audiobook The Radical and the Republican: Frederick Douglass; Abraham Lincoln; and the Triumph of Antislavery Politics by James Oakes in History

Review

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Very intricately detailed.By CustomerI was always aware that Lincoln publicly claimed not to care much about slavery. He once said that in order to keep the Union together; he would abolish slavery if it would do the trick. If he had to keep slavery going in order to keep the Union together; he would it; too. This led me to think that Lincoln was indifferent to slavery and its evils. However; after reading this book; I have changed my mind. Lincoln did indeed state the above; but he was politician; not a reformer. This is emphasized several times by Frederick Douglas. Douglas; too; thought that Lincoln did not care about the welfare of African Americans; but after Lincoln's death; he reconciled himself to the fact that Lincoln had to compromise somewhere with the American public. He could not always tell them how he felt personally.Anyway; enough about the contents of the book. The structure of the book was interesting. Whether it is a good interesting or a bad interesting is up to the reader. Typically; Oakes would state the result; as if writing an abstract of a paper; then go back to the beginning of the event and expalin the intricacies of Lincoln's actions; or Douglas' opinions; etc. When he sequentially arrived back to the result; he would infer more of his own analysis and wax eloquent on Lincoln's decisions. Occasionally; while writing a paper; and trying to remember what happens first; this causes the reader a bit of confusion; but it is minimal to negligible; especially if one is already familiar with Civil War history.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Lincoln hated slavery his entire life and the Civil War was ...By S. A. StaudenmeirThis is a marvelous book about Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. It provides an indepth portrayal of Lincoln and his thoughts about slavery and the Civil War as well as his high regard for Frederick Douglass; a former slave.. Despite what you may have heard; Lincoln hated slavery his entire life and the Civil War was fought to end slavery. Like Christ; in his assassination I think Abraham Lincoln was the blood sacrifice for the sins of a nation. He only survived the war by a few days (six) and was perhaps the last casualty. Highly recommended. Lincoln was an awesome President! In my opinion; Lincoln and Washington were the two most amazing Presidents this nation has been blessed with. I also regard Frederick Douglass and Dr. Martin Luther King as among the Founders of this nation despite the fact that they came later. They reminded us of who we are and what we aspire to be as a nation as stated in the Declaration of Independence. We are forever indebted to these great men.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. A Tale of Two TemperamentsBy Kerry WaltersThere is a perennial tension in any democracy between those who insist that there must be scrupulous respect for the law; and those who insist that at times a higher law must be followed. Philosophical and moral disagreements separate the two groups. But so does temperament.James Oates' The Radical and the Republican masterfully witnesses to the crucial role temperament plays in determining which side of the political and moral divide one lands in the higher law debate. Lincoln (the republican) was by nature a man inclined toward moderation; reason; patience; and unemotional analysis. Although always a loather of slavery; it took the 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act to put slavery in the middle of his political radar screen. Even then; he insisted that slavery was implicitly guaranteed in the Constitution; and that; short of a constitutional amendment; the most a President or Congress could do was to geographically contain it. Lincoln; who eventually adopted a policy Oates calls "strategic racism"--refusing to speak against the race-baiting so popular in the U.S. in order to make his eventual decision to emancipate the slaves an easier pill to swallow--thought John Brown a madman.Douglass (the reformer--or better; perhaps; the rebel) had a much more phlegmatic tempermant: emotional; volatile; black-and-white thinking; quick judgments. Although aligned when young with the pacifist Garrisonians; Douglass was never much of a pacifist. But he imbibed the Garrisonian insistence that the Constitution and the government; through their complicity with slavery; were utterly corrupt; and that a higher moral law not only sanctioned but obliged disregard of them when it came to slavery. Douglass; who adopted a policy of black self-reliance which Oates calls "strategic separatism;" thought John Brown a hero.The Civil War created an extraordinary environment; argues Oates; in which Lincoln the republican and Douglass the reformer began to converge. Lincoln dropped his idea of gradual and compensated emancipation by issuing the Emancipation Declaration and lobbying for the passage of the 13th Amendment. Douglass; under the influence of Gerrit Smith; came to see the Constitution as an anti-slavery document and politics as a legitimate method to reforming society. By the time Lincoln was murdered; Douglass had come to greatly admire the man who he mercilessly criticized through much of the war. And Lincoln went out of his way to refer publicly to "my friend" Douglass. Still; their basic temperaments remained quite different; and it's curious to reflect on what their relationship might've evolved into had Lincoln lived.Oates' discussion of the two men is fascinating; well-written; and well-documented. Strongly recommended not only for those interested in the Civil War but also for anyone interestd in the higher law debate.