Lincoln's Declaration: How He Interpreted--and Defended--our Founding Document

In honor of its 250th Anniversary, John Schilb, Culbertson Chair and Professor Emeritus of English, will analyze Abraham Lincoln’s rhetoric regarding the Declaration of Independence. Many of Lincoln's opponents (e.g., Stephen Douglas and Jefferson Davis) either ridiculed the Declaration's claim that "all men are created equal" or believed that it applied just to whites. Lincoln maintained that "all" really did mean everyone. Only gradually, however, was he willing to consider Black people his social peers. Statements that he made during his debates with Douglas reflect this complex attitude. And even the Gettysburg Address does not assume that the Declaration's message has a future. Indeed, that speech called the Declaration's claim about equality a "proposition" to be tested. That is, Lincoln saw American democracy as something that might not endure. Its fate still seems in question, so his take on the Declaration remains timely.

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