By Donald H. Harrison
SAN
DIEGO —The presentation two nights ago by the History Channel titled
simply, Lincoln, was fascinating in that it revealed many hidden aspects
of his character, particularly the effects that the tragic deaths of his mother,
girlfriend, and two children may have had in contributing to his melancholia and
thoughts of suicide and how the abusiveness of his father spurred within him a
quest for justice.
As one distinguished author after another was interviewed on Lincoln's
life, I could not help but notice how many of these dozen experts were
Jews. You can pick out their names yourself from the roll call of
historians in the order that they appeared in the 3-hour documentary: Gore
Vidal, Andrew Solomon, Jay Winik, Josh Shenk, Michael Burlingame, Harold Holzer,
Jan Morris, Jennifer Fleischner, Matthew Pinsker, Ted Widmer, Douglas Wilson and
Jean Baker.
Many of us Jews have been drawn to Lincoln—and the ideals he
represented—from the time he became a political figure in the United States,
and remain fascinated by him right through the present. Everybody to some
extent collects Lincoln memorabilia — particularly the kind that come in
rounded copper or in folded green paper. I'm pleased to also have some
books and reproductions of Lincoln sculptures in my collection.
Additionally, our family was very proud when a cousin of my wife Nancy—the
late writer of children's books, Beatrice Schenk de Regnier—presented our
daughter, Sandi, with The Abraham Lincoln Joke Book that she copyrighted
in 1965. Beebee, as we knew her, quoted Lincoln as saying that most of the jokes
credited to him were ones he remembered hearing or reading and liked to
retell. Apparently one such favorites was a riddle that the humorist
Artemis Ward made up for Lincoln's son, Tad:
Ward: Why was Goliath surprised when David hit him with a
stone?
Tad: Why?
Ward: Because such a thing had never entered his head
before.
I couldn't resist picking that one out. It's a
delight to me when people like Abraham Lincoln savor stories from Hebrew
Scriptures, or interact with other aspects of Jewish culture. Even though he was
not one of us Jews, it would have been so nice if he were. The way Lincoln
overcame adversity, his sense of justice, his accomplishment in ending slavery,
even his first name of Abraham—there is so much about him with which we can
identify.
That was why I was not surprised when the History Channel
program delved into the question of whether Lincoln's close relationship
with Joshua Speed, and other incidents in his lifetime when he shared a
bed with men, has prompted some people in the gay community to hope Lincoln was
homosexual. Whoever you are, you feel elevated somehow by association with
this mythic figure.
As for whether Lincoln had homosexual relationships, the experts interviewed by
the History Channel were divided. In the 19th century, beds were scarce,
and it was not at all uncommon for people to share them, sometimes, at
inns, several people at one time. Whereas 21st century minds may think
first in sexual terms, 19th century minds may not have leapt to such
conclusions.
Perhaps
the best-known story about Abraham Lincoln and the Jews concerned his quick
action countermanding General Ulysses S. Grant's infamous General Orders No. 11
which commanded Union Army officers to expel all Jews from the Mississippi
territory based on his suspicion that Jews were engaged in smuggling goods
between Northern and Southern troops.
A Jewish delegation led by Cesar Kaskel of Paducah, Ky., visited Lincoln at the
White House, and pled for the order's repeal. Author Naphtali J. Rubinger
in his book, Abraham Lincoln and the Jews, retells the well-known
story as follows: "When Kaskel finished, Lincoln smiled and said:
'And so the children of Israel were driven from the happy land of Canaan?'
To which Kaskel responded, 'Yes, and that is why we have come unto Father
Abraham's bosom asking protection.' Lincoln thereupon retorted, 'And this
protection they shall have at once."
As with the gays, there are those in the Jewish community
who claim group membership for Lincoln—a claim that Rubinger traced back to
the eulogy for Lincoln given by Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, in which the leader of
Reform Judaism said, "Brethren, the lamented Abraham Lincoln believed
himself to be bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh. He supposed himself to be
a descendant of Hebrew parentage. He said so in my presence."
In his book, copyrighted in 1962, Rubinger commented: "While no historical
evidence has ever been discovered to substantiate this bold assertion, the
available documents do show that in his relationship with the Jewish people of
his day, Lincoln displayed friendship, generosity, charity and
justice." It should be stated for the record, however, that Lincoln's
father and stepmother both were members of the Baptist Church.
Whatever his own religion may have been, Lincoln wanted soldiers in the Union
Army to be able to follow their own religious sensibilities. On September
18, 1862, Lincoln signed the commission of Rabbi Jacob Frankel of Philadelphia
as the U.S. Army's first Jewish chaplain.
When we Jews retell the story around our seder tables this coming week of our
passage from slavery to freedom, we might also remember and honor Abraham
Lincoln, who served as Moses for the African Americans enslaved in the United
States. We might also remember that the April 14, 1865, night on which he
was fatally wounded came during the week of Passover.
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