The Crossroads of Pop Culture and Abraham Lincoln
Elected when the country was on the verge of a civil war, Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, is today known as the “Great Emancipator” who freed all the slaves in the United States. Now, popular culture and media shapes our perceptions of people and can affect what we know about those people. Due to the tremendous changes to the United States which occurred during and after Lincoln’s presidential period, and the characteristics of him, Lincoln is honored as one of the best presidents the United States has ever had. Over the past five years, pop culture has elevated perceptions of Abraham Lincoln past his real historical achievements. President Abraham Lincoln is portrayed in an unrealistic fashion that fuels the perceptions of Lincoln wishing for the end of slavery in the south and him seeing African Americans as equals, and for issuing the Emancipation Proclamation to benefit those enslaved. Lincoln is often seen as an “American [intellectual] who could be, and [was], reduced to symbols of American civic piety at a moment when civic piety was much in demand” (Johnson, 56).
In the past five years, three movies about Abraham Lincoln were released, Lincoln (2012) directed by Stephen Spielberg, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012) directed by Timur Bekmambetov, and Killing Lincoln (2013 TV Movie) directed by Adrian Moat. As the most popular of the three, Lincoln generated over $275 million worldwide (boxofficemojo), and in the 2012, the film was nominated for 12 Academy Awards and won two. Willem Hesling, from the Institute of Media Studies at the University of Leuven, states “though hard to quantify, [aesthetic] qualities can certainly boost the persuasiveness of the historical image” (Hesling, 507) thus causing movie goers to believe Lincoln as an accurate depiction of the American Civil War. Hesling described how the film used all the clichés associated with Lincoln’s presidency (Hesling, 507). Abraham Lincoln was not an all-powerful politician who chose right in the face of evil.
Lincoln gives the impression to the audience that Abraham Lincoln was kind to African Americans and treated them like people. Rachel D. Hutchins from the University Nancy found, “traditionally, Lincoln has often been represented as
embodying five primary roles and archetypes. . . [savior] of the Union, great emancipator, man of the people, first (frontier) American and self-made man” which may contribute to why children and adults view Lincoln in this fashion. Not surprisingly, when one searches “Abraham Lincoln” on YouTube, many kids read aloud books and cartoon videos appear which also promote the archetypes. One video, “I am Abraham Lincoln | Children's Books Read Aloud,” explains how Lincoln had to stand up to the south in the face of injustice. However, history shows that Abraham Lincoln had a complex relationship with the ideas of equality.
Abraham Lincoln was elected as President of the United States in November of 1860 after a difficult campaign which he ran against three other candidates. Shortly after Lincoln was elected, South Carolina seceded from the United States of America, and by Lincoln’s inauguration, six other southern states had followed suit (Finkelman, 63). During Lincoln’s presidential campaign, though, he had made clear that he did not intend to end slavery in the southern states; he
insisted that slavery ought to be upheld in the states it already existed (Danoff, 48). Lincoln believed the founders of the Constitution to also be against the institution of slavery, but they relinquished the abolition of slavery in order to appease southern states where slavery had long been in place (Danoff, 47). Instead, “at most, Lincoln could hope to stop the spread of slavery to the western territories and prevent the admission of any new slave states” (Finkelman, 79). During the Civil War, “he was prepared to sacrifice any and all ethical views on slavery to achieve a political compromise” (Hesling, 510) with the Confederacy. Furthermore, when the United States government began to move towards adding the 13th Amendment, “Lincoln is not moved to pass the amendment because of the pathos he feels for the plight of African Americans or in some visceral response to the horrors of slavery. He is committed to the project of equality on intellectual grounds” (Landsberg, 486). The popular idea that Abraham Lincoln was a great abolitionist who worked for the freedom of slaves in order for the equality of African Americans is not necessarily true and popular culture should reflect this truth.
