Busy people will get things done. We knew we were in for it. He has to be the busiest young scholar in the field today. Hes not only a prolific historian, but more projects on more back burners on the stove than i have ever seen for. A dedicated a dedicated educator he won the 2019 outstanding educator award. I do not know where he finds the time. He has been very generous with what remaining time he has. We are all very grateful. As you can see from your printed programs, the topics of his published works are many and varied with something of a focus on Abraham Lincoln and constitutional history as well. And because he lives in newport news, virginia and had a few extra minutes on his hands, he and Anna Holloway wrote our little monitor the greatest invention of the civil war. I have asked him to speak in a topic that is not even on the printed program, a topic that draws from two other manuscripts he is currently working on today. Ladies and gentlemen, jonathan white. [applause] prof. White thank you for that kind introduction. I missed ballet practice to be here today. Not my own ballet, i should say. My threeyearold. But i am thrilled to be here at the library of virginia. Its the middle of the civil war, early 1863. Elizabeth shorter, a black teenager is living in the capitol and working as a servant for a shoemaker named frank prewitt. One night lizzie went to bed and it was dark and she laid down on the couch and all of a sudden she heard someone come in next to her. She asked, who was there and he said, liz, it is me, frank. I want to get into bed with you. I dont want you to tell lib. Liz said she was tired and told him to get away. He put his hands around her neck and slept with her to rid this happened on several occasions. She became pregnant. He asked if the baby was his and she confirmed it was. The baby was born in april of 1863. Frank told lucy that he wanted her to take the child and get out of his home. She said she would leave if he gave her a natural support. He refused. She decided to confront him in front of his wife. The next morning, a sunday, lizzie packed up her belongings, just her baby and knocked at the bedroom door. Frank stayed in bed, well his wife got out of bed and and while his wife got out of bed in answer the door. Lizzie turned to frank and said, look at me. Look at the baby. Remember what you have done to me. He, sitting in bed, said, well . She said, i will disgrace you if he did not supply financial support. At this, prewitt became angry and turned to his wife and said, do you believe that black . And she replied, yes, i do. You have acted like you were afraid of liz. At that, he jumped out of bed, grabbed a revolver and said i never intended to die a natural death. His wife grabbed the revolver and said, frank, the murderer of my child. He choked lizzie and threatened for her to get out of his house. Lizzie hurried away. She returned later in the day to get her trunk and when she went back to the house, mrs. Pruitt gave her money. The next morning, she went to find a local judge and wanted to file a complaint. She went to another judge. Unfortunately when prewitt found out, he decided to act and he had lizzie arrested for grand larceny and he claimed the wife does the money his wife had given to her had been stolen. She spent the rest of the week in jail and was finally released on ale. Released on bail. Lizzie testified and told her story. Prior to the civil war African Americans were not allowed to testify against whites in state or federal court. The war changed that. The judge decided to acquit prewitt. Some time again when this trial took place, her baby died. Lizzie went to trial herself. It would have been her babys first birthday. She was convicted and sentenced. She sent a letter to Abraham Lincoln. She was not able to write it herself. She said, i must solemnly declare i am guilty of no crime. She said that she became guilty of having his child. She implored lincoln for mercy, saying the money i am charged with stealing was given to me on the condition i would say nothing between the connection between myself and mr. Pruitt. At the end of the letter she marked her name with an x. As lincoln sat in his Office Reviewing her case file, many thoughts flashed through his mind. His own genealogy head striking similarities. He believed his own mothers conception was the result of a wealthy planter taking advantage of a poor young girl and lincolns law partner said this was a painful memory for lincoln. He had concerns over Society Double standards when it came to premarital sex. He thought it was unjust that women received more blame the men. He wrote a poem in the 1830s and here are a few lines. Whatever spiteful fools may say, each jealous, ranting yelp or, no woman ever played the core , unless she had a man to help her. That one is not on the lincoln memorial. [laughter] prof. White prewitts exploitation of elizabeth shorter clearly preyed on lincolns sense of justice. He issued a pardon before she could even be sent to new york and this is what he wrote on the back of the letter. Elizabeth shorters case is probably the fastest pardon he ever issued. She was convicted on november 3, wrote the letter on november 4, and he pardoned or on november 5. All more remarkable, the timing. The story of elizabeth shorter is an important one. It confirms lincolns belief that all people deserved a fair hearing. He knew that elizabeth shorter had been wronged. When dealing with pardons in cases like this, he acted on principles of equality regardless of race, sex, or previous condition of servitude. Recently the New York Times project 1819 has gotten a lot of attention. They did a Wonderful Service in reminding us of the centrality of the american story, but it introduces distortions of its own. The project presents an incomplete and misleading portrait of lincoln and part of this has to do with the