Personalities Of Abraham Lincoln And John F. Kennedy
During the 19th century, Americans had a picturesque term to express how it felt to confront something novel, huge, and terrible. They referred to it as “seeing the elephant”. The elephants ranged in types and sizes, but they were always referred to when dark times were present, for they always preceded change. When the civil war was declared in 1861, our president, Abraham Lincoln, had a duty to lead the United States to victory. Along the way, he gave deserved freedoms to African Americans, who were denied these human rights until this point in history. 100 years after the fact, John F. Kennedy continued to help the push for equality during the Civil Rights Movement: two great men, and a nation at the foot of their bed.
The Civil War was different from any war that the United States had experienced, for it was a war between brothers. Exploding shells, heavy cannonballs, and knife-sharp shrapnel littered the countryside as the battles continued. To compare the losses from that time to ours, we can look at the heartache from 9/11, which ravaged the nation’s heart. Everyone knows someone who was a victim, or knows someone who knows someone that was a victim. Imagine an even larger toll in a much smaller United States. In a nation that was 90% smaller than it is now, the battle of Antietam remains the bloodiest day in American history with an estimated toll of 3,650 lives lost…all on American soil…all American blood (Dotinga). This is what Abraham Lincoln was looking at; a president of a single nation, divided into two halves. To look at it in black and white terms: it was a war between the democrats and the republicans, the north and the south, those who valued progress and those who valued stability in what they knew. It wasn’t black and white though; there was every shade of gray in between. Even with those shades, Lincoln took hold and led the Union to victory against the Confederates.
But, this was not the only task on his agenda. During the process of winning the war, on September 22nd, 1862 Abraham Lincoln set in motion what was easily one of the most crucial legislations in the story of freedom. This was the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation (“A turning point for freedom in America, 150 years later”). It was earlier that year in the District of Columbia that slavery was abolished by Lincoln, only having to wait until September to abolish the rest of the country, due to war (“A turning point for freedom in America, 150 years later”). This time in space held such significance because it began the process of stopping the one thing that could have ended this nation: slavery. Washington was the hub of the slave trade, so it was the perfect starting point for a newly freed nation. An account from Charles Ball, a slave in Washington, recounted, “I frequently saw large numbers of people of my color chained together in long trains, and driven off towards the South,” (“A turning point for freedom in America, 150 years later”). The document was, of course, exceedingly controversial, as the South’s economy and society rode on the backs of their slaves. Without them, there was no way easy way to success with the industry that they were in. They would have to find a new way of life. Because of the Civil War, the District’s Emancipation Day was not formally celebrated until 1866, when 5,000 people marched from the US Capitol up Pennsylvania Avenue to Franklin Square, cheered along and by a crowd of 10,000 more lining the way (“A turning point for freedom in America, 150 years later”). Greatness holds true to those who display and believe in righting the wrongs, and valuing the freedoms that most in the nation already had, but knowing that we needed to continue to spread those exact freedoms to the people who were owned by a different shade of skin. Abraham Lincoln had a difference about him that the nation desperately needed. Fredrick Douglass was born a slave but “stole his body” and escaped to New Bedford, Massachusetts (“A turning point for freedom in America, 150 years later”). He was a self-educated man who became known nationwide. Lincoln invited him to the White House on 4 separate occasions, and had in depth conversations, allowing Douglass to be one of his biggest critics. He had Lincoln’s ear, and the president listened. “Ending the sale of slaves in the District was a thing of wonder; “The act, said Douglass, was ‘a priceless and unspeakable blessing,’” (“A turning point for freedom in America, 150 years later”). It was a relationship such as this that gave Lincoln the push he needed to continue with his fight for equality in a nation that was in the process of cleaning its wounds. Lincoln went on to amend The Constitution with the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments. The 13th amendment passed on January 31st, 1865, and with that abolished slavery (13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution”). The 14th amendment granted citizenship to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States,” and forbade any state from denying any one person “life, liberty, or property without due process of law,” (“Primary Documents in American History”). The 15th amendment granted African-American men the right to vote, and was formally adopted into The Constitution on March 30th, 1870 (“Fifteenth Amendment”). From the impression left by Abraham Lincoln, the country began to rebuild from its most basic building blocks.
