Community Chat

[jubilant]

@Oznell   Very interesting post! Had not heard a lot of these things.

[Puzzle Piece]

The entire history of the man is usually never told.  He wanted the African Americans to go live in Mexico and leave the USA.  Many went to Mexico on the promise that they would be defended by the US should they encounter any hostility.  It was Lincolns way of dealing with the slave problem.  Many slaves settle in what is known as Tampico.  He was not such an emancipator as most believe.  

Fearing assasination is something every leader has since the beginning of time.  

[beckyb1012]

He was an amazing man and a wonderful President.  His wife now was another story. 

[jubilant]

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@Puzzle Piece wrote:

The entire history of the man is usually never told.  He wanted the African Americans to go live in Mexico and leave the USA.  Many went to Mexico on the promise that they would be defended by the US should they encounter any hostility.  It was Lincolns way of dealing with the slave problem.  Many slaves settle in what is known as Tampico.  He was not such an emancipator as most believe.  

Fearing assasination is something every leader has since the beginning of time.  

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@Puzzle Piece  I read somewhere that he thought white and black 

people could'nt co-exist peacefully

and that separation was the only way to avoid conflict between the races and that, to him, would ensure the well being of both races.     

[shoekitty]

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@beckyb1012 wrote:

He was an amazing man and a wonderful President.  His wife now was another story. 

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@beckyb1012    lol!  Omg, yes and yes!  Poor thing, she was a handful and often a few sandwiches short of a picnic .  Mental illness Might have played a role I am sure,.  

[drizzellla]

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@Scooby Doo wrote:

Back in the late 80's I toured the DC area and went to Ford's Theater.  They had a display there of Lincoln's suit and hat.  Then I went across the street to the house where Lincoln died.  Went to the back bedroom where they had the bed he died in and a pillow with his blood on the pillowcase.  It was enclosed in a plastic shield.  I think it's been moved to a museum now.  It was a very humbling experience.

As a side note, he was assinated on April 14, my birthdate.  The Titanic also struck the iceberg on April 14.  Quite a memorable date for me.

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@Scooby Doo We took the same tour. What struck me was how tiny the bed and bedroom was, where Lincoln died. I could not imagine a man 6 feet tall lying on that small bed. But then I suspect that it was all they had at the time and after being shot did the size of the bed matter.

You were right it was quite an experience. 

[Oznell]

@ciao_bella ,  and @beckyb1012 ,   fabulous letter from that wonderful little Grace, and those precious glove artifacts-- thank you so much for your enriching posts that make this history all the more real!

@Puzzle Piece ,  and @jubilant ,  true, history is many-layered, and often not all we would wish it to be.  We can look back, and judge it by our era's standards.  I believe the consensus on Lincoln to be something along these lines:  while he was a flawed man ( as is everyone) ,  and to some extent, a creature of his time, but within that, he was doing his best, an honest broker, and achieved greatness in a number of crucial areas.  At least, that's how I see him.

[Midmod]

@Oznell
Have you read that Lincoln was a Melungeon descendant? And that might explain his unusual looks. What are your thoughts?

[LoganPup]

This is wonderful info, thank you

[Oznell]

@Midmod ,  that is a fascinating speculation that is out there, that Lincoln might be part Melungeon.  The theory seems to have arisen out of the fact that for a long time there was poor or missing verificaton of the ancestry of his mother, Nancy Hanks; and based on his dark coloring and hair.

It would be neat to think so, but from what I've read, most reputable historians think the theory is unsubstantiated. 

There is a persistent belief that Ava Gardner and Elvis had Melungeon ancestry too.

For anyone not aware, the Melungeons are a long-established group in Appalachia that have a "tri-racial" background-- that of European, African American, and Native American. 

There are a few related groups, like the Lumbee of North Carolina, who also are a merging of the three ethnicities.  Heather Locklear is probably one of the most famous of those with Lumbee background.

As for Presidents, there are a number of them that have had speculation about possible "mixed race" background, ranging from Andrew Jackson and Abraham Lincoln, to Calvin Coolidge and Dwight Eisenhower.  As far as I know, none of these has been substantiated, thus far. 

But the closest that one of that group came to acknowledging the possibility of mixed white and African American identity, was Warren G. Harding.  The possibility had been raised during his 1920 election race, and when a reporter inquired about it, he replied to the effect that he didn't know for sure.  That left room for more speculation, and on it went.