lack of historical context. Part of the evidence is the meeting that lincoln had with a black delegation in 1862 in which he sought to persuade five black leaders to lead africanamericans out of the country to central america. Its an unfortunate moment. We find lincoln lecturing in a very unfortunate way condescending way. Taken at face value, its quite pathetic. That in the context of the time it makes more sense. Lincoln brought a stenographer to the meeting because he wanted his words to be written down and spread throughout the newspapers. He wanted white americans to read his speech for an important political reason. He decided to issue in emancipation proclamation but he knew a white, racist northern populace would not be likely to accept it. So he had to prepare them for it and this is part of how he chose to do that. On one hand, this was a remarkable moment that represented a great step forward in american race relations. It was the first time in history a sitting president had invited africanamericans to the white house for a meeting. On the other hand it was a pr stunt and tremendously condescending toward africanamericans, so much so it had negative impacts on black northerners throughout the north. Lincoln was a masterful politician. He did this as an entering wedge so he could introduce something bigger and better in the near future. The emancipation proclamation. William lloyd garrisons newspaper called the spectacle as humiliating as it was extraordinary. Was this meeting typical of interactions with africanamericans . Should it be held out as exemplary of his behavior. Lincoln began engaging in a way no other president ever had. He traveled to the volunteers. They said, kill the brother of lincoln. As one of his comrades wrote in a diary, he had his head cut open to the bone. The pennsylvania soldiers eventually made it. Biddle laid in pain, a pool of blood staining the floor where he slept that night. He took each manned by the hand, including nicholas he took each manned by the hand, including nicholas biddle. He said his pain was mixed with pleasure at the capitol because it was his privileged to be visited by abram lincoln, to be Abraham Lincoln, to be taken by the hand and received by the president with words of cheer. Until the day he died, he never tired of telling people about what he called the supreme hours of his life, the time that he was wounded in baltimore and met Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln welcomed his first black guest to the white house in 1861 1862. Bishop payne. They had a long conversation, about 45 minutes, in lincolns office. He wrote about it. He said there was nothing stiff or formal in the air or manner of his excellency. President lincoln conversed with me as if i had been one of his intimate acquaintances. I was left with a profound sense of his real greatness and his fitness to rule and nation composed of all the races on the globe a nation composed of all the races on the globe. He was introduced to he was introduced to three black cooks. At least one of the three cooks was a former slave. Lincoln greeted the three africanamericans in the kindly tone. How do you do, lucy he said to the first . Lincoln stuck out his long hand in recognition of her services. Next he turned to the two black men and asked them, how do you do . When the president left the room, the three black cooks stood there and the nurse said, they had shining faces that testify to their joy. Then she began to look around the room and noticed how the white officers convalescing reacted. She said that they expressed in tents discussed intense disgust and said it was a mean and contemptible trick to introduce those dam nwords to the president. The president paid their racist comments no mind. He was grateful to them for their service to the nation and did not alter his behavior toward them some simply because white soldiers were looking on in disbelief. Throughout his time at the white house he welcomed several black visitors. Some were famous like Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth. Most are completely forgotten today. When lincoln met with these visitors, whether they were famous or not, he always shook their hands and almost invariably initiated that human contact. For lincoln shaking hands was a tiresome chore because he had to do it all day, every day. Tiresome sure. He always warmly, kindly, eagerly, repeatedly grasped their hands. This small gesture should not be discounted because it carried not only great meaning for his black visitors but for white americans who read about these encounters in the newspaper. As two historians write, white performers displayed racially prejudiced views and treated blacks with paternalistic disrespect. The white abolitionists refused to shake the hands of the black abolitionists and this continued in the postwar period, when the reformers showed racial prejudice. Cooper was tournaments of a net and the black delegation goes up to him and he showed great disdain towards them for thinking they ought to be able to shake his hands. Not so with Abraham Lincoln. His hospitality toward africanamericans was well known during his presidency. Nurse Mary Livermore this. She said that he bent in special kindness. Another white washingtonian said the hearts of Abraham Lincoln prompted him to receive representatives of every fighting class. He was not above shaking black hands. Africanamericans exhibited great pride in being able to shake Abraham Lincolns hand. Some believed it had near talismanic power. Mary lincoln gave gifts to prominent africanamericans like Frederick Douglass and seamstress kecklee. They cherished these gifts. As Sojourner Truth explained, it was the same hand that signed the death warrant of slavery. Even in 1913, the black poet James Weldon Johnson celebrated the 50th anniversary of the emancipation proclamation with these words