Author: David J. Kent

David J. Kent is an avid science traveler, scientist, and Abraham Lincoln historian. He is the author of books on Nikola Tesla, Thomas Edison, and Abraham Lincoln. His website is www.davidjkent-writer.com.
8 Comments

Lincoln the Surveyor

  By

Lincoln the Surveyor by Lloyd OstendorfThe Sangamon County Deed Record on February 17, 1836 has this notation from Abraham Lincoln, the Surveyor.

“I hereby certify that the town of Petersburgh has been surveyed according to law, and that this is a correct plat of the same. A. Lincoln.”

“The Surveyor of Sangamon,” Lincoln later wrote in a third-person autobiography, “offered to depute to A[braham] that portion of his work which was within his part of the country. He accepted, procured a compass and chain, studied Flint, and Gibson a little, and went at it. This procured bread, and kept soul and body together.” Calhoun was a devout Democrat and the Whiggish Lincoln only took the job after he was assured his politics would not be held against him.

Over the three years he was deputy surveyor, he surveyed the towns of New Boston, Bath, Albany, Huron, and resurveyed the city of Petersburg. The city had been surveyed years before but Lincoln was asked to redo it when it began to grow more substantially, in part as New Salem began to fade away and its residents moved to nearby Petersburg. He also laid out the area that town fathers decided to name after its surveyor – Lincoln, Illinois. Lincoln christened the town with the juice from a watermelon. Beyond towns he also surveyed and laid out numerous roads and private properties, including a bridge over the Salt River at Musick Crossing. In one case, he found in resurveying some land that the seller had by error granted more land than he received payment for. Lincoln convinced his client, the descendant of the original buyer, to pay the cost of the additional land to the seller’s heirs. He was paid $2.50 for each quarter section of land, although as little as 25 cents for smaller lots.

Overall, Lincoln found surveying to be profitable both financially and in building relationships for his later political activities. “Mr. Lincoln was a good surveyor,” one investor noted, “he did it all himself, without help from anybody except chainmen.” The chainmen were men and boys would carry chains, drive stakes, and blaze trees for Lincoln, always with an ear out to hear Lincoln’s stories and jokes. Others were equally impressed with Lincoln’s honesty and industriousness. Whenever there was a dispute, both parties relied on Lincoln to settle the matter with his compass and chain.

[Adapted from my forthcoming book]

[Photo credit: Lincoln the Surveyor by Lloyd Ostendorf]

David J. Kent is an avid science traveler and the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World and two specialty e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

Follow me for updates on my Facebook author page and Goodreads.

6 Comments

Abraham Lincoln and the White House Stable Fire

  By

Abraham Lincoln was working in his second floor office on February 10, 1864 when he realized the White House stables were on fire.

It had been a long day already. Lincoln had spent the morning reviewing court martial cases, desperately searching for a reason to suspend the mandatory death sentence for deserters and working to keep soldiers in the army. Shortly after a light lunch of strawberries and milk, he had open office hours where the public could come in to vent their individual views. Lincoln called these his “public opinion baths,” which while distracting from more important work, helped him understand public sentiment. “Public sentiment is everything,” Lincoln had said. “With it we can accomplish anything; without it, nothing.” Later in the afternoon Lincoln received a delegation of 18 men from a convention at Allegheny City, Pennsylvania. They wanted to amend the Constitution “in favor of freedom.”

But then around 8:30 pm there was smoke. Lincoln’s private stables were on fire. He could see the small brick building between the White House and the the Treasury Building next door. Rushing out, his intent was to put out the fire but it was already consuming the small stables. Robert McBride recalled the event, which was also reported in the Evening Star newspaper:

“[Mr.] Cooper, the President’s private coachman, left the stable to get his supper about 8 o’clock, and he was first notified of the fire by the President himself, who discovered the smoke . . . The building . . . contained . . . six horses, all of which were burned to death . . . One of these ponies was all the more highly prized, in consequence of having once been the property of Willie, the deceased son of Mr. and Mrs. President Lincoln.”

