The Other Lincoln

A friend and I were talking about the Great Betrayal of 1877. I had remembered I wrote an article about it last year. For those who missed it, I thought you might enjoy reading about one of the most consequential, but least talked about episodes in black history… whose consequences reverberate to this very day.

“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, that I am not nor ever have been in favor of making voters or jurors of negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people; and I will say in addition to this that there is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality. And inasmuch as they cannot so live, while they do remain together there must be the position of superior and inferior, and I as much as any other man am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race.” – Abraham Lincoln

Like they say on TV… “quote – unquote. ” To most blacks, the Great Emancipator was likened to Moses who freed the Hebrews from bondage. The quote was from September 18, 1858 during the Lincoln-Douglas debates. The Great Emancipator came right out his mouth with a speech that could have been the lead story on Fox News … and he wasn’t stuttering either. So what were the Lincoln- Douglas debates about? Well back in them days, Senators were elected by their state legislatures as opposed to nowadays when they are elected by voters. Lincoln, the Republican candidate and Douglas, the Democratic candidate were both from Illinois a free state, but Douglas was the incumbent. Now Douglas was a hard racist and he often threw out that old tried and true accusation… you know the one…. the one that usually got some white man hung somewhere everyday in America in the 1800’s… the ever faithful… Abraham Lincoln is a “nigg*r lover!” I get it, there was no way Lincoln was going to be able to win the leadership post in the Illinois State Legislature with that label attached to him in 1858. Still… you could have lightened up a little bit man…

It’s Was A Big Deal

Most Americans know the story, Lincoln was assassinated April 14, 1865 by John Wilkes Booth. I remember the date for two reasons. One, taxes are due and two, it was Lincoln who introduced the first income tax in America to help pay for the Civil War. Congress repealed Lincoln’s tax law in 1871, but in 1909 passed the 16th Amendment, which set in place the federal income-tax system used today. MLK was killed on the 4th of April 1968 by Jame Earl Ray. Of course I know about the other theories, but for our purposes we are going to leave that tag on Ray for now. I just threw that out there so when you think about tax time, you might remember Martin too. Anywho, three president went by before the other Lincoln was elected. Andrew Johnson (D) in 1865 who replaced Lincoln, was like another President we all know, tried to tear down everything his predecessor stood for. He too was impeached but won acquittal by one vote. Ulysses Grant (R) in 1868, who had one of the most corrupt administrations in American history and Rutherford Hayes( R) in 1877. Although Hayes was a Republican, he is like the fake friend you always hear about… and his knife went deep… he did it so that the other Lincoln would become President. It couldn’t be done without his cooperation. He was responsible for the Compromise of 1877 which ended Reconstruction and withdrew military troops from the last three southern states whose presence was to uphold the 14th Amendment, which granted citizenship and equal civil and legal rights to African Americans who had been freed after the Civil War. Federal troops had already been withdrawn from most southern states. Louisiana, South Carolina and Florida were the last three southern states whose federal troops had not been withdrawn. Voter intimidation was mitigated by the presence of the federal troops and African Americans in these three states enjoyed a political and terror free life not found in the rest of the South. Of course after the federal troops left, it was on and poppin. Ropes and burning crosses went up everywhere. Southern Democrats took control and by 1905 most blacks were in a dark place, having been permanently cut off from political participation by legislatures in every Southern state. The compromise was known as the “Great Betrayal.” Its effect on African Americans would open the door for Jim Crow and commit generations to a new kind of slavery which would last for almost a century. It was a big deal.

All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. – 14th Amendment: Sec 1

The Other Lincoln

Hayes left office in March of 1881 and the other Lincoln took his place. His name was James A. Garfield. Like Lincoln, Garfield was born in a log cabin and raised in poverty. Garfield excelled in school, a byproduct of his enormous appetite for reading gained during his childhood years. He attended Hiram college in Ohio, paying for entry by working as a janitor and while still a student was hired as a teacher. Garfield then transferred to Williams College in Massachusetts where he graduated as the Phi Beta Kappa salutatorian. It was here he met his wife and they would remain happily married until his death. Of course like most heros of freedom, Garfield also fought in the Civil War against the backstabbing traitorous rebels of the Southern Insurrection and their fiendish goals to subjugate other human beings for the silver coin. He obtained the rank of major general after his amazing victories at the Battle of Middle Creek and Chickamauga, which had the nasty little rebels scurrying like rats on a sinking ship… crawling and biting each other to get away from the mighty hammer of truth and justice… drowning in the fires of hell under the faithful’s withering barrage of powder and gun… mercy not good union soldier, lest they offend and violate the sovereign… Okay… I’ll cut it out…. &##@! rebels….

Anywho, In 1862 Garfield was approached by some friends who wanted him to run in the newly redrawn 19 district in Ohio. Now he was still in the service and this opportunity came after the battle at Middle Creek. Well in short, he refused to campaign… but still won, defeating his opponent by a two to one margin. Yes siree, it was wide open back in the day!! By 1863 Garfield had taken his seat in the 38th Congress. He was part of the radical wing of the Republican party. Sort of like a far left liberal on steroids. Remember folks was actually being physically attacked for their beliefs on the floor of Congress back in those days, so being labeled a radical could cost you your life! The Radicals lead by Thaddeus Stevens, wanted the traitors to give up their land for the treason, but Lincoln threatened to veto any bill that would do that. Stevens was another unsung hero who believed the traitors were revolutionaries and needed to be crushed immediately. Garfield supported Stevens legislation which would make the traitors pay for their treachery. It is said he threatened that Lincoln could be thrown out if he didn’t watch himself. Although he appreciated and supported Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, he had little regard for the man. History records his thoughts concerning the latter, “Strange phenomenon in the world’s history, when a second rate Illinois lawyer is the instrument to utter words which shall form an epoch memorable in all future ages.” I wish I could have told him, ” You ain’t heard anything yet. Check out his Gettysburg Address!!”