Due to popular culture around Abraham Lincoln, one of his most well-known addresses is the Emancipation Proclamation which many people interpret as an act which freed the slaves throughout the United States of America and the rebellious states in the south. Lincoln’s public ideas of the policy due give the impression that he issued the Proclamation to save those enslaved, but privately, he doubted the actual legal authority he had to issue such a policy. “The ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment substantially mooted the need to determine the Proclamation's constitutionality,” (Chambers, 100) but as a society, people should still care if Lincoln was issuing with Constitutional authority if the issue rises again. Abraham Lincoln’s thoughts about the Emancipation were different from the ideas of today’s popular culture around him.
The preliminary Emancipation Proclamation was issued on September 22, 1862 and would take place on January 1, 1863. However, while many people had believed Abraham Lincoln to have wanted to issue to policy from the beginning of his presidency, “he conceived that policy as an instrument for the restoration of the Union” (Schwartz, 591) instead of a necessity to restore the Union. The policy was meant to arouse the spirits of those in the Union actually fighting for the end of slavery, to help the war effort. Henry Chambers Jr, a professor of law at the University of Richmond, said, “not only was the Emancipation Proclamation calculated to help the war effort, it did,” but it also sparked backlash from others who were not particularly interested in fighting for the rights of African Americans. Abraham Lincoln was also skilled in the art of persuasion with words from his time as a lawyer (Loudenslanger, 522). Lincoln had a General give a speech to tell the Union that they were fighting for the Union, not African Americans (Schwartz). Similarly, the Proclamation was used to undermine the Confederate army and the nation (Gates). “The proclamation didn’t really do anything. The Confederate states did not think they had to obey, because they no longer considered the US government as having any power over them,” (Gates). Lincoln avoided European intervention in the war in order to prevent the Confederacy being recognized as a nation (Poast, 503) which would make the American Civil War more like a regular war.
Lincoln and popular conceptions of the Emancipation Proclamation give audiences a proposition that the policy freed all the slaves in the United States. A YouTube video aimed to teach children about Abraham Lincoln says, “[Lincoln] declared all slaves are free,” and later, “He made us all free and saved our country,” (Stories and Tales). The Emancipation Proclamation only freed slaves in rebellious states though, and the policy exempted four states in the Union which had
not outlawed slavery as well as two regions, what is now West Virginia and a part of Louisiana (ushistory). At most, the Emancipation Proclamation could undermine the Confederacy if the slaves revolted, but the Confederate soldiers were not aware of the Proclamation nor were they inclined to tell their slaves about it (Gates).
Abraham Lincoln is misrepresented and elevated repeatedly in popular culture due in part to the misleading events of his public life as president of the United States. Since most information the public sees is purported after years of writing about Lincoln, the life of Abraham Lincoln most Americans discuss defies the events that actually occurred during the Civil War. Lincoln did not have a nice relationship with African Americans, and he fought against the spread of slavery rather than the abolishment of slavery. Lincoln did not believe in the equality of whites and African Americans, rather he did find them inferior and logically slavery did not make sense to him. “Abraham Lincoln, and most of his contemporaries, did not actually
believe in the equality of blacks, even people who considered themselves abolitionists,” (Gates). The much celebrated Emancipation Proclamation did not necessarily free any slaves; it allowed slavery to stay in place of Union states in order to keep those states from also seceding and joining the Confederacy.
The writers more than likely realized they were producing some false perceptions when cultivating information on Abraham Lincoln’s personal life (Hesling, 507), but they chose to stick to the clichés which people already “know” about Lincoln instead. Even though the feeling of Lincoln living up to today’s standards sounds heroic and what we view as American, these assumptions about Lincoln are largely untrue. Many children’s books and YouTube videos portray the clichés about Lincoln. These videos spare the children watching them from the historical facts. The Confederacy, and its citizens, are portrayed nearly evil for leaving the Union. Odd enough, a search for “Abraham Lincoln” turns up mostly the cliché Lincoln, but “American Civil War” will display documentaries.
The latter does not show videos aimed at children, besides “American Civil War in 10 Minutes” which had the most information for children, devoid of most clichés. However, Allyson Gates, a graduate student who studies modern United States history says, “people remember what they want, and use it to suit their own purposes, regardless of reality,” and this is a contribution to the way Lincoln is portrayed in today’s culture.
