Lincoln and the Abolitionists

Publisher's Summary

The acclaimed biographer, with a thought-provoking exploration of how Abraham Lincoln's and John Quincy Adams' experiences with slavery and race shaped their differing viewpoints, provides both perceptive insights into these two great presidents and a revealing perspective on race relations in modern America.

Lincoln, who in afterlife became mythologized as the Great Emancipator, was shaped by the values of the white America into which he was born. While he viewed slavery as a moral crime abhorrent to American principles, he disapproved of antislavery activists. Until the last year of his life, he advocated "voluntary deportation", concerned that free blacks in a white society would result in centuries of conflict. In 1861 he had reluctantly taken the nation to war to save it. While this devastating struggle would preserve the Union, it would also abolish slavery - creating the biracial democracy Lincoln feared. John Quincy Adams, 40 years earlier, was convinced that only a civil war would end slavery and preserve the Union. An antislavery activist, he had concluded that a multiracial America was inevitable.

Lincoln and the Abolitionists, a frank look at Lincoln, warts and all, provides an in-depth look at how these two presidents came to see the issues of slavery and race and how that understanding shaped their perspectives. In a far-reaching historical narrative, Fred Kaplan offers a nuanced appreciation of both these great men and the events that have characterized race relations in America for more than a century - a legacy that continues to haunt us all.

©2017 Fred Kaplan (P)2017 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

An able exploration

If you’ve never explored Lincoln from an abolitionist viewpoint you must read Fred Kaplan's treatment. I found he explored the political terrain leading up to the Civil War in a very even handed manner revealing the motivating engine relentlessly driving the nation on to inevitable war. A very even handed treatment of Lincoln, neither vilifying or defying but rather honoring our president by seeing him as he was. We must see history in this way to understand that we too are blinded captives to our own times, and in seeing this to attain a closer approximation to truth and justice. I have never read a Lincoln book that did a better job of drawing me into the thoughts and motivations of the participants on the stage of pre civil war history. Take the time to read this book. You will understand your own times in a new light.