The Danger of Perfect Heroes
Tomorrow is Presidents Day. A day traditionally set aside to honor Washington and Lincoln. A day that, in many ways, helped shape the origins of Black History Month, which was initially tied to Lincoln’s birthday and the Emancipation Proclamation. A document that served as a catalyst toward the end of legalized slavery in the United States. That is the version many of us were taught. Clear. Direct. Moral. But history is rarely that simple. Over time, scholars and historians have made it clear that Lincoln did not issue the Emancipation Proclamation purely from moral conviction. It was also a strategic military decision designed to weaken the Confederacy and preserve the Union. Lincoln himself made this clear in an 1862 letter to Horace Greeley when he wrote that if he could save the Union without freeing any slaves, he would do it. If freeing some or all would save it, he would do that instead. His priority was the survival of the Union. He also expressed views about race that are ...