The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1882-04-04
Abraham Lincoln ON the Inferi-
Ority of the Negro.

In the course of his speech on the Chi
nese immigration bill Senator Teller, of
Colorado, Chairman Of the Teller Inves-
tigating Committee, as will be remem-
bered, in South Carolina,) directed the
attention of the Senate to the opinions of
Abraham Lincoln on the difference in
races. Mr. Teller said:
No man in this country ever discussed the
question of the rights of the human race with as
much intelligence as Abraham Lincoln did. and
yet he declared over and ever again in that
memorable debate between Stephen A. Douglass
and himself in 1858, which attracted the atten-
ton of the whole world, that the negro was an
inferior race to the white man. He repeated it
again and again, and notably at Columbus in
1859, that the negro was and must ever remain
the inferior of the white race. Now, because he
thus asserted did he deny to the negro any rights
that man ought to exercise r He said i" Be-
"cause he is my inferior in intellectual and mental
development, and because he has a color to his
face not as good as mine, it is no reason why
SHOULD deny to him any of the rights that were
given by the Almighty" 1t was, however, a
fact that the man was lower in the scale of bu
man development, and he ought not TO be de-
prived of anything that would enable him TO
RISE That was Abraham Lincolns position upon
this question. have it here and will read IT,
so that no man can misunderstood it, because
Abraham Lincoln repeated il again and again,
and it was not an accidental speech that he made
when he was led into saying something that re-
Ao0tinn mint he I'D III
said
l will say, then, that l am not nor ever have
been IN favor of bringing about 10 any way the
social and political equality of the white and
black races; that l am not or ever have been in
favor Of making voters or jurors of negroes nor
of qualifying them TO hold Office, or intermarry
with the white people; and will say in addition
to this, that there is physical difference between
the white and black races which l believe will
forever forbid The two races living together ON
terms of social and political equality. And in
asmuch as they cannot go live, while they do re-
main together there must be the position of
superior and inferior, and as much as any other
man, am in favor of having the superior position
assigned to the white race.
understand that Mr.. Lincoln never changed
upon the question of the inleriority and superb
oriiy of the races; but when in the logic Of
events it became necessary, absolutely necessary
in my judgment and in the judgment of other
people, that this class of men. our intellectual
and mental interiors, should have protection at
the hands of this Government, we determined
that the only and proper way to protect them
was to give them the advantages of citizenship
in all its terms. 1t was not desirable thing to
do, and nobody knew it better than the great
hearted mon who sat in the Senate and helped
do it. There was not an intelligent American
who looked upon that problem at that time who
did not fear that the result would be that the an
tagonsm of the two races would eventually
swamp this country. But We had them here.
As said the other day, common humanity,
common decency said: " You must take these
men and put them upon plane where they can
be elevated, and all that God has put in them
they must have the opportunity 10 bring out.p
Nobody believed then, and nobody believes now,
who has studied the history Of the races and the
history Of the world, that they will ever be equal
in all respects TO the Caucasian race. The Sena-
tors from Massachusetts, do not believe 1t, and
the people Of Massachusetts knew that It lie not
expected Of this race Of men. e that any reason
why we should deny to them rightss Not at
al. II they are weak intellectually, then We
should give them assistance. They were part
Of the people here We could not Sand them
abroad; and because We treated them with hu-
manity, with righieousness, and with Justice.
shall we say that We are bound 10 extend 70 al
the nations Of the.earth the same rights that We
extended to themi
This i sound doctrine. continues the
Nsscs and Courier. although the Repub-