A Fine Line…

Garfield not only endorsed an immediate end to slavery, but believed that the traitors of the Union should not be protected under the Constitution which which they obviously shredded like Nancy did Donald’s speech. Furthermore he backed the execution or exile to Africa the traitorous leaders to make sure that a permanent end to slavery could be achieved. Alright I am exaggerating about sending them to Africa, cause that’s where I would send them, but he did supported exile and stringing every last one of them them up by their skinny confederate necks under the old oak tree. Now Garfield was as ardent a supporter of black suffrage as he was of abolition. I had always equated suffrage with suffering, but it actually means the right to vote in political elections. So it was with some disdain that I found out that although he was a believer in black suffrage, he once said, “The idea of African Americans as political equals with whites gave him “a strong feeling of repugnance.” He didn’t mind you voting… as long as you was voting for a white man. That’s one of the reasons I keep calling him the other Lincoln. He also opposed the passage of the Klu Klux Klan Act. Yep that’s right.. the Klu Kux Klan terrorist group activities were severely curtailed by the 42nd Congress in 1871, under the Third Ku Klux Klan Act. Among other things, it gave the President the right to suspend habeas corpus. Habeas corpus is the right to take the authorities to court so that the court can determine if your detention is lawful. In other words without habeas corpus, they can lock your azz up, throw away the key, go home, get in the bed and never think about you again. Garfield didn’t agree with giving the President that type of power. Several of the acts provisions still exist today as legal statutes, however the interpretations of the law are a constant source of challenge in today’s courts, or as I like to say, there is a fine line between racism and bigotry.

In 1881 Garfield assumed the Presidency. During his inaugural address he brought up the plight of the beleaguered African Americans of the deep south by the remnants of the defeated southern citizenry saying, “Freedom can never yield its fullness of blessings so long as the law or its administration places the smallest obstacle in the pathway of any virtuous citizen.” Someone in the back yelled “nig**r lover,” but was promptly arrested. Those southern folks was feeling some kinda way… He also installed Stanley Matthews as a Supreme Court Justice. Although Matthews was an avowed abolitionist, he was also a holdover from the Hayes administration, remember he is the one I mentioned something about being a fake friend. Matthews nomination met some opposition because under Hayes, he prosecuted a newspaper editor for harboring two escaped slaves. During the nomination, the episode was framed as “political expediency triumphing over moral principle,” or better known as f#@! them nig**rs… yessiree a fine line. Garfield also proposed a radical new idea which would have been revolutionary had it been accepted. He feared that because of a lack of education African Americans would end up being a permanent peasantry. His idea… a universal education system funded by the federal government. At that time most schools were pay to play. However his idea would not become a reality during his administration. The federal government would not began support for education until 1965 when they enacted the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Garfield also worked to appoint several African Americans to prominent positions. Frederick Douglass was appointed recorder of deeds in Washington, Robert Elliot, special agent to the Treasury, John M. Langston, Haitian minister and Blanche K. Bruce, register to the Treasury. We was moving on up… to the Eastside…

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished..

It was way different back in the 1800’s as far as our ability to access our government representatives. It wasn’t nothing to see the president taking a walk outside to go to the corner store. You could even walk into the White House and ask him to have a beer with you. As an aside when Andrew Jackson was President, they had to replace all the stuff that was destroyed during his celebration. People was walking right off the street directly into the White House and getting they party on. He was known as the “common man’s President,” and believe me, the common man showed up at his party. Anywho, although it wasn’t quite that bad during Garfield’s celebration, as the President you still had to deal with people being able to come into the White House and personally ask you for a job. Such as was the case with one Charles J. Guiteau. Guiteau had made a name for himself in the upper echelons of the Republican hierarchy by his undying support for Garfield. After Garfield was voted in as President, Guiteau thought the President owed him something for his support. Now although Guiteau did feverishly support the president, most Republicans in leadership roles thought him to be very odd. Guiteau had a long history of wandering from one job to the next, not succeeding in any. His advocacy of Garfield was just another job in a long list of mediocre grabs for the brass ring. Anyway he wanted to be ambassador to France. Of course Garfield thought this $##@! must be out of his mind. Even so Garfield knew of Guiteau support and promised him he would get back to him. It didn’t take long for Guiteau to realize that Garfield wasn’t even going to make him an ambassador. His resentment for Garfield became evermore intense. On July 21, 1881, just six months after being elected, Guiteau mortally wounded the president by shooting him twice in the back at Baltimore and Potomac Railroad in Washington, D.C,. The station used to stand where the National Gallery Of Art stands now. It took another 11 weeks for the president to succumb to his wounds. He died on September 19, 1881. More than 70,000 citizens, some waiting over three hours, passed by Garfield’s coffin as his body lay in state at the United States Capitol rotunda; later, on September 25, 1881, in Cleveland, more than 150,000, a number equal to the entire population of that city, likewise paid their respects. Although it was suspected that Guiteau suffered from mental illness due to syphilis, he was nonetheless found guilty of murder and executed by hanging on June 30, 1882.

Reprint: ©HIll1News 2020

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