"A Single-Handed Symbol Of White Supremacy": Wisconsin Students Demand Removal Of Statue Of Abraham Lincoln
By: JONATHAN TURLEY
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
We have been discussing the wanton destruction of public memorial and statues across the country, including baffling attacks on abolitionists and those who fought against slavery. One of the most incongruous targets has been Abraham Lincoln in various cities. Now, students at the University of Wisconsin, including the Black Student Union and the Student Inclusion Coalition, have demanded the removal of Lincoln's statue as 'a single-handed symbol of white supremacy." The signer of the Emancipation Proclamation, the vocal advocate for the 13th Amendment, and the man assassinated for his war against the South and slavery.
The students want the prominent statue on Bascom Hill removed.
This is not the first time Lincoln has faced the ire of some in Wisconsin. When Lincoln called the nation to war against the South, many in Wisconsin did not support the cause and rioted against Lincoln. Ultimately, however, Wisconsin sent multiple regiments who fought valiantly in the War and sacrificed much to defeat both the South and slavery.
Wisconsin has also been the scene of mob destruction of statues including that of Civil War abolitionist Hans Christian Heg and another of a female figure representing the state's "Forward" motto. When Democratic Sen. Tim Carpenter took a picture of the protesters, he was attacked and required surgery for his injuries.
State Sen. Tim Carpenter posted a video showing demonstrators rushing toward him during Tuesday night's demonstrations. (Screenshot via Twitter)(Screenshot via Twitter)
Administrators and faculty have been largely silent in the face of the destruction of statues including the toppling of George Washington's bust on our own campus at George Washington University. There is a palpable sense of fear that objections to such destruction will bring accusations of racism or campaigns to remove faculty. We have already seen journalists and academics face such campaigns.
To the credit of these students, they are seeking such changes through dialogue and mutual agreement with the university. Indeed, the effort allows for a discussion of not just the great deeds but the great wrongs revealed in such historical legacies.
Students point out that Lincoln ordered the execution of 38 Dakota men and signed the Homestead Act, which gave settlers land forcibly taken from Native Americans.
Black Student Union president Nalah McWhorter declared "For him to be at the top of Bascom [Hill] as a powerful placement on our campus, it's a single-handed symbol of white supremacy."
The Dakota executions have long been controversial. The Sioux or Dakota uprising occurred not long after Minnesota became a state and involved the death of hundreds of settlers. The Army crushed the Sioux and captured hundreds. A military tribunal sentenced 303 to death for alleged crimes against civilians and other crimes. The trial itself was a farce with no real representation or reliable evidence. Lincoln reviewed the transcripts of the 303 and told the Senate:
"Anxious to not act with so much clemency as to encourage another outbreak on one hand, nor with so much severity as to be real cruelty on the other, I ordered a careful examination of the records of the trials to be made, in view of first ordering the execution of such as had been proved guilty of violating females."
However, only two men were found guilty of rape and Lincoln later expanded the criteria to include those who participated in "massacres" of civilians as opposed to battles with the Army.
Lincoln however commuted the sentence of 264 of the 303 convicted.
Having a statue to a leader like Lincoln is not an endorsement of his entire legacy. I have heavily criticized Lincoln for the unconstitutional suspension of habeas corpus and the loss of free speech rights as well as other decisions. We learn from such public memorials, which can be augmented with a more full historical context and criticism. However, to say that Lincoln is a symbol of white supremacy ignores his pivotal role in fighting slavery, a cause for which he would ultimately give his own life.
Who is online
92 visitors