Abraham Lincoln in his Times Chapter 20 Politics, Race, and the Culture Wars Part 3

Abraham Lincoln in his Times Chapter 20 Politics, Race, and the Culture Wars Part 3

“shoddy”; “Old Ape Lincoln, and a figure of an ape’s head”; “Old Abe, a fine specimen of an Illinois guerilla”; the president a spirit rapper, and the like) along with many virulently racist signs. Among them was one showing Lincoln riding a black man to the White House, another picturing a black man perched on Lincoln’s shoulders, a third illustrating “Massa Bob Lincoln and His Chosen Bride,” which showed Robert promenading “with a negress on his arm.” Lincoln’s goals were summed up on a sign that read “Abolition platform: emancipation, miscegenation, and amalgamation.” 49 Perhaps the most remarkable phenomenon of the 1864 race was Lincoln’s silence in the face of constant racist assaults. His only extant comment on miscegenation was his remark to two journalists who in August asked him, “Now Mr P[resident] are you in favor of miscegenation[?]” He answered, “That’s a democratic mode of producing good Union men, & I dont propose to infringe on the patent.” 50 This wasn’t just another e…