ALBERT KEITH WHITAKER
Teaching Lincoln
"N0W
HE BELONGS TO THE AGES,"
whispered Edward Stanton at
the moment of Abraham Lincoln's death. No doubt, in his
grief, Stanton had reached for a consoling thought: in imita–
tion of his immortal soul, this man's spirit would live on and influence the
American people-maybe even the human race-for ages to come. But
history is no docile student, and Lincoln's memory has possessed and
become possessed by the generations since
1865
with a remarkable divcr–
sity of results. Indeed, even while he lived and breathed, no single Lincoln
stood before his countrymen. During the campaign of r
860,
Lincoln
appealed to Republicans and wavering Democrats in part as a simple man
with a moderate view on the slavery question. During the Civil War, he
became, in the eyes of many Northerners, not to mcntion Southern
whites, a tyrant, "King Abraham I," who trampled upon laws for the sake
of blacks. A more recent age worshiped Lincoln as a progressive defender
of middle-class men and morals against the greed and corruption of the
rich; while in our own times, at least until quite recently, academic critics
have charged Lincoln with incompetence, racism, and even insanity.
The events of September
II
have muted some of these criticisms, it
seems, and have certainly elevated Lincoln upon the stage of public opin–
ion. The annual ABC ews "greatest presidents" poll, taken in early Feb–
ruary, announced that Lincoln had reclaimed the spot of number one
president, with a commanding six-point lead over his nearest competitors
(JFK and George W.), and, just as strikingly, a six-point rise from his
third-place spot only a year before. It makes sense, of course, for Ameri–
cans to think of Lincoln when faced with the first attack on the U.S. main–
land since the Civil War, an arrack which has also reignited o ld questions
about the president's constitutional powers. But, I believe, even before
September r r many Americans were quite ready to renew their embrace
of Lincoln-this is, at least, one of the many inferences I drew from the
thought-provoking experience of teaching "Linco ln 's Life and Writings"
to a group of co llege freshmen last year. [ suspect that many people, at
least outside of academia, would agree with my students, who at their
entrance to the course described Lincoln as a "great man," or, as one of