since god through lincolns ready hand struck off our bonds and made us men. In january 1864, four black men decided to push the boundaries and attend a new years reception at the white house, the first time black men would go to the white house in a social way, not as a servant or a slave. People who observed the scene noted that lincoln greeted them in a kindly way, not treating them any different than the white visitors. A month and a half later, the black Army Surgeons tried to do the same thing. Augusta had overcome tremendous racial violence in his life. He was born in norfolk, virginia in 1825. His family moved to baltimore. I dont know exactly why but i think it was probably in the aftermath of nat turneris rebellion. He wanted to attend Jefferson Medical College but was not admitted because of his race. He moved to toronto. In january 1863, he sent a letter to Abraham Lincoln. He was still in canada. He wanted lincoln to know he wanted to serve the nation and his race as a surgeon. He faced intense discrimination in the application process. He traveled from toronto to washington, d. C. In march of 1863 and he was examined by this guy on the left, dr. Meredith clymer. Dr. Clymer expressed, and these are his words, surprise that augusta appeared to be a person of african descent. He explained, i have come near 1000 miles at great expense and sacrifice hoping to be of some use to my country and my race and hope the board will make a favorable view of my case. But the board was unmoved. Dr. Clymer and the Surgeon General both wanted the War Department to recall his invitation to appear. The secretary of war stepped in and refuse to give in to their raciallymotivated request april 1, a gust of past the board examination. He became the first africanamerican to receive accommodation. He went to the examining decision. He said, the fact is he knew more than i did and i could not help myself. Once in uniform, augusta faced awful racial violence and discrimination. He was viciously attacked by a mob. He went to the Supreme Court to watch oral arguments and he was not allowed to go in and watch. Augustine would not allow any of this to stop them. He and his friends approached the white house for a reception. They met Benjamin Brown french and they presented french with their cards. French conducted us with all of the urbanity and manageable to the president. French introduced agusta president lincoln. He advanced a few paces forward and grasped his hands. Six paces away, Mary Todd Lincoln was standing, talking to her son robert. And she sent him over to the president was Still Holding his hand and he comes over and says are you going to allow this innovation . Lincoln turns to his son and says, why why not . At that, lincoln turned back to augusta and this is andersons abbotts words. People who witnessed the scene were amazed by what they saw. He said, i shall never forget the sensation of seeing to tall and well dressed africanamericans. Lincoln nevertheless received them with marked kindness, and they went on their way with great self possession. Another witness to the scene said, no visitor could say that mr. Lincoln considered them black. They were greeted with the same freedom and cordiality he bestowed upon white men. Lincoln treated the affair as an ordinary currents. Augusta would go on to become the highestranking black commissioned officer of the civil war. He had another he had other impressive firsts in american history. He was the first africanamerican to run a hospital in the United States. He joined the faculty at howard university. The following year he received an honorary degree, becoming the first black man to receive such an honor. Even in death, he had a primary request the first black officer to be buried at Arlington National cemetery when he died in 1890. I know the state legislature and the Richmond City council are talking about what to do with monument avenue and i would suggest creating a monument to alexander agusta. He was from norfolk. I think it would be a compelling story if you place him next to lee, stewart, and davis. It would tell a much more complete story of the commonwealth during the civil war. Lincoln met with several groups of black religious leaders and they asked for permission to hold picnics on the white house grounds and in each case, lincoln gave permission. The incredible nature of these events is captured by how the democratic press responded. Democrats responded that white groups had never been given permission to use the white house grounds for a picnic. Why have lincoln given permission to black groups . They lamented that with negro officers, now the negro race is looking up or rather looking down on the white race. A pennsylvania newspaper sneered at lincoln for his treatment of African Americans. The newspaper was ironically called the star of the north, from bloomsburg, pennsylvania. This is what the editors wrote. When did we ever have a president who made so much of the negro as Abraham Lincoln does . Mr. Lincoln is emphatically the black manas president and the white mans curse. I love that line. Emphatically the black mans president. In 1865 at cooper union in new york, Frederick Douglass would deliver a eulogy to Abraham Lincoln and would call lincoln the black mans president. In september 1864, black ministers from baltimore brought an expensive bible to lincoln out of gratitude for all he had done for africanamericans. I went to see the bible at Fisk University in nashville, and took a picture of the medallion on the front cover. The following month, Sojourner Truth came to the white house. Lincoln showed her the bible. Upon seeing the book, truth said, this is beautiful, and to think colored people have given this to the head of the government, and to think the government once section laws do not permit its people to learn enough to read what is in this book. As truth rose to