The Democratic advocate., 1909-10-08
LINCOLN ON SUFFRAGE
WAS NOT In FAVOR OF NEGROES
VOTING OR BEING JURORS
Many Expressions Against Political
or Social Equality

ly the writings of American states
men, gave to the Sun few days ago
the views of President Lincoln on the
question of negro suffrage as shown
by his writings.
Mr.. Straus said that Mr.. Lincoln's
views on the subject were well known
and that he was strongly opposed to
extending the suffrage to the negroes.
''On August 21, 1858, at Ottewa, Ill,
during the first speech of his joint de-,
bate with Judge Douglas, Mr.. Lincoln
said
I" Anything that argues one into the
idea of social and political equality
with the negro is but specious and
fantastic arrangement of words by
which a man can prove a horse chest
nut to be a chestnut horse. / have
no purpose to introduce political and
social equality between the white and
the black races. There is physical
difference between the two, which in
my judgement will probably forever
forbid their living together upon the
footing of perfect equality; and, in
asmuch as it becomes a necessity
that there must be a difference, 1, as
we'll as Judge Douglas, am in favor
of the race to which belong having
the superior position
ION September 18, 1858, at Charles
ton, Ill, in the course of the same de-
bate, Mr.. Lincoln said /:
CT will say that 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 | am not, and never 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 ad-
dition to this, that there is a physical
difference between the white and
black races which | believe will for
ever forbid the two races ever living
together on terms of social and pol1ti-
cal equality. And inasmuch as they
cannot so live, while they do remain
together, there must be the position
of superior and inferior; and, l, as
much as any other man, am in favor
of having the superior position as
signed to the white man
"Mr. Lincoln repeated these opin-
! ions in his succeeding speeches, and
on October 13, 1858, in the sixth joint
debate at Quincy, ILL.,, he declared that
they were not only his sentiments
but that they were long entertained
and openly expressed by him; ant
repeated that his own feelings would
not admit of "a political equality be-
tween the white and black races
'In the last of the joint debates
Mr.. Lincoln said at Alton, October Is
1858.
I have never complained OF the
! Dred Scott decision because it held
that a negro could not be citizen
and the Judge (Douglas) is always
wrong when he says l ever did sc
complain of it, And he called it 6
beautiful fabrication for Judge Doug
las to ascribe to him purpose to in
troduce political equality between the
white and black races
"On September 16, 1859, at Colum-
bus, Ohio, Mr. Lincoln took great
pains to correct statement published
| in a newspaper of that city that he
had declared in favor of negro suff-
rage Referring to this statement
! Mr. Lincoln said
81 mention this now, at the opening
of my remarks, for the purpose OF
making three comments upon it. The
first 1 have already announced
furnished me with an Introductory
| topic; the second is to show that the
gentleman is Mistaken thirdly, to
give him an opportunity to correct
it.
I propose here at the outset not
only to say that this is a misrepre-
sentation, but to show conclusively
that it is So
after reading extracts from his
previous speeches in which he had
clearly declared against negro suff-
rage, Mr.. Lincoln continued
There, my friends, you have brief
ly what 1 have upon former occasions
said upon this subject. In it you not
only perceive, as a probability, that
in that contest did not at any time
say l was in favor of negro suffrage.
but the absolute truth that twice
once substantially and once express
ly-I declared against 1t. Having
shown you this, there remains but a
word of comment upon that news
paper article. 1t is this That
presume the editor of that paper is
an honest and truth-loving man and
that he will be greatly obliged to me
for furnishing him thus early an op-
portunity to correct the misrepresent-
alton he has made, before it has run
so long that malicious people can call
him liar
in his plan for the readmission of
. the Southern States to the Union, or,
as he always put it, upon the theo-
ry that they never had been out OF the
Union, for the resumption by them OF
their practical relations under the
Constitution, Mr.. Lincoln made not
the slightest suggestion of extending
the suffrage to the negroes who had
been freed from slavery by the war.
.sIt was not until March 13, 1854, in
his letter to Governor Hahn, of Louis
lana, that he made the bare sugges-
tion for Governor Hahn's private
consideration that only some of the
colored people-that is, the very in
| teIligent' be let in This
letter he was careful to mark private.
1t was as follows :
!" Executive Mansion,
60 Washington, March 13, 1864.
Hon Michael Hahn
MY dear sir-I congratulate you
on having fixed your name in history
as the first free-State Governor OF
Louisiana. You are about to have
convention which, among other things
will probably define the elective fran
chise. I barely suggest for your prl-
vate consideration whether some o.
the colored people may not be let IN
as, for instance, the very intelligent
and especially those who have fought
gallantly in our ranks. They would
probably help in some trying time e