Lincoln and the Negro

by Benjamin Arthur Quarles

First published in 1962, Lincoln and the Negro was the first book to examine in detail how Lincoln faced the problem of the status of black people in American democracy, and it remains unsurpassed. Starting with Lincoln’s childhood attitudes, Benjamin Quarles traces the development of Lincoln’s thought in relation to the African American, a development which was to culminate in the Emancipation Proclamation. Concerned at first with methods of colonization outside the United States, Lincoln came later to advocate not only emancipation of the slaves, but also equal political rights for them. In addition, he was the first president to invite black Americans to the White House and to treat them as equals. Black attitudes towards Lincoln evolved almost as much Lincoln’s own attitude. When he was first elected, blacks expected very little from Lincoln. But he slowly gained their respect—by recognition of individual African Americans, by placing them in the Union Army, and ultimately by the Emancipation Proclamation. His assassination served to enshrine him as a hero for the newly freed slaves. Lincoln and the Negro, in examining both sides of the relationship, is a vitally important contribution to our understanding of Abraham Lincoln and of American democracy itself.

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1962

About the author

Quarles was born in Boston, Massachusetts. His father was a subway porter. He married twice, first to Vera Bullock Quarles, who died in 1951, and second to Ruth Brett Quarles. He had two daughters, Pamela and Roberta.

In his Twenties, Quarles enrolled at Shaw University and received his B.A. degree in 1931, M.A. degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1933, and Ph.D. in 1940. He worked as an instructor of history at Shaw University, Raleigh, North Carolina (1935–39), a professor and dean at Dillard University, New Orleans, Louisiana (1939–1953), and a professor of history and chair of department at Morgan State University, Baltimore, Maryland (1953–1974). At Morgan, Quarles reached near legendary status as the long-time head of the History Department, a revered teacher and counselor, an intellectual and professional mentor for two generations of African American scholars. Many of his books were required reading in the African American history courses that sprang up in eastern American Universities during the 1960s.

He was an active member of many political and historical organizations such as Project Advisory Committee on Black Congress Members, Department of the Army Historical Advisory Committee, and American Council of Learned Societies. He was one of the few men in the profession who openly supported the founding of the Association of Black Women Historians.

Quarles died of a heart attack at age of 92. In 1988 Morgan State University dedicated The Benjamin A. Quarles African-American Studies Room in the school library as a repository for his books, manuscripts, and memorabilia.

Reviews

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very readable style, though dated. Astounding to read how Lincoln persistently promoted deporting African Americans en masse to colonies in the Caribbean or South America as a way of solving the freed slave "issue."

[Thomas Rush · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an older book on Lincoln, it is almost serendipitous. It is a bluntly honest account, and by that I mean that it does not “beat around the bush.”In this regard, the book is refreshing. It lays out a complex, sophisticated and perspicacious argument, making it clear where the author is coming from. The thesis is nuanced and subtle, and to my thinking, quite accurate. In trying to give one a clear picture of Lincoln's “take” on Black Americans during The Civil War, this may well be one of the most honest and useful books to have ever been written. It's a solid piece of scholarship and argumentation and the research bears out everything that is put forth within it. I'd recommend this book to anyone who truly takes The Civil War seriously.