Abraham Lincoln, Kentucky African Americans and the Constitution
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Abraham Lincoln, Kentucky African Americans and the Constitution Kentucky African American Heritage Commission Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Collection of Essays Abraham Lincoln, Kentucky African Americans and the Constitution Kentucky African American Heritage Commission Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Collection of Essays Kentucky Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission Kentucky Heritage Council © Essays compiled by Alicestyne Turley, Director Underground Railroad Research Institute University of Louisville, Department of Pan African Studies for the Kentucky African American Heritage Commission, Frankfort, KY February 2010 Series Sponsors: Kentucky African American Heritage Commission Kentucky Historical Society Kentucky Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission Kentucky Heritage Council Underground Railroad Research Institute Kentucky State Parks Centre College Georgetown College Lincoln Memorial University University of Louisville Department of Pan African Studies Kentucky Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission The Kentucky Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission (KALBC) was established by executive order in 2004 to organize and coordinate the state's commemorative activities in celebration of the 200th anniversary of the birth of President Abraham Lincoln. Its mission is to ensure that Lincoln's Kentucky story is an essential part of the national celebration, emphasizing Kentucky's contribution to his thoughts and ideals. The Commission also serves as coordinator of statewide efforts to convey Lincoln's Kentucky story and his legacy of freedom, democracy, and equal opportunity for all. Kentucky African American Heritage Commission [Enabling legislation KRS. 171.800] It is the mission of the Kentucky African American Heritage Commission to identify and promote awareness of significant African American history and influence upon the history and culture of Kentucky and to support and encourage the preservation of Kentucky African American heritage and historic sites. The Commission operates with nineteