Saturday, June 19, 2010
Key Historical Figures (BCOF)
In reading the BCOF I am reminded of the importance of certain key historical figures and the impact that they have upon events. Often times the actions they take are important, but also the symbolic nature of what they themselves represent is just as important. Two figures come to mind with these characteristics John Brown and Abraham Lincoln. Each took concrete actions one more radical and the other moderate to begin with, who sort of evolved or grew into his position. John Brown's actions appear to have narrowed the focus of the slavery debate and Lincoln represented a commitment to stop slavery's expansion and preserve or maintain the Union. Lincoln's election and re-election demonstrate that the country was committed to the goals that he espoused. When I read Team of Rivals two summers my family accused me of having a "man crush" upon President Lincoln. His greatness as a person who rose from relative obscurity to lead the country through its darkest hour is truly remarkable. Again the symbolic nature of certain figures is a large part of the historical story.
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I found this interesting in BCOF also. I was more intrigued the differences between Abe Lincoln and Jefferson Davis.
ReplyDeleteI have also been very fascinated with President Lincoln. I haven't spent much time studying him, but plan to continue in the future. I'll have to read Team of Rivals, I hadn't heard of that. In BCOF I have been constantly impressed with his father like attributes. I loved the letters he often sent to his military commanders to get them to step up and do their job. In particular, I especially liked the letter he wrote to Hooker on Page 585 of the book. The end of the letter really gives in site to his wisdom and humor. As he seems to tell hooker to keep quiet and get the job done. I'll quote, "The hen is the wisest of all the animal creation because she never cackles until the egg is laid."
ReplyDeleteReading about Abraham Lincoln has always been fun for me. I think that his very profession, that of a lawyer, says something about him. He was a defense lawyer who spent 11 months on the road defending the "underdog". There are some very interesting stories about him during this period as well. I often wonder if his penchant toward helping those he felt were wrongly accused may shed some light on why he was so adament that the union do away with slavery. Also interesting to me is that before Lincoln, the United State was referred to as "these" United States of America. Under Lincoln, we became "The United States of America." We became one nation.
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