Hours later, Lincoln stood in the East Room looking out at the still-smoldering stables. According to McBride, “Lincoln was weeping. Tad explained it was because Willie’s pony was there.”

Willie, Lincoln’s second oldest son, had died of typhoid almost exactly two years before, right here in the White House. The pony was the last remnant of the boy’s life remaining. Also lost were Lincoln’s own two horses, as well John Nicolay’s two horses and Tad’s other two ponies.

Lincoln conferred the next day with Commissioner of Public Buildings Benjamin Brown French about rebuilding the stables. Meanwhile, Patterson McGee, dismissed on the day the White House stables burned, was arrested the day after on the charge of having started the fire. He was released shortly thereafter.*

And the war continued.

*Edited to add McGee was cleared of wrongdoing. As Scott McCullagh in the comments alludes, McGee was released. Scott didn’t provide a source, but I’ve also heard via LinkedIn from historian and Lincoln scholar David Gerleman, who confirms McGee was released immediately after it was discovered he was in Grover’s Theater when the fire started. Gerleman says he has an in-depth article on the fire due out in 2022. Thanks to both for the additional information.

[Photo of Kazuhiro Tsuji sculpture of Lincoln, from The amazing story of Hollywood Make-up artist Kazuhiro Tsuji – Spoon & Tamago (spoon-tamago.com)]

David J. Kent is an avid science traveler and the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World and two specialty e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

Follow me for updates on my Facebook author page and Goodreads.

No comments

Lincoln Heads to Hampton Roads for a Peace Conference

  By

Lincoln RoomOn February 2, 1865, Abraham Lincoln headed to Hampton Roads in Virginia for a peace conference. It almost killed the 13th Amendment.

The House of Representatives was deep into debate about the 13th Amendment to end slavery in the United States. Extraordinary efforts were made on behalf of the administration to get the two-thirds majority needed for passage. It seemed like they had enough. And then someone heard that there were “peace commissioners” in Washington. Looking for a way to end the war without having to pass a constitutional amendment, many Representatives wavered. They sent a message to the President asking if any such commissioners were in town. Lincoln employed a bit of deception, replying that there were no commissioners in the city of Washington and he did not expect any. The vote squeaked through.

Of course, there were peace commissioners, but Lincoln had arranged for them to wait in Hampton Roads, Virginia, for a conference on board the steamboat River Queen. Lincoln had given a factually accurate, if incomplete, response to Congress.

Early on the morning of the 2nd, Lincoln telegraphed General Ulysses S. Grant: “Say to the gentlemen I will meet them personally at Fortress-Monroe, as soon a I can get there. Those gentlemen were Alexander Stephens, former U.S. Congressman from Georgia and current Vice President of the Confederacy, Assistant Secretary of War Joseph Campbell (who had been a Supreme Court Justice prior to resigning), and Robert Hunter (former U.S. Speaker of the House and Senator, then Confederate Secretary of State and Senator). The three men had come on a mission to end the war under terms that were friendly to the South.

Lincoln left Washington around 11:00 AM by special train to Annapolis, where he boarded the steamer Thomas Collyer. He arrived at Fortress Monroe in Hampton Roads late in the evening and immediately meets with Secretary of State William Seward on board the steamship River Queen.

When the five men met the next day, Lincoln was adamant that any peace agreement include reunification of all the states and the permanent end to slavery. Not surprisingly, the Confederate peace commissioners refused those conditions and returned to Richmond. Jefferson Davis, who was not present at the conference, later claimed that Lincoln had demanded “unconditional surrender.” This was false, and was Davis’s attempt to rally the Southern people to continue to fight what was already recognized as a losing battle. Lincoln, while unwavering that slavery must end, was open to compensation to the South. After returning to Washington, Lincoln did press Congress for amnesty and up to $400,000,000 in compensation. Given that the war was clearly nearing its end with a Union victory, neither Lincoln’s cabinet nor Congress was much interested in such an arrangement. No compensation or amnesty act was passed.

By late March, Lincoln would be “relaxing” at City Point near Petersburg, Virginia, where Grant had his camp. Not far down the James River from Richmond, Lincoln would stroll through the former capital of the Confederacy, abandoned the day before by Confederate leadership as the war came to a close. Lincoln would return to Washington on April 8th; Robert E. Lee would surrender Grant the next day. The war was effectively over.

