The Radical and the Republican
Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, and the Triumph of Antislavery
Politics
by James Oakes
Several books study the relationship between Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. Brian Kilmeade’s The President and the Freedom Fighter was published more recently, but since I have not read Kilmeade’s treatment, I am unable to compare them.
The Radical and the Republican is a balanced view of a pair of critically important men in American history. Since Lincoln and Douglass did not meet until nearly two and a half years into Lincoln’s first administration, the majority of the book reports their personal history and views separately, as if they were on parallel tracks toward the same goals. Except the tracks were not parallel. Although you could not prove it by Lincoln’s utterances, I believe their slavery goals were the same, but the strategy and tactics were so wide apart that Douglass doubted that Lincoln was an ally in his cause.
I think the following two quotes from the book succinctly summarize how Lincoln crafted his strategy. The first is from Lincoln and the second is an assessment of his political talent by James Oates.
“With public
sentiment nothing can fail; without it nothing can succeed. Consequently, he
who molds public sentiment, goes deeper than he who enacts statutes or
pronounces decisions. He makes statutes and decisions possible or impossible to
be executed.” Abraham Lincoln
“He was so in
tune with the movement of public opinion that he could calibrate his own moves
with astonishing skill.” James Oats
For those with an interest in the history of American slavery,
The Radical and the Republican tells the story of how these two men overcame
the huge obstacles that stood in the way of emancipation. Even when they weren't in partnership, they were partners. Partners who eventually became fast friends.
