Abraham Lincoln, the M.L.K. Of His Day

Abraham Lincoln, the M.L.K. Of His Day
John R. Petrilli

So many times the huge contributions of great men or women are not appreciated until long after they’ve passed from earth’s scene. Such is the case with Abraham Lincoln. Like many American heroes, Lincoln was misunderstood, much maligned, and grossly underappreciated by the majority of his contemporaries. Lincoln endured years of editorial abuse, a vitriolic press and outright public scorn from individuals who were so much smaller than he. Stuck in their biases and prejudices, they failed to see that America’s future destiny hung on its ability to treat all men as true equals. If you want to know the real person, you read their writings and ascertain their underlying heart and philosophy. While the realization of genuine freedom for African-Americans lay far down the road, a careful examination of Lincoln’s writings and speeches reveals a man far ahead of his time in the area of individual freedom and equal rights.

Time and again our fourteenth president risked his own political future, the secession of all the southern states, the looming threat of civil war and the mockery of many by standing firm on the side of freeing the enslaved. Some political cartoonists lampooned him as a buffoon, an idiot, an uneducated backwoodsman who knew nothing about leading a country. To the contrary, his dauntless and selfless courage in the face of unbelievable opposition proved him to be one of our nation’s leaders extraordinaire.

Like Martin Luther King (M.L.K.), Lincoln sought to emancipate a whole segment of the population who were being treated worse than second-class citizens, and much more like a piece of property. No rights, no voice, no hope, and no real choice. Abraham Lincoln gradually grew in his compassion toward this unprotected people group, and along with that growing awareness came a solidifying conviction that the practice was, in itself, absolutely wrong and unjust. Slavery was something that HAD to be resolved, even if that meant a civil conflict that would so tragically pit state against state, brother against brother, sister against sister and family against family. That’s how committed this unusual man was to see freedom through to its providentially-ordained end. Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address reveals the burning passion he possessed to see our country forge into a true union that offered freedom and opportunity for all its citizens. His official call for freedom via the Emancipation Proclamation was a declaration that signaled the dawn of a new day for African-Americans. His close re-election to a second term was soon followed by Lee’s surrender that ended four years of horrible, bloody conflict. Fort Sumter came alive with a post-war celebration that honored both black and white war heroes. But that very night we lost this great man at the hands of an assassin. How interesting that both M.L.K. and Lincoln met a tragic and early death via assassination shortly after scoring such monumental victories for Americans of African descent. Intriguing indeed. Both displayed a level of self-sacrifice and perseverance in the face of repeated death threats that is most rare among the sons of men. And both deserve our utmost admiration and appreciation.