Lincoln would be assassinated a week later.

[Adapted from my book Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America]

David J. Kent is an avid science traveler and the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World and two specialty e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

Follow me for updates on my Facebook author page and Goodreads.

10 Comments

Big News! New Book on the Way!

  By

David J Kent 2019If you follow my Facebook page (which you can do here if you don’t already), you may have already heard about my big news. For those who don’t (and why don’t you?), here is both the news and some additional info. Ready? BIG NEWS! I’m happy to announce that I have signed a contract with Rowman & Littlefield to publish my next Abraham Lincoln book.

There’s a long story behind the creation of this book, and no, I won’t bore you with it. Suffice to say I’ve been researching this topic for quite some time and that it blends my two career backgrounds – Science and Abraham Lincoln. I’ll have more updates, a title reveal, cover reveal, related content, and announcement of a special guest Foreword writer as the work progresses, but here’s some info to whet your appetite.

Rowman & Littlefield is a large, high-end independent publisher founded in 1949. Since that time it has acquired dozens of imprints and publishes everything from scholarly books for the academic market and trade books for the general market. My book is a trade book, written for a widely informed reader. Rowman, or sometimes just R&L, is based in nearby Maryland and has its own book distribution company to get books into Barnes and Noble and independent stores as well as Amazon and other online sales outlets. The plan is to produce hardcover, audio, and electronic (e.g., Kindle) books immediately, with a softcover book to follow in a year or two depending on sales.

Unlike the graphics heavy design of my three previous published books, the new Abraham Lincoln book will be more traditional in design. That means mostly text with a photo spray in the middle (or possibly interspersed throughout; final design is pending). The final word count will be between 80,000 and 90,000 words.

Oh, and there will be a special guest foreword by someone most people in both the political and Lincoln worlds will recognize. More on that in future updates.

My deadline for providing the manuscript is June 1st of this year, with a planned publication date in time for Lincoln’s birthday next year.

I’ll have more updates as time goes on, including the final title, cover, release date, and how to pre-order. And yes, before that I’ll let you know more about the topic and give a preview. You’ll get some hint by clicking around the articles I’ve posted on this website.

Back to writing!

2 Comments

Lincoln’s Jewish Spy

  By

Issachar ZacharieOn January 25, 1865, Abraham Lincoln directed Secretary of War Edwin Stanton to give Lincoln’s Jewish spy and “cheroperdist” a pass to go into southern territory.

“I wish you to give Dr. Zacharie a pass to Savanna, remain a week and return, bringing with him, if he wishes, his father and sisters or any of them.”

So who is Dr. Zacharie, and what is a “cheroperdist”?

Let’s start with the second part. When the self-styled foot doctor Issachar Zacharie (he actually had no medical training and gave himself the “Dr.” honorific) first printed business cards to advertise his ability to relief sufferers from corns and bunions, he misspelled the word “chiropodist.” While possibly recognizable to many people today, the term chiropodist is outdated and synonymous with today’s term for foot doctor: podiatrist. Even though he didn’t have any official credentials, it turns out Dr. Zacharie was an excellent chiropodist and operated on Abraham Lincoln’s feet and those of many of his staff and officer corps. Zacharie serviced thousands of Union soldiers during the Civil War.

Just as Dr. Zacharie invented his profession and persona, he invented himself as a sort of Union spy. His exploits were extolled in a new book by E. Lawrence Abel called Lincoln’s Jewish Spy: The Life and Times of Issachar Zacharie. This is the short review I wrote on Goodreads:

An interesting in-depth look at a rarely examined public figure associated with Lincoln. Unafraid of self-promotion, even if he had to fabricate an educational background, Issachar Zacharie manages to insert himself into Abraham Lincoln’s inner circle. That is, at least to some extent as Abel tells us it’s sometimes difficult to separate Zacharie’s self-promotion from reality. Abel helps parse out that difference and shows us that Zacharie was in fact somewhat of an informant for Lincoln and a close associate of the ambitious, if not overly competent, General Nathaniel Banks. Along the way we learn much about being Jewish in nineteenth century America. Oh, and we also learn about chiropody, the cutting and shaving of foot corns and bunions (which turns out to have been a bigger problem for soldiers and politicians than could be imagined).

