Lincoln's Negro Policy
Los Angeles, CA: The Noontide Press, 1968. Second Edition, Reprint Edition. Hardcover. [1], 64, 2, pages. Originally published as a pamphlet, reprinted into hardcover. From Foreword - Throughout his adult life the author of this pamphlet had one goal: the settlement of the race problem in the United States. After years of study and contact with Negroes, he was convinced that the problem has no solution save in one or the other of two forms--separation of the races or amalgamation. Convinced that separation is preferable to amalgamation, Earnest Sevier Cox worked with Negro leaders of the "Back-to-Africa" movement, and kept in touch with some of them until his death in April of 1966. In this pamphlet he shows that Abraham Lincoln repeatedly advocated repatriation of the American Negro in a land of his own where the race would not lose it purity; that, contrary to allegations from some sources that Lincoln changed his views regarding this matter, he was making plans to establish a colony in Africa for American Negroes a few days before he was assassinated. Earnest Sevier Cox (January 24, 1880 – April 26, 1966) was an American Methodist preacher, political activist and white supremacist. He is best known for his political campaigning for stricter segregation between blacks and whites in the United States through tougher anti-miscegenation laws, for his advocacy for "repatriation" of African Americans to Africa, and for his book White America. He is also noted for having mediated collaboration between white southern segregationists and African American separatist organizations such as UNIA and the Peace Movement of Ethiopia to advocate for repatriation legislation. Contrary to popular belief, Abraham Lincoln—and many other famous American politicians and Founding Fathers—regarded total physical racial separation and the repatriation of all blacks back to Africa as the only solution to America’s racial problems. This work shows—from Lincoln’s speeches and actions—that he never considered the integration of blacks into American society as an option, and repeatedly told “free Negroes” that their true destiny lay outside of America, in a “colony” of their own, either in Africa or elsewhere in the Caribbean or South America. Abraham Lincoln's position on slavery in the United States is one of the most discussed aspects of his life. Lincoln frequently expressed his moral opposition to slavery. "I am naturally anti-slavery. If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong," he stated. "I can not remember when I did not so think, and feel." However, the question of what to do about it and how to end it, given that it was so firmly embedded in the nation's constitutional framework and in the economy of much of the country, even though concentrated in only the Southern United States, was complex and politically challenging. In addition, there was the unanswered question, which Lincoln had to deal with, of what would become of the four million slaves if liberated: how they would earn a living in a society that had almost always rejected them or looked down on their very presence. Known as the Great Emancipator, Lincoln was a complicated figure who wrestled with his own views on race. Through changing times, successive generations have interpreted Lincoln's views on African Americans differently. According to Henry Louis Gates Jr.: "To apply 20th century beliefs and standards to an America of 1858 and declare Abraham Lincoln a 'racist' is a faulty formula that unfairly distorts Lincoln's true role in advancing civil and human rights. By the standards of his time, Lincoln's views on race and equality were progressive and truly changed minds, policy and most importantly, hearts for years to come." Condition: Very good.
Keywords: Civil War, Black Repatriation, Segregation, Liberia, Slavery, White-Black Relations, African-Americans, Negroes
[Book #90043]
Price: $150.00