Category: Secondary Sources Page 1 of 2

I will admit to tunnel vision with much of my teaching over the last eight years.  I believe that I am in such a hurry to make up for the lack of information that I was given on Black Studies in high school and with my undergraduate degree and, I am trying to ensure that my students do not share the same fate. So I am definitely a bottom up interpreter of history teacher for my students.

So, I am intrigued that I am so drawn to the book by Faust and she hooked me with the introduction. As she explain that the “history of elites has not been a particularly fashionable topic in recent years,” and why she chose to still pursue the research. What captured me was that through this work, I was also able to learn nuances of the enslaved people as well.

I use the book NightJohn by Gary Pulsen to teach the Antebellum Period and we watch the movie in its entirety. Last year I added the narratives of Thomas Day and Dave the Potter to give students a wider perspective of people of color during this period.  On page 161 of Faust book, where she discusses reading and writing, and how the Civil War and literacy changed the course for many women, I thought that I could add this in another layer to my NightJohn lesson, particularly comparing and contrasting the meaning of reading from an enslaved perspective and that of the elite class. So excited to see where this will lead.

Constitutional Firewall. What an interesting phrase. I rolled it around on my tongue a few times and I liked it. Wish I’d coined it, but that credit goes to Allen Guetzo.

Did not know about Guetzo except he delivers internet lectures in an arresting fashion. Searched for more about him and found a few tidbits and a presidential appointment. Which is excellent, because I took what he said as solid historical documentation. His GL lecture explained a good deal of the political intrigue behind Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation.

Washington, D.C. was a tough town for Lincoln. He did not have as much support from his fellow republicans as I presumed and surprisingly, one of his military generals, was bent on telling him how to run the country. On top of two prominant snakes waiting in White House front lawn grass, Lincoln’s hands were bound by the constraints of the U.S. Constitution. Firewall indeed. Lincoln had to color within the lines while maintaining the founding fathers’ war powers. But, he did not necessarily have to live by them.

According to Guetzo, Lincoln devised a modern day “buyout” plan. A golden parachute he wanted to offer to border states willing to accept $700 thousands dollars. It was insurance money for Delware, Kentucky, Maryland and Missouri to stay on the side of Union and even better, entice the rebel states back home. It was not a cheap plan. Lincoln needed something though to outmaneuver Roger B. Taney. The US Chief Justice and brother-in-law of Francis Scott Key, was determined to stop Lincoln from declaring maritial law, civil war, his love for his country, heck, he did not want Lincoln doing anything that helped the cause against the South. Taney was not Lincoln’s biggest problem child at the beginning of the war. That honor went to Major General George Brinton (love the middle name) McClellan.

It seems “Little Mac” or “Young Napoleon” was pretty sure of himself during his tenure as Lincoln’s General-in-Chief of the Union Army. At this point in his lecture, Guetzo reminded his audience of a fact I did not know existed. McClellan wrote a missive to Lincoln. Told the chief executive Washington, D.C. would be best run by a military man, a dictator rather than the president! I can see why Lincoln dismissed McClellan’s fanciful notion and then dismissed (now lower case) major general as well. Although, presidents could not afford to fire military leaders, they just reassigned them elsewhere, way elsewhere, so they were no longer important. As Douglas MacArthur, in his famous bitter last words, stated these type of “old soldiers never die, they just fade away.”  These “mac” militaries had more in common than I thought!

In my capacity as a teacher and a historical performer I often ask people What they know about the Emancipation Proclamation. The answers are varied but usually people have an incomplete understanding of the famous document. Most people children and adults alike will say it freed the slaves. They think all the slaves were freed but of course it’s much more complicated than that. While watching Allen Guelzo’s excellent presentation it opened up many realities of the great document . It was not well received at all by anyone North or South except of course by the slaves who were freed. Guelzo points out that many people thought it was a legal sham, that Lincolnused it to promote himself as the great crusader for freedom. Others claimed Lincoln’s heart was not in it that it was a propaganda ploy ,that’s why it was so plain and boring very unLincoln like writing , a document of disappointment ,not freedom. Many questions arose Why was the document so bland?, Why did Lincoln wait two years into the civil war to issue it?, What were his real motives? The simplified answers are Lincoln was not pushed reluctantly by zealous abolitionist toward Emmancipation , in fact he was working on a way to do just that since the beginning of the war. It was not a sentimental trick in fact it cost the Republicans 31 seats in the elections . It was not a political device. Guelzo said Lincoln felt to save the Union was to Emancipate the slaves and to Free the slaves was in fact to save the Union. Allen Guezo’s presentation was very eye opening to me and it gives me some great insight and wisdom to pass along to my students and adults that I present to.