The depth of Abel’s research is readily apparent, as is the breadth of his sourcing. He manages to flesh out a little known character of the Civil War that is both interesting and informative. The book at times is repetitive and could have used some tighter editing in places, but overall is a great read for anyone interested in digging deeper into lesser known names.

Stanton replied to Lincoln’s directive the same day to note “An order for leave to Zacharie as directed by you has been issued & sent to Mr. Nicolay.” Zacharie apparently replied to say “I leave on Saturday per steamship Arago for Savannah where I hope to find my Dear old father and friends–if you have any matters that you would have properly attended to, I will consider it a favour to [you] to let me attend to it for you…”

Zacharie was quick to ingratiate himself with the Jewish population wherever he traveled. He would collect intelligence for the war effort, and also relay advice to Jewish men on how to help the Union effort. This is a little known element of the war and Abel’s book gives us much insight into that regard.

No comments

How Abraham Lincoln Started HBCUs, At Least Indirectly

  By

Land Grant ActAbraham Lincoln is responsible for the creation of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). At least indirectly.

In early July 1862, Abraham Lincoln signed the Land-Grant College Act. His predecessor James Buchanan had vetoed the idea in 1859, but with Lincoln’s encouragement, Senator Justin Morrill reintroduced it for easy congressional passage and Lincoln’s welcome signature. The Act donated federal land to the states, which could sell them to establish a permanent endowment to fund public colleges. The Act required these colleges to teach “scientific and classical studies” and to “promote the liberal and practical education of the industrial classes” in agricultural and the mechanical arts. Iowa quickly accepted the provisions of the Act and designated its existing Iowa State Agricultural College (now Iowa State University) as the first official land-grant college. The first new institution created under the Act was Kansas State University. Isaac Funk, a close friend of Lincoln’s, founded the first land-grant college in Illinois. Others soon followed, including many in the South to aid its post-war rejuvenation.

So where do HBCUs fit into this? Because of discrimination against African-Americans in the former slave-owning states, a second Morrill Land-Grant Act was passed in 1890 requiring either the state demonstrate race was not an admissions criterion or they must designate a separate land-grant institution for persons of color. Many states chose the latter, which while discriminatory, did result in the creation of several HBCUs. In 1994 the land-grant status was extended to tribal colleges and universities, and today there are 106 land-grant colleges.

The importance of these land-grant colleges cannot be overstated. Only five percent of American males (and no females) went to college by the beginning of the Civil War. While all colleges taught fundamental science at the undergraduate level, the courses were intended to stimulate the logical thought necessary to succeed in their field of choice (e.g., law, medicine, business). Science was designed to teach students problem solving, not prepare them for careers in science. No laboratory work was done; at best the professor would do demonstrations if he or the facility could afford the equipment. While the first Ph.D. was awarded only in 1861 by Yale, only later did graduate degrees become more common. Prior to the war, if you wanted to become an actual scientist you directly paid a professor to study with, often in Europe. With his signature, Lincoln created colleges that taught science and technology degrees, which served as a basis for the expansion of science training for the rest of the nineteenth century and beyond.

While the second Morrill Land-Grant Act was long after Lincoln’s assassination, it built on the original Act Lincoln had signed. This emphasis on education, once it was extended to either integrated colleges or separate HBCUs, helped fulfill what Lincoln had pursued since his first attempt at elective office when only 23-years-old. “Upon the subject of education,” Abraham Lincoln wrote in his Communication to the People of Sangamo County in 1832, “I can only say that I view it as the most important subject which we as a people can be engaged in.”

Since most of the original HBCUs after the Civil War were in the South, they provided opportunities for higher learning that had been blocked by unequal access to education in a continuing racist society. Now, 159 years later, we can assume Abraham Lincoln would be happy to see us finally elect our first HBCU Vice President, Kamala Harris.