The true facts of Abraham Lincoln derail far from what pop culture portrays him as. Popular culture and media should portray Abraham Lincoln accurately because history which is presented factual can make historical figures real people. There are no doubts whether the work of Lincoln overall created a good, but, factually, Lincoln did not choose to do good for the right reasons. If the movie directors and novel writers did portray Lincoln as such, the American culture might understand that even the greatest of presidents made mistakes. Popular culture ultimately portrays Abraham Lincoln as a hero since all the facts might not be presented. The elevated portrayal beyond his real work achievements creates a false image of him which can last generations. Lincoln, YouTube videos for children, novels and more have put Abraham Lincoln on a pedestal far greater than Lincoln’s honest life.
Reflection
Works Cited
“Biography The Story of Abraham Lincoln for Kids: story of the American president for children.” Youtube, uploaded by Stories and Tales, 9 February 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=pb5aFH6Nyuo.
Chambers Jr, Henry,L. "Lincoln, the Emancipation Proclamation, and Executive Power." Maryland Law Review 73.1 (2013): 100-32. Print.
Danoff, Brian. "Lincoln and the Necessity of Tolerating Slavery before the Civil War." Review of Politics 77.1 (2015): 47-71. Print.
Finkelman, Paul. "Lincoln V. the Proslavery Constitution: How a Railroad Lawyer's Constitutional Theory made Him the Great Emancipator." St.Mary's Law Journal 47.2 (2015): 63-134. Print.
Gates, Allyson. “RE: Interview Questions.” Received by Danielle Otey, 7-8 March 2017.
Hesling, Willem. "Lincoln: A Man for Too Many Seasons?" Rethinking History 19.3 (2015): 506-11. Print.
Hutchins, Rachel D. "Heroes and the Renegotiation of National Identity in American History Textbooks: Representations of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, 1982-2003." Nations & Nationalism 17.3 (2011): 649-68. Print.
Johnson, Benjamin. "Marianne Moore's "Abraham Lincoln and the Art of the Word": Poetry, Celebrity, and Civil Religion." Texas Studies in Literature & Language 57.1 (2015): 53-79. Print.
Landsberg, Alison. "This Isn't Usual, Mr. Pendleton, this is History: Spielberg's Lincoln and the Production of Historical Knowledge." Rethinking History 19.3 (2015): 482-92. Print.
Loudenslager, Michael W. "What we can Learn about the Art of Persuasion from Candidate Abraham Lincoln: A Rhetorical Analysis of the Three Speeches that Propelled Lincoln into the Presidency." Mercer Law Review 64.2 (2013): 521-72. Print.
Poast, Paul. "Lincoln's Gamble: Fear of Intervention and the Onset of the American Civil War." Security Studies 24.3 (2015): 502-27. Print.
Schwartz, Barry. "The Emancipation Proclamation: Lincoln's Many Second Thoughts." Society 52.6 (2015): 590-603. Print.
www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=lincoln.htm
This project was probably one of the most interesting papers I have ever worked on. At first, I struggled with my research question which I had to change. Then I had to change my research I had done to find new research on Abraham Lincoln. I struggled to get up to the word count for both the first and third draft because I felt I could not find a place to add more. With the first draft I focused on the historical aspects too much, but after my conference I found it much easier to tie in pop culture aspects. I enjoyed seeing the read aloud kids books on Youtube because they fit perfectly with the cliches I knew are in popular culture. It was difficult to discuss popular culture with Lincoln at first because, for the most part, I do not care for historical films. However, I do know that other people who see those films have their perceptions influenced by what they see. I enjoyed talking to my interviewer about her thoughts on my topic because she was incredibly resourceful for facts on Lincoln. I found it easiest with this to write what I know, and then I went back to reference my information and incorporate quotes. The most difficult part was the intial research because I was looking for such specific information about Lincoln. The research for pop culture was difficult because, too my surprise, there were no good memes about Lincoln like I wanted. During the process of writing the paper though, I was able to develop a new opinion about Lincoln and how I feel about his presidency. This project will be helpful in my future because I will know more about Lincoln's presidency for when I a teacher, and I can tell students the truth about him. Also, I was humbly reminded that even the greatest politicians, more than likely, made mistakes during their time.