"My Fellow Citizens: When a man hears himself somewhat misrepresented, it provokes him--at least, I find it so with myself; but when misrepresentation becomes very gross and palpable, it is more apt to amuse him." ~ Abraham Lincoln, Opening words in the first debate, Ottawa, IL. As followers of this blogspot know, I an avid listener to audio books while I commute, whether to the office each day or to the store or wherever. The same maxim, "Too many books, too little time" applies equally to audio books as to the printed page.
The opportunities for personal development in any field are seemingly limitless with audio books, lectures, talks, whatever your mind sets about to take in. Currently, I'm listening to the Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858, a fascinating experience.
Who among us, who has even the faintest echo of American history within them, has not heard of the series of debates between then-senator Stephen Douglas and Illinois candidate Abraham Lincoln. Yet I'd be willing to bet less than one in ten thousand Americans have read the transcripts of these debates.
At this point I admit, I've been in the majority, though years ago I did purchase and listen to a set of audio recordings of the writings and speeches of Abraham Lincoln performed by Raymond Massey in which one item was from this set of debates. I must tell you, however, that you owe it to yourself to listen to or read the entirety of these speeches, or if nothing else the first round of seven Lincoln-Douglas exchanges, which took place in Ottawa, Illinois in August 1858. If you can find the audio book, performed by Richard Dreyfuss as Stephen Douglas and David Straithairn as Mr. Lincoln, even better.
It's amazing to listen to an American Senator make statements like this one, that American should be a "White Nation" and that Negroes have no rights here. Even while defending the right of a Northern state to outlaw slavery, he states straight up that the negro should in no way ever have the rights whites enjoy.
To support this viewpoint, Douglas appealed both to history and to the Supreme Court, which declared that the negro was not a person who had rights.
Today we take all these things for granted, that Hispanics, Asians, Blacks, Native Americans are people, persons, human beings for whom the statement, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all people are created equal" is intended to be applied across-the-board. It's quite bracing to hear Senator Douglas speak as if this obvious truth were a falsehood without merit.
In this debate Douglas mocked Lincoln's speech of the previous June in which Lincoln declared, "A house divided against itself cannot stand." Douglas noted that the nation has so stood for seventy years. In Lincoln's rebuttal he noted that Douglas was not mocking Lincoln, but mocking the words of Jesus. (Matthew 12:25)
During the course of the 1858 campaign Lincoln gave 60 speeches and Douglas 130 across the great state of Illinois. There were but seven face-to-face encounters, but these were momentous, outlining and defining the issues which tore at the heart of a maturing nation.
Douglas did not mince words. "Now I say to you frankly that in my opinion this Government was made by our fathers on the white basis. It was made by the white men for the benefit of the white men and their posterity forward, and was intended to be administered in all time to come by white men."
In contrast, Mr. Lincoln stood firm. "There is no reason... why the Negro after all is not entitled to all that the Declaration of Independence holds out... In the right to eat the bread which his own hands earn, he is my equal and Judge Douglas' equal, and the equal of every living man."
Ultimately, Mr. Lincoln took a bullet in the head for these convictions.
Lincoln is famous for his skill at turning a phrase, and for his clever use of language. As I reflect on these debates unfolding here, as I listen to these two men wrangling about the issues of the day I am struck by this thought: it isn't eloquence or lack of eloquence that makes a great man, but what he stands for.
Ed,
ReplyDeleteThanks for such a thought-provoking, well-written commentary on the Lincoln-Douglas Debates. Your blog post touches me for several reasons. I was born just a little more than a block from Old Main at Knox College, the site of the Galesburg debate, have been in the building on several occassions and in the past, drove by it often on my commute home from work.
The plaque on Old Main, which commemorates the debates, inspired Carl Sandburg to study Lincoln and later write his six-volume Lincoln biography. The life of Sandburg inspired a gifted writer, Penelope Niven, to write Sandburg's bio, and Penny inspired me to follow my dreams. It's all come full circle, as I now write a Lincoln-related blog, Lincoln Buff 2.
And, on top of that, I just met Richard Dreyfuss in March as he and Harold Holzer were in Jacksonville (Ill.) to present Holzer's "Lincoln Seen and Heard."
When you have time, you might find my blog interesting. And, you can be sure I'll be back to check out yours.
By the way, I ran across your piece via Twitter - what a great way to drive readers to your blog. I'll retweet you and will also sign up as a follower. Hope you can follow LincolnBuff2 as well.
Best wishes,
Ann
Ann,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the kind words and the visit.
Yes, that period of history has always fascinated me, from the Mexican War to the Civil War. There's just so much there.
I first became aware of Sandburg's Lincoln bio through How to Win Friends and Influence People in which Carnegy constantly cites Lincoln's character as a role model in handling people, drawn from Sandburg's work.
Sandburg continued to write about race relations and I have here a copy of his The Chicago Race Riots with an intro by Walter Lippman. It was reprinted in 1969, fifty years later with a preface by Sandburg citing how little we have learned in fifty years.
Well, my interest in Civil War is due to roots, too... mine are West Virginia and Kentucky. There were five brothers who I had always heard fought for the North and South.... 2 for the North and 2 for the South. And the youngest ran away at age 15 and became a teamster with the North, but he ook ill in Tennessee and became blind. This lasy one, John Hall, started two newspapers, wrotes several published volumes of poetry and influenced my grandmother by babysitter her till she was ten. (He actually took all the kids up on the hills and recited poetry, watched over them in that manner.)
My grandmother thus became a poet and so influenced me with stories of these brothers. It was not till later I learned they were in the Virginia legislature, and two fought to Secede from the Union and two fought to stay... THEN, two fought for West Virginia to secede from Virginia and succeeded thus in 1863.
Biographies are a great way to learn history and I have been a Grant Buff for many years... but Lincoln and Grant were the team that won it for the North.
I could say much more, but for now... thanks for the visit.
I will return to your site when able.
e.