According to David McCullough, our failure, our duty means that as historians we have to show how back then, just like today, we are all human, so we should all be treated the same.
During his presidency, Lincoln realized that slavery is wrong and decides it is their duty to fix the country's mistake.
Lincoln's Bright Idea
After becoming President, Lincoln realized that slavery is morally wrong and that his views on slavery are not black and white. The newly formed Republican Party at the time also agrees with Lincoln's views, so he comes up with an order to fix the problem.
Freeing Slaves
President Lincoln's idea was to create an executive order to free slaves in certain areas of the south. He did this because he did not see slavery as white and black and looking back at slavery he saw that it is not fair for blacks because we are all human no matter our skin color, so we should be treated equal.
The Emancipation Proclamation
The name of this order was the Emancipation Proclamation. It was signed on Spetember 22, 1862 by President Lincoln and issued on January 1, 1863.
President Lincoln said...
"I will say then that I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races." Meaning that President Lincoln did not think blacks should have the same rights as whites, but he believed blacks should be able to enjoy and recieve what they worked for instead of working for someone and not recieving anything in return.
Equality
By looking at the past, President Lincoln realized the country had failed by having slavery, so he created the Emancipation Proclamation, which ended slavery in some parts of the south, but to not enrage the supporters of slavery he did not allow the freed slaves to have the same rights as the whites. This relates to our failure, our duty because Lincoln let them work for themselves and not others and in this way Lincoln viewed equality between the blacks and whites because just like the whites, blacks were now able to work for themselves.
Change
Although President Lincoln believed blacks and whites should not have the same social and politcal rights, later on in his presidency his opinion on this began to change. In his last speech on April 11, 1865 he argued for limited black suffrage and the right to vote for blacks who served the Union during the Civil War. This showed how Lincoln began to take steps towards social and political equality for black because after all, we are all human and should be treated equally.
History in the Making
This is a picture of President Lincoln writing the Emancipation Proclamation.
Let's Talk About It
President Lincoln and officals talking about the Emancipation Proclamation.
The Emancipation Proclamation Original Document
This is the original document of the Emancipation Proclamation writen by President Lincoln.