[Adapted from my forthcoming book due out in February 2022]

David J. Kent is an avid science traveler and the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World and two specialty e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

Follow me for updates on my Facebook author page and Goodreads.

No comments

The Day Lincoln Met Louis Agassiz, Famous Scientist and Polygenist

  By

Louis AgassizLouis Agassiz arrived at the White House on January 15, 1865 with Massachusetts Congressman Samuel Hooper. The famous scientist would have his one and only meeting with Abraham Lincoln. While the two influential men had never met before, Hooper was well-known to Lincoln. It was Hooper’s home in Washington DC that George McClellan had used as headquarters when he commanded the Union army. Hooper was also briefly the father-in-law of Charles Sumner, who had married Hooper’s daughter but divorced after only a short marriage. Today, however, the focus was on Agassiz.

Lincoln had a penchant for science. He had given a series of lectures of “discoveries and inventions” shortly before being elected president. The expectation was that the two men would bond over their common interest. Journalist and Lincoln friend Noah Brooks, who was present during the meeting, later reported that the conversation “was not very learned.” The two men seemed unsure how to talk to each other. According to Brooks, Lincoln asked Agassiz for the correct pronunciation of his name, and then “prattled on about curious proper names in various languages, and odd correspondences between names of common things in different tongues.”

Agassiz did ask Lincoln if he had ever lectured, to which Lincoln outlined his previous “inventions” lecture, which he hoped to update so to prove there is nothing new under the sun. “I think I can show, at least in a fanciful way, that all the modern inventions were known centuries ago.” Agassiz encouraged him to finish the lecture. Agassiz departed shortly thereafter and Lincoln admitted to Brooks that he “wasn’t so badly scared, after all.” Lincoln had expected to be intimidated by the great scientist’s learning. Instead, he cross-examined Agassiz on things not in the books, which were readily available to him for reading.

This somewhat anti-climatic meeting belied both Lincoln’s inherent interests in science and Agassiz’s lifetime of scientific leadership. Perhaps the press of time and the drudges of a war finally running down after four years of horrendous conflict hung over the impromptu meeting. One would have liked the two of them to sit down and chat about science for hours on end. But the war took priority.

Born in Switzerland before becoming an American citizen, Agassiz is best known for his knowledge of natural history. He became a professor of zoology and geology at Harvard, from which he became a leading influencer on classification of the fishes, geological history, and the fossil record. He’s considered one of the founders of glaciology, although his views on the role of glaciers and ice on the formation of geological structures weren’t always correct. Agassiz damaged his scientific reputation by being a major advocate for polygenism, the idea that different “races” of humans were separately created, with all of the racist beliefs underpinning that idea.

The arguments over monogenism, polygenism, and “types of man” were entwined with the idea of “scientific racism,” more accurately, pseudoscience, used to rationalize the enslavement of African Americans. Lincoln became aware of these arguments as he read on science and tried to find a path toward removing slavery from the nation.

While they hadn’t personally met, Lincoln knew that Agassiz was one of the fifty charter members of the National Academy of Sciences, which Lincoln had signed into law in 1863. The meeting might have been less exciting than it could have been, but both men played significant roles as influencers of American views on race and slavery.

I’ll delve into this more in my forthcoming book, so stay tuned for more.

[Photo of Louis Agassiz: Wikimedia]

Follow me for updates on my Facebook author page and Goodreads.

David J. Kent is an avid science traveler and the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World and two specialty e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

2 Comments

That Time Conservatives Refused to Accept an Election – Lessons from Lincoln

  By

Obama inauguration 2013The election results were decisive. The new president-elect had won the popular vote by a substantial margin and had won more electoral votes than his competitors combined. The election had been secure, and the results were unequivocal.

Yet the conservative faction rebelled against the result. They said they would not abide by the voice of the people. Elements inside the government tried to override the vote and disrupt the government. Tearing the Union apart was more acceptable to them then living with the election results. Shortly after the election this faction sought to divide the country in half. Before the president-elect could even arrive in Washington to be inaugurated, he knew he would face a divided nation.

