Abraham Lincoln Character Analysis in Stamped from the Beginning

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States, remembered by many as the “Great Emancipator” due to his issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation and Fourteenth Amendment, which banned slavery in the U.S. Originally a lawyer, Lincoln served as a Congressman before being elected president in 1861, serving for the duration of the Civil War. Lincoln was a moderate Republican and abolitionist who favored colonization (sending freed Black people to an African colony). Despised by enslavers, Lincoln also attracted the anger and frustration of abolitionists who claimed that he did not really care about Black people and initially thought he was not serious about ending slavery. Shortly after the Civil War ended and while he was still in office, he was killed by the Confederate assassin John Wilkes Booth.

Abraham Lincoln Character Timeline in Stamped from the Beginning

The timeline below shows where the character Abraham Lincoln appears in Stamped from the Beginning. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...of the figures who emerges as a leading antislavery voice during this time is Abraham Lincoln, an Illinois lawyer and congressman. At this point, Lincoln is an abolitionist in favor of... (full context)

The Invention of Blackness and Whiteness Theme Icon

In the aftermath of Dred Scott v. Sandford, a debate emerges between Lincoln and the Democratic senator Stephen Douglas. Douglas issues a warning about the “Black Republican Party,”... (full context)

Media, Institutions, and the Transmission of Knowledge Theme Icon

...to promote the labor rights and economic opportunities of white workers. This is exactly what Lincoln and the Republicans had been waiting for. Meanwhile, the white radical abolitionist John Brown organizes... (full context)

...North. This starts with Southern Democrats leaving the Democratic Party. Douglass refuses to vote for Lincoln in the 1860 presidential election, despite admiring Lincoln’s courage and determination, because Lincoln had not... (full context)

In July of 1861, Lincoln reluctantly signs a bill establishing that the Union army had a right to seize any... (full context)

...back to enslavers, meaning that the Fugitive Slave Act is “effectively repealed.” On July 17, Lincoln passes the Second Confiscation Act, a law stating that any fugitive who manages to escape... (full context)

Few take this early version of the Emancipation Proclamation seriously. Lincoln remains in favor of colonization, which earns him the scorn of both Garrison and Douglass.... (full context)

Lincoln is soon heralded as the Great Emancipator, although to some extent his actions are limited... (full context)

...hand-to-hand battle between around 600 exhausted Black soldiers and the Confederate army in South Carolina. Lincoln faces pressure to drop the issue of colonization, as people argue that by serving in... (full context)

...made a career out of urgency, insists that his fellow abolitionists be patient before judging Lincoln’s plans. As Maryland begins to rebuild as a free state in 1864, Lincoln delivers a... (full context)

...Garrison, meanwhile, continues to comment on the “brutishness” of the formerly enslaved and advocates for Lincoln’s limited offer of rights, which precludes Black people without formal education from voting. (full context)

...as if the Union is going to lose the Civil War. Yet against the odds, Lincoln is reelected. The formerly enslaved editor of the The Liberator, Garrison Frazier, insists that Black... (full context)

...army surrenders, and the Civil War is officially over. In a speech immediately following this, Lincoln hints that he plans to extend voting rights to “very intelligent black people and black... (full context)

Following Lincoln’s assassination, Andrew Johnson assumes the presidency and introduces sweeping conciliatory measures to Confederate leaders. Crucially,... (full context)