Lincoln and Slavery

ALAN Review

Paying close attention to historical detail, Peter Burchard delves into the complexities of President Abraham Lincoln and the times in which he lived. The result is an illuminating portrayal of Lincoln that explores both his personal view and political stance on slavery. Although Burchard's overall attitude toward Lincoln is one of deepest respect, he does not overlook nor sugarcoat the troublesome aspects of some of Lincoln's statements about or positions toward people of African descent. Instead he tries to provide a context for Lincoln's beliefs and shows the development of his thinking about people of the Negro race. Of particular interest are Lincoln's dealings with Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth and what they themselves had to say about Lincoln. Readers with a keen interest in Lincoln and the Civil War period will find much of worth here, but this is not light reading. The book cannot really serve as a reference, but rather requires a thoughtful, cover-to-cover reading if one is to fully understand Lincoln's devotion to the concept of democracy, his unwavering belief in the importance of the Union, and his personal hatred of slavery. The many photographs and artists' renditions of significant people and events enhance the text greatly, and the comprehensive bibliography and bibliographical essays speak highly of Burchard's scholarship. Genre: Historical Non-fiction/Civil War. 1999, Atheneum, Ages 12 up, $17.00. Reviewer: Elizabeth Poe

Children's Literature - Bruce Adelson

Unlike many books about Abraham Lincoln which gloss over his one time racial antipathy for African Americans, this one does not shy away from painting a complete picture of our 16th president. Although Lincoln eventually became known as the Great Emancipator for freeing the slaves in the rebellious Confederacy, he was not always so racially progressive. At one time, he favored shipping black Americans out of the United States so they could found their own nation. Lincoln also spoke out against allowing African Americans to vote and also inveighed against interracial marriage. Lincoln betrayed his own racial prejudices when the author quotes him, "I will say... 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 social and political equality." This book is an excellent history of Lincoln's remarkable transformation from the politician who favored deporting African Americans to the one who freed them. Adroitly interspersing historical quotations with his narrative, the author has done a masterful job recounting the history of the Civil War era through Lincoln's eyes and following him through the treacherous shoals of rebellion and unification and his own evolution. This title is a must buy.

VOYA - Florence H. Munat

Burchard explains that his grandmother, as a ten-year-old, saw Abraham Lincoln just before he delivered a speech in New York City. She subsequently taught Burchard to love Lincoln, and he grew up embracing "the Lincoln myth." As a historian, Burchard became troubled by Lincoln's lukewarm position on the abolishment of slavery, the fact that attorney Lincoln once defended a slaveowner, and Lincoln's interest in returning blacks to Africa. The contradictions between these issues and Lincoln's anti-slavery feelings led Burchard to write this book. What emerges is a humane portrait of a politically compromised genius. Lincoln grew from a rural boy having little contact with slavery, to a man who would write the Emancipation Proclamation and plan a Reconstruction that included the education of former slaves. Lincoln's career as a circuit lawyer in Illinois is covered, along with the Lincoln-Douglas debates he entered to oppose Douglas's Kansas-Nebraska Act, which would have spread slavery to the North. Almost half the book concerns Lincoln's presidency. There are discussions of and quotes from his inaugural speeches and the Gettysburg Address, as well as quotes from Lincoln in conversations and letters. Frederick Douglass, friend and unofficial advisor to Lincoln, had high praise for the president, as did Sojourner Truth, who met him not long before his assassination. If Lincoln sometimes held back his anti-slavery feelings, it was because preserving the Union was paramount to him--sometimes involving placating the pro-slavery forces. But by the time of his second Inaugural Address, Lincoln let his outrage against enslavement show. He also pushed for a constitutional amendment abolishing slavery. Burchard creates a vivid picture of a man caught in the midst of catastrophic human events, over which he struggled to do the right thing. The book's only flaw is its lack of an index. Illus. Photos. Maps. Biblio. Source Notes. VOYA Codes: 4Q 3P J S (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Will appeal with pushing; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12).

School Library Journal

Gr 6 Up-Burchard provides readers and researchers with a rich understanding of the preeminence of slavery as a political and moral issue in 19th-century America and of the importance of Lincoln's leadership in abolishing it. The author traces his subject's evolution from a young man with a personal antipathy toward slavery to a president who led the country to a broader understanding of freedom. He places Lincoln's story in historical context showing how he was influenced by the events of the era and how he used his formidable political and oratorical skills to guide public beliefs and policy. The author is admiring of the steps Lincoln took in courageously ending slavery and overcoming his occasional personal bigotry toward blacks. He uses many primary sources, documented in essay form at the end of the text. Black-and-white photographs; reproductions of posters, prints, and engravings; and other material accompany the text. This book complements biographies such as Albert Marrin's Commander in Chief: Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War (Dutton, 1997) and primary-source collections such as Lincoln: In His Own Words, edited by Milton Meltzer (Harcourt, 1993). An outstanding choice.-Mary Mueller, Rolla Junior High School, MO Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Horn Book Magazine

Focusing on Lincoln's life through the lens of slavery, Burchard begins his narrative with an interestingly atypical premise: that Lincoln's ignorance about African Americans and lack of contact with them for most of his early life led him to make decisions and take actions that would seem contrary to his later image as "Father Abraham," savior of the black people. In fact, Lincoln did not give his first important speech against slavery until he was forty-five years old. The Lincoln-Douglas debates are explored for both their content and their impact on the emerging Republican party and the political process in general. Lincoln's progress toward the Presidency and toward the war occupies the middle section of the book; the final chapters deal with the war and its effect on African Americans and their involvement in various regiments. Full of descriptions of specific incidents, quotations, and anecdotes that add color and detail, the book reads easily, and the index will allow fact-hunters to zero in on topics. The vintage photographs and graphics used to illustrate the work are well labeled, and the book is documented with notes for each chapter and an extensive bibliography.

Kirkus Reviews

A look at Abraham Lincoln's evolving views and actions toward African-Americans and slavery; Burchard avoids a dry, textbook-like presentation, but sometimes jumps from one period to another without effective transitions. Burchard succeeds in his main purpose, painting a complex portrait of Lincoln's character; he emerges as a real human being with some flaws, but also with enormous maturity, wisdom, and compassion. The text is enlivened by anecdotes and details from Lincoln's life and from the lives of other notable figures of the period, such as abolitionists and fellow politicians. Such a clear picture of the times is further aided by black-and-white photographs and drawings from the period. Readers will come away with a strong grasp of the tensions that led to the Civil War, and an understanding of the African-American struggle for freedom; the clarity of Burchard's writing and thinking eclipses any textbook offering on the subject. (index, not seen, notes, bibliography) (Nonfiction. 12-14)