The election was 1860 and the president-elect was Abraham Lincoln.

Before Lincoln could take office, the conservative faction (the Democrats in Lincoln’s time), led by South Carolina and joined shortly thereafter by six more Southern states, seceded from the Union. Four more would join not long after the inauguration of its first Republican president (the “liberals” of the time).

The inauguration almost didn’t happen.

Unwilling to accept the election results, these conservative states attempted to keep the president-elect from reaching Washington. After some smaller attacks failed, they planned to assassinate the president-elect as he approached Washington by train along the corridor between Philadelphia and the nation’s Capital. Their plan to have a mob attack the president-elect as he passed through Baltimore was thwarted as Lincoln altered his schedule to arrive early. With many traitors to the Union present in Washington, and some engaging in active sedition in the Capitol itself, General Winfield Scott to extra precautions to protect Lincoln during his inauguration ceremony.

In his first inaugural address, Lincoln reminded the crowd that as President, he had “the most solemn” oath to “preserve, protect, and defend” the government, even as some were trying to attack the nation from within.

I am loath to close. We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.

In this peroration, Lincoln hoped that the nation could remain united. Conservatives refused, and the war came. Four years and nearly 750,000 dead Americans later, Lincoln was reelected and offered a second inaugural address. In it he called for the nation, without malice, and with charity for all, to “strive to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds.”

An earlier message to Congress reminded us the choices we make will be remembered.

Fellow-citizens, we cannot escape history. We of this Congress and this administration, will be remembered in spite of ourselves…The fiery trial through which we pass, will light us down, in honor or dishonor, to the latest generation. We say we are for the Union. The world will not forget this. We know how to save the Union. The world knows we do know how to save it. We — even we here — hold the power, and bear the responsibility.

The choice is up to us. Will we “nobly save or meanly lose, the last best hope of earth”?

We must.

We cannot escape history.

 

Fire of Genius

 

Lincoln: The Fire of Genius: How Abraham Lincoln’s Commitment to Science and Technology Helped Modernize America is available at booksellers nationwide.

Limited signed copies are available via this website. The book also listed on Goodreads, the database where I keep track of my reading. Click on the “Want to Read” button to put it on your reading list. Please leave a review on Goodreads and Amazon if you like the book.

You also follow my author page on Facebook.

David J. Kent is President of the Lincoln Group of DC and the author of Lincoln: The Fire of Genius: How Abraham Lincoln’s Commitment to Science and Technology Helped Modernize America and Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America.

His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World and two specialty e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

3 Comments

Why Was the Emancipation Memorial Statue Removed in Boston?

  By

Emancipation MemorialAs part of my series on Confederate monuments I recently examined why the Robert E. Lee statue was removed from statuary hall in the Capitol. Not long after, the Emancipation Memorial featuring Abraham Lincoln was removed from a park in Boston. While not a Confederate monument, the Emancipation Memorial removal opens up a similar question: Why was it removed?

If you haven’t read the previous three post on Confederate monuments, the context begins with “The Rational Case for Removing Confederate Monuments.” Two subsequent posts looked at whether such removal “erases history” and whether “added context” was possible.

The Emancipation Memorial in Boston is a copy of the original statue by sculptor Thomas Ball erected in 1876 in what is now Lincoln Park, Washington, DC. The Lincoln Group of DC was involved in two teach-ins during the summer after the memorial was targeted by protesters hoping to tear it down. The DC statue currently remains in place. Prior to the teach-ins, in June of 2020, the Boston Arts Commission voted to remove the statue and place it in storage until some appropriate location capable of providing relevant context can be found. They agreed to have the statue removed before the end of the year, and that occurred in orderly fashion on December 27, 2020.  The stated reasons were because of “the statue’s role in perpetuating harmful prejudices and obscuring the role of Black Americans in shaping the nation’s freedoms.”

For those not familiar with the statue itself, it was designed to commemorate the emancipation proclamation of Abraham Lincoln that called for enslaved people to be “henceforward and forever free.” An admirable action. So what is the problem?

