Beginning with the argument that the Emancipation Proclamation did not actually free African American slaves; this dissenting view of Lincoln's greatness surveys the president's policies; speeches; and private utterances and concludes that he had little real interest in abolition. Pointing to Lincoln's support for the fugitive slave laws; his friendship with slave-owning senator Henry Clay; and conversations in which he entertained the idea of deporting slaves in order to create an all-white nation; the book; concludes that the president was a racist at heart—and that the tragedies of Reconstruction and the Jim Crow era were the legacy of his shallow moral vision.
#421541 in Books State University of New York Press 1984-06-30Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.00 x .46 x 6.00l; .68 #File Name: 0873957695200 pages
Review
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful. Not quite what I expected; but good nonethelessBy DianaI bought this book because my Sicilian immigrant ancestors were living on Elizabeth Street in New Jersey.This book; of course; is not about them specifically; nor their location; it refers to the tenement housing in New York which had a very high percentage (if not exclusive) of Sicilian residents.It tells their story; the story of their housing; their hardships; and why they left Sicily to start with.This book is short; but it is also mostly a social dissertation. Not casual reading. :)It also has some utterly fascinating pictures and diagrams; both on this side of the 'pond' and natively.
