because of the similarity of climate with your native land — thus being suited to your physical condition."

Lincoln's views on colonization are well known, but, "historians differ on whether Lincoln moved away from colonization after he issued the official Emancipation Proclamation on Jan. 1, 1863, or whether he continued to support it."

This book argues that Lincoln continued to support colonization:
Magness and Page's book offers evidence that Lincoln continued to support colonization, engaging in secret diplomacy with the British to establish a colony in British Honduras, now Belize.

Among the records found at the British archives is an 1863 order from Lincoln granting a British agent permission to recruit volunteers for a Belize colony.

"He didn't let colonization die off. He became very active in promoting it in the private sphere, through diplomatic channels," Magness said. He surmises that Lincoln grew weary of the controversy that surrounded colonization efforts, which had become enmeshed in scandal and were criticized by many abolitionists.

As late as 1864, Magness found a notation that Lincoln asked the attorney general whether he could continue to receive counsel from James Mitchell, his colonization commissioner, even after Congress had eliminated funding for Mitchell's office.

This is not the only opinion available, of course:
Illinois' state historian, Tom Schwartz, who is also a research director at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library in Springfield, Ill., said that while historians differ, there is ample evidence that Lincoln's views evolved away from colonization in the final two years of the Civil War.

Lincoln gave several speeches referring to the rights blacks had earned as they enlisted in the Union Army, for instance. And presidential secretary John Hay wrote in July 1864 that Lincoln had "sloughed off" colonization.

"Most of the evidence points to the idea that Lincoln is looking at other ways" to resolve the transition from slavery besides colonization at the end of his presidency, Schwartz said.

Since Lincoln was assassinated before the end of the war, we'll never know how he would have actually approached the post-war era, but the discussion continues on what he would have done, as this article and its book showcase.

Presidents at Disneyland

I posted on Nixon's visit to Disneyland awhile back, but Greg sent me this blog post about more presidential visits to Disney, so I thought I'd post this as well. What's interesting, as you can see from this post, is that current presidents are less likely to visit, although they are all represented as robots in the Hall of Presidents (that's Disney World, for clarification, while this post is about Disneyland).

This is their tidbit on Harry Truman's visit:
Today's first photo [you'll have to go visit to see it...], above, shows Harry and Bess Truman cruising down Main Street, U.S.A. in 1957. It's said that he would not go on the Dumbo ride, because of his aversion to "Republican" elephants.
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It seems Truman and his entourage didn't have to stand in lines, and that they moved at a good clip, experiencing most of the park's high points in under two hours. The L.A. Times reported, "For the most part, Mr. Truman headed the parade of sight-seers, breasted only by one or two of the brisker-walking park officials and politicians. Mrs. Truman and other members of the party often trailed far behind."

Girl Scout Cookies

It's that time of year...girl scout cookies! Yep, I was a girl scout, once upon a time! Lou Hoover was heavily involved in the Girl Scouts and I actually had a tourist through the NFLL a few years ago who had met Mrs. Hoover with her girl scout troop! Pretty neat!

Anyway, this blog post talks about Mrs. Hoover's role in the Girl Scouts:
A woman nicknamed "Daisy" started the Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. with 18 girls. And a tomboy called "Lou" helped the organization grow into its current membership of over 3.5 million! Lou Henry grew up enjoying the outdoor life, and was the first women to receive a degree in geology from Stanford. She traveled the world with her husband Herbert Hoover, and assisted him with his mining ventures and famine relief activities.

During World War I she met up with Juliette Low [Daisy], and was a Girl Scout for the next 25 years. As First Lady and national leader of the Girl Scouts, Hoover quietly aided people in need during the Depression, and was also the first to desegregate White House social functions.

Lou remained a Scout the rest of her life and led the first Girl Scout cookie drive in 1935. Juliette Low and Lou Henry Hoover brought together girls from the North and South, wealthy and poor, black and white, athletic and handicapped – instilling confidence that all women can develop their potential to be whatever they wish to be.

As a note, this goes on to include the original cookie recipes as the first cookies were homemade. I don't know about you, but I'll be trying this!

What's wrong?