I wrote about this in a previous post:

One aspect of that history that remains controversial today is the Freedman’s Memorial in Washington, DC. Often referred to as the “Emancipation Memorial” or “Freedom’s Memorial” or even “Lincoln and Emancipation,” the statue by sculptor Thomas Ball was erected in Lincoln Park east of the U.S. Capitol. It depicts Abraham Lincoln standing over an enslaved black man being released from his shackles and beginning the slow rise to equality. The face of the African American man represents that of a real person, Archer Alexander. Frederick Douglass was the keynote speaker at the 1876 dedication, which was also attended by President Ulysses S. Grant. Importantly, the funding of the statue was solely provided by freedmen (and women), with the first $5 donated by former slave Charlotte Scott of Virginia. While they didn’t have a say in the final design, the statue represents the efforts of African Americans to commemorate their emancipation from centuries of forced servitude.

Much of the controversy stems from the positioning of the figures, in particular the apparent subservient position of Archer Alexander. The original concept of Lincoln freeing the slaves and the depiction of now formerly enslaved men to rise seems to have been lost from current understanding. Another problem with today’s interpretation is the tendency to cherry pick from Frederick Douglass’s dedication speech, a wonderful oratory that delved into the complex relationships between Lincoln, Grant, former slaves, and the continuing struggle for equality. As the statue was being dedicated, so too was the Reconstruction period coming to an end. Whereas Reconstruction had guaranteed the rights of African Americans, the Jim Crow era that arose in response sought to destroy those rights. As W.E.B. Dubois said, “the slave went free; stood a brief moment in the sun; then moved back again toward slavery.” Alas, our long history of systemic racism continues to this day.

In addition to being paid for by former enslaved people and dedicated by Frederick Douglass, the statue was turned 180 degrees in the 1970s to present a pairing with the newly erected statue of African American civil rights activist and educator Mary McLeod Bethune. Despite this context, the design elements seem inappropriate to many in the modern era. In fact, new research discovered after the controversy erupted in the summer of 2020 showed that soon after dedicating it, Frederick Douglass opined in a newspaper advertisement that he thought the statue’s design could be improved by adding additional statues, e.g., African American leaders of the time.

Which is why a memorial dedicated to celebrating emancipation from slavery is the subject of reevaluation.

So how does this relate to the ongoing reevaluation of Confederate monuments? The Emancipation Memorial is obviously not a Confederate monument, but it does have design elements that can be interpreted as promoting white supremacy, notwithstanding the original intent. It highlights the issue presented in my original post, “The Rational Case for Removing Confederate Monuments,” in particular that modern interpretation is relevant to the discussion. Of course, also relevant is the context of the original funding and dedication, as well as the event depicted – emancipation from slavery.

The Boston Arts Commission, by whatever process they used, has determined that the statue should be removed from its place of prominence. So far the original statue in Washington, DC remains in place. Who is right? Is either right? That’s not a question that has a solid right or wrong answer. It is important that the Boston statue was removed after public input and removed respectfully and officially rather than by violent mob action or defacement. There is disagreement among historians as to whether the statue should remain. This is in contrast to Confederate monuments where there has been a noticeable shift in thinking toward removal, although not universally so.

All this highlights that a reevaluation of our memorialization history is necessary and appropriate. While the focus was originally on Confederate statues, there has been spillover into non-Confederate statues and school namings such as Lincoln, Grant, Washington, Jefferson, Columbus, and others. Each of these has a different set of issues to be evaluated, from each other and from Confederate statues. I’ll examine that issue more closely in future posts.

Follow me for updates on my Facebook author page and Goodreads.

David J. Kent is an avid science traveler and the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World and two specialty e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

2 Comments

The Year in a Writer’s Life – 2020

  By , ,

David J KentHeck of a year, wasn’t it? I’m sure I’m not alone in admitting that the year in a writer’s life didn’t go exactly as planned. And yet, looking back on what I wrote for 2019, I realize 2020 wasn’t that different, at least as far as the writing part goes. There was, however, one huge difference, which I’ll get to in a minute.