It was 100 years later, and 50 years ago, that Alabama’s Governor George Wallace defiantly stood in front of the University of Alabama’s Foster Auditorium all to prevent black students from enrolling. As he did so, he declared, “Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever,” (JFK to nation). It not only took the National Guard to persuade the governor to stand down, but the federal marshals, and the attorney general. Vivian Malone Jones and James Hood were allowed to enter the school. This was a time of complete unrest. A century had passed since Abraham Lincoln had set the stones for the betterment of the country, but there was still so much to be done, and the progress that was trying to be made was being resisted. It was earlier that year that images of police attacking peaceful civil rights demonstrators with dogs and fire hoses in Birmingham, Alabama were released and flashed across the evening news (JFK to nation). This was not uncommon. In the years prior, riots were only quelled when federal troops were involved, an instance being when James Meredith was admitted to the University of Mississippi. He was the first black student at the school (JFK to nation). The attitudes and beliefs that were present in the nation, but mainly in the south, were disturbing and needed to be ended. John F. Kennedy, as the president of the United States, was prompted to address the nation in a historic televised address about civil rights on the same evening that Governor George Wallace made his stand. “Now the time has come for this nation to fulfill its promise…The events in Birmingham and elsewhere have so increased the cries for equality that no city or state legislative body can prudently choose to ignore them,” (JFK to nation). The president addressed the country and its citizens, crying for peace, for progress, and for equality. Within this speech, he spoke on behalf of the “Negro baby”, and how, if born on the same day in the same place as a white baby, that Negro baby has 1/3 the chance of completing college, 1/3rd the chance of becoming a professional, twice and much chance of becoming unemployed, 1/7th the chance of earning $10,000…half as much as that equal white baby…and also a probability of their lifespan being cut by 7 years as opposed to the white baby (“1963-06-11 Report). “This is not a sectional issue,” Kennedy spoke, “Nor is this a partisan issue…not even a legal or legislative issue alone…we are confronted primarily with a moral issue. It is as old as the scriptures and is as clear as the American Constitution,” (1963-06-11 Report). Shame was portrayed through his tone as he talked about Abraham Lincoln, and how it was 100 years before that he had freed the slaves, and yet their heirs, their grandsons, were not fully free, for they were bound by the chains of injustice. Society was the oppressor and they were the oppressed (1963-06-11 Report). From here, Kennedy calls upon Congress to enact legislation, giving all Americans the right to be served in facilities which are open to the public. Kennedy was ready to try and make changes, a quality only attributed to those who held greatness.
And so the nation began to move. With pent up frustration and eagerness, the civil rights movement was well underway. Some practiced civil disobedience, some did not, but an entire race of American citizens…who were born on American soil and with American blood, were ready to claim what should have always been theirs. Tied by international and domestic constraints, Kennedy could not do as much as he quite possibly would have done, but the motions that he set were more than needed. Because of the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Cold War, threats from the Soviet Union, and a lack of public support for the movement, Kennedy tried to aim his focus on the health care and low-wage-earner route (John Kennedy and Civil Rights”. In a time of war, Kennedy utilized what he had and appointed his brother, Bobby, as the Attorney General, putting him at the head of the Justice Department. This gave the president a way to control domestic issues as well as international without having to go at it alone. The idea was to make sure that the courts were enforcing the laws that were already passed, for no southern state could argue with laws that were already in existence. The Justice Department brought 57 lawsuits against local officials for obstructing African Americans who wished to register their right to vote. Prison was made a very real option for those who did not want to follow suit (“John Kennedy and Civil Rights”). John F Kennedy also created CEEO, which is the commission of equal employment opportunity. This ensured that all people employed within the federal government had an equal opportunity for employment, and also equal employment opportunities. The Kennedy brothers acted within those cities, towns, and states that were resisting the change that was going to happen one way or another. Approving the March on Washington was huge, for it allowed those within and for the movement to know that the government was on their side. Because of the strenuous circumstances during JFK’s presidency, he found that he was damned if he did and damned if he didn’t: if he helped the African Americans in the South, he lost the support from the powerful democrats down there, but if he did nothing he would face world-wide condemnation; the north felt that they were being ignored, and the Cold War continued (“John Kennedy and Civil Rights”). The president was tested, and for all that he did accomplish and manage to settle, he is credited. He held a country together during times of internal uproar, while also dealing with a nation at, what could have been, a war to wipe the planet clean of life as we knew it.
When we look back at these two presidents, it’s often with fondness. The ability to lead a nation in times of war and in times of injustice is one of the remarkable qualities found in humanity, let alone a president. It takes great will and great courage to go against the grain of what society has known, especially when not all can see the humanitarian elements within the reasoning. One hundred and fifty years later, we can look back and call Abraham Lincoln one of the greatest presidents to command this country. His leadership was capturing, and the legislatures and amendments that he made sure passed freed a nation from, not only the bondages of slavery, but the bondages of hopelessness. It was one hundred years after that our nation took another turn and continued the fight that Abraham Lincoln began. John F Kennedy, while balancing a world at war and a social war within his own nation, continued to win those battles. Though the Civil Rights Act was not passed while he was still alive, Kennedy had proposed the legislation to congress. It was his firm belief that all citizens should be treated equally and that this treatment should be legislatively enforced. The Act was signed by Lyndon B. Johnson the next year, and ended segregation in public places and banned employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin (“Civil Rights Act”). Looking back at Kennedy, we do not directly associate him with the Civil Rights Movement, but more with the Cuban Missile Crisis. But just because we don’t at first link the two, does not mean that what he did was any less valued. If it weren’t for these two presidents and an ultimately progressive nation behind them, the United States of America may not even have remained the United States of America. They walked right up to the elephants, looked them in the eyes, and walked them out of the room. For the citizens of this nation, this was not just a test of greatness; this was a test of humanism…With liberty and justice for all.