My students and I were discussing what are some of the problems with using paintings (and even photographs...discussing staged photographs) as historical scores and this one jumps to mind - Washington Crossing the Delaware. This is a great piece that looks at what is wrong in this painting!

What are some of the things they note?
First of all, it was night. That wonderful light coming through the clouds to highlight General Washington was far from the reality of the night. The crossing began in the late afternoon of December 25th...the sun, if it had been out, would have set by then. Very little light would have been visible outside of a few lanterns with candlelight.

Compounding the darkness and certainly indicating that no sun was available, is the fact that diary account after diary account talk of the horrible weather that accompanied the crossing. Rain to sleet to snow pelted the troops and made the conditions difficult and disheartening. One account mentions that it was supposed to be a nearly full moon that night, yet you could barely see the moon as the clouds made it impossible to view.

The darkness of the night and the darkness of the murky river water made for a dangerous mission. The Delaware River was believed to be at flood stage at the time of the crossing. However, the river in the painting is not modeled after the Delaware, but rather the Rhine River in Germany. Mr. Leutze's family was originally from Germany. (At the time this region of Europe comprised individual provinces and city-states rather than the united country we think of today.) Emmanuel had gone to Germany to study art and painted this work, his most popular, while there. The ice that forms in the Delaware River tends to be large, solid sheets that break into floes in the River. Some of these would have been quite large and would have constantly pounded into the side of the boats as the current pushed them down river. However, in the painting, the ice tends to be depicted as ice caps and crags instead of the way the Delaware River still looks when ice forms.

Did the artist get anything right?
With all of the apparent flaws, it would seem that this painting is not a good representation of a moment in time. Perhaps in the details much artistic license was used. However, the determination, anguish and monumental nature of the event depicted are clearly seen. Certainly, a small group of men, banded together to fight a common cause is a lasting impression from the image. One also gets the sense of the heroic nature assigned to General Washington from this painting. The painting may fail in historic detail but it certainly appeals to humanity on many other levels...whether they are emotional, patriotic or simply appreciative of a moment in time.

Pat Nixon

This is an interesting article that looks at Pat Nixon's role in her husband's political career and how she is often "caught between the housewives and the feminists."

Who was the real "Plastic Pat?"
Although the Republican party, and her husband, created the image of Pat as the perfect housewife and mother, the reality of her life had never quite matched that reputation. She was an excellent seamstress and decorator who put her personal touch on all of her homes. She was only a fair cook, but she could be a maniac about cleaning. She was also a doting mother who participated actively in her daughters’ educations and lives, volunteering at school, overseeing homework, and closely monitoring the girls’ activities. She could relate to the millions of women whose lives revolved around home and family.

On the other hand, in spite of her public image, like many women of her generation, Pat had worked her entire life. She lived in New York City for a few years, working at a hospital to support herself. When she returned to California, she held down several jobs to put herself through college. After graduation, she took a job as a teacher. After marriage, she continued working while Dick was away during World War II. When he returned from overseas and ran for Congress, she jumped on the band wagon. She was office manager, secretary, and jack-of-all-trades for his campaign despite being pregnant. Just hours after the birth of her daughter she was sitting up in bed typing press releases and doing research. She left her newborn with her mother-in-law so that she could continue to work. This campaign was more than just something she did for her husband, this was her new career, even if not the one she would have chosen.

During her time in the White House, feminism took off and Pat Nixon got caught in the middle:
Pat was not unsympathetic to the feminist camp, however. She lobbied her husband to appoint a woman Supreme Court justice and gave him the silent treatment when he failed to listen to her advice. She quietly voiced her support for the ERA. Pat pushed even the limits of fashion: she was the first First Lady to appear in public in pants. Importantly, her career as her husband’s representative to foreign countries such as Venezuela and Ghana established a precedent for future First Ladies.

Pat’s low-key actions were not enough to please the feminists, who characterized her as the epitome of the suppressed wife who did her husband’s bidding. What they overlooked was her choice to adopt the job of political wife and her efforts to expand that position. Housewives around the country who supported her and feminists who disparaged her efforts did not realize the part she was playing in transforming women’s place in American political life.