President Lincoln and the Homestead Act

[David Lockmiller]

(04-22-2020 04:23 PM)Steve Whitlock Wrote:  

(04-21-2020 11:14 PM)David Lockmiller Wrote:  [quote='Amy L.' pid='80785' dateline='1587504620']
But Lincoln’s conception of “everyone” did not include everyone: The Homestead Act rested on the expropriation of Native American lands.

We the People of the United States elected Abraham Lincoln in November 1860. This is what were the expectations of the voters who elected him to be President of the United States.

Of course, the Native Americans had no vote.

Reservations

Where are the reservations
In Germany and Japan?
Have I somehow missed the slaughter
And the parceling of their land?
For, if spoils to the victor
Is not the way when might makes right,
Why are indians the exception
In this day of endless night?
**************************

Just a thought.

You left out the actual voter "expectations" to which I made reference.

According to Doris Kearns Goodwin, a Lincoln historian that I highly respect, the answer is (see my post #1):

Lincoln knew this election would not be determined by a single issue. While opposition to slavery extension had led to the creation of the Republican Party and dominated the national debate, in many places other issues took precedence. In Pennsylvania, the leading iron producer in the nation, and in New Jersey, the desire for a protective tariff was stronger than hostility to slavery. In the West, especially among immigrant groups, multitudes hoped for homestead legislation providing free or cheap land to new settler, many of whom had been hard hit by the Panic of 1857. “Land for the Landless” was the battle cry. And when, in the mist of the campaign, President Buchanan vetoed a mild Homestead Act, many in Indiana and throughout the West turned to Lincoln. All of these issues had been carefully addressed in the Republican Party platform. Had the election been fought on the single issue of slavery, it is likely that Lincoln would have lost.

We the People of the United States elected Abraham Lincoln in November 1860. This is what were the expectations of the voters who elected him to be President of the United States.

How about the Palestinians who are having their native lands expropriated by war and legislation in much the same manner as the American Indians in the first half of the nineteenth century (BEFORE Abraham Lincoln became President)? Now, that's something that the Editorial Board of the New York Times could actually do something about right away, instead of unfairly criticizing President Abraham Lincoln - the man who saved the institution of democracy for the world.

Just another thought.