August 22, 1862
In the midst of the relatively new and increasingly bloody American Civil War, American journalist Horace Greeley, writing in the New York Tribune, called directly for President Lincoln to more vigorously enforce the recently passed Confiscation Acts of 1861 and 1862. The Confiscation Acts were designed to allow Northern Union forces to confiscate property from the breakaway Southern Confederate states during the United States Civil War. This may sound to us like an unsavoury but perhaps necessary set of actions to take during wartime, but there is more to the story.
The Confiscation Acts were designed to allow Union forces to confiscate property, which at the time included people who were enslaved, eventually opening a pathway for their freedom. To our modern ears, hearing any human being referred to as ‘property’ forces a bodily reaction, but for this reason alone it is important to read and learn from history. Although this might seem like a completely different world to us, 1862 is not that long ago in the long arc of human history. And as we know, many forms of racial discrimination continue to exist in our culture to this day.
In response to Greeley’s admonition, Lincoln calmly replied:
“My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I would also do that.” (source)
For the casual student of history who perhaps knows a few things about Lincoln, this quote from 1862 may seem deeply troubling or perhaps even stunning on the face of it. After all, to many, Lincoln is remembered as the ‘Great Emancipator’, the person who is perhaps most directly responsible for the freedom of slaves in America during the middle part of the 19th century. Although this statement about Lincoln is undoubtedly true on many levels, history is also almost always more nuanced and complex than we would like it to be.
The reality is that Lincoln, hailed by many as one of America's greatest Presidents, was not always firmly on the side of emancipation throughout his life. Rather, his main purpose as President was the re-unification of the fractured United States – not necessarily or even explicitly the release of slaves.
In our modern reading of Lincoln’s life, we may find this morally wrong or even downright evil. However, at the time, Lincoln’s changing point of view on slavery was often viewed as centrist or perhaps even progressive. In other words, Lincoln was on a journey.
I recently had the honour of attending The Understory Festival in Washington, DC. One of the speakers whose words still reverberate in my mind and soul was Dr. Anika Prather. Dr. Prather, a descendant herself of enslaved people in the Southern United States and a Lincoln scholar in her own right, highlighted for us that Lincoln was tragically shot before he really got the opportunity to see the impact of his famous Emancipation Proclamation. With tremendous nuance and bold humility, Dr. Prather did not downplay Lincoln’s own winding moral journey as it related to the freedom of slaves. However, she also ended on a note of hope and grace.
She noted that despite our own brokenness and our own inability to often see our calling in its fullness, by the grace of God we are each on a journey. We each have the opportunity to take up the mantle of those who have gone before us in their work towards justice and human flourishing. In our best moments, we commit each wobbly step, imperfect action, and broken initiative to our God – in a sense that is all we can do. As people of the journey, we recognize that our stewardship of the leadership positions we have been given for just a short time is both a high calling and also an opportunity for God to show up in our brokenness each day. Over time, we begin to learn and trust that God will bless our imperfect effort in ways that we cannot begin to imagine – perhaps even in ways that outlive our lives here on this side of New Creation.
Lincoln's understanding of what justice required continued to evolve throughout much of his life and presidency. While the consequences of Lincoln's evolving views on slavery are obviously far greater than the everyday leadership challenges most of us face, his story reminds us that people are capable of growth and transformation.
Likewise, none of us began our leadership journey making wise decisions or navigating complex challenges perfectly. In fact, sometimes we are just plain wrong. However, by the grace of God, through prayer and discernment with wise teams, we are each responding to a call in our times – it is a journey, not a destination.
The journey of leadership is sustained not only by learning and growth, but also by rhythms of rest that remind us that the world ultimately belongs to God. Part of each leader’s journey is an intentional Sabbath – time for rest and delight in the knowledge that we are designed not to rest from our work, but rather to work from our rest. Blessings on your summer break!
Tim Bentum is the Director of Leadership and External Relations at Edvance.