Royalties continue to trickle in for my three previous traditionally published books on Tesla, Edison, and Lincoln. Okay, maybe royalties have fallen to a drip. But my editor sent word in the spring that the Edison book would be coming out in a Chinese-language edition. Those licensing fees and royalties haven’t shown up yet, at least in part because of something called COVID.

Oh, you’ve heard of COVID? Of course you have. The rather unplanned pandemic did what pandemics tend to do, completely mess with everything previously considered normal in the world. Publishing was no exception. With stores closing temporarily in the spring and only partially reopening (and in some cases, reclosing) over the rest of the year, it was a tough time for actual bookstores. Barnes & Noble was already reworking its business model before being hit with guards standing outside the doors metering potential shoppers to a few at a time. Independent bookstores were especially hard hit. That said, Amazon and big box stores that also sell groceries (e.g., Target) had increasing book sales as the year progressed. With people sequestered at home, more people read more books. Like Amazon, publishers also did well as books replaced lost restaurant, movie, and bowling nights. Overall, print sales were up about 8% for the year and some publishers were reporting their best year ever. So I should see those Edison royalties eventually, maybe even in the spring. My two e-books also occasionally send royalties my way.

The writing life itself kept me incredibly busy in 2020. With my travel schedule reduced to zero, I spent more time reading and writing. Here’s some writing highlights:

  • Began a series of posts on whether Confederate monuments should be removed. I’m hoping to turn this into a book.
  • Wrote and delivered three presentations on Zoom (not counting my participation in dozens of additional Zoom meetings). I’ll moderate a panel in two weeks.
  • Three book reviews for the Lincoln Herald, an academic journal.
  • Produced eight book reviews for the Lincolnian, the newsletter of the Lincoln Group of DC.
  • Wrote an article for the Lincolnian on Lincoln’s Long Road to Emancipation.
  • Wrote an article for The Lincoln Forum Bulletin.
  • Had three separate contributions in the “From Our Readers” section of Writer’s Digest magazine.
  • Was interviewed on Facebook Live by filmmaker Annabel Park on Lincoln’s views of the current election.
  • Entered nine writing contests. Of these, seven are still under review (two didn’t win, although for one I received very helpful feedback).
  • Collaborated with Ru on a planned travel book.

And that isn’t even the BIG NEWS!

[For those with good hearing, that’s a drum roll in the background]

On December 31, 2020, the very last day in the year of the corona, I signed a formal contract with a well known publisher, who will publish and distribute my new book on Lincoln’s interest in science and technology. 

This is the culmination of years of research and toil. There’s a long story behind the production of this book, but I finally got around to putting forth a proposal this year. My agent shopped it around and two publishers expressed interest. Negotiations were to be had, and on the final day of 2020 I carefully scrawled my official signature at the bottom of the fifth page of micro-print. That’s just the beginning, of course. My deadline to provide the full manuscript is July 1st, and the projected date of release is February 2022. I’ll provide more details as the project progresses, but suffice to say I’m very happy to be proceeding…and will be exceedingly busy writing for the next several months. I can’t travel anyway so I might as well be writing.

So what is the plan for 2021?

In case you skipped over the big news right above this paragraph, the first six months will be consumed with writing my Lincoln book. I will live and breathe the book during that time.

In my spare moments I’ll continue posting essays related to Confederate monuments with a goal of compiling them into book format at some point. I’ll also squeeze in essays for the travel book collaboration, although realistically that will have to wait until the summer. There are three other book projects that will sit in some level of dormancy until the second half of the year. I’ve cut my intended reading goal from my usual 75 books down to 50 books to free up some time for writing. I’ll also squeeze in some book reviews for the Lincolnian and possibly the Lincoln Herald. In the latter stages of the year I’ll pick up my previous goals of producing articles for journals and magazines, at least part of which will be marketing-related for the new book. Finally, I’ll likely increase my speaking schedule, especially as the book release date gets closer (and into 2022 once it hits stores).

Needless to say, I’ll be spending a lot of time at my computer in 2021.

Happy New Year to all!

Follow me for updates on my Facebook author page and Goodreads.

David J. Kent is an avid science traveler and the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World and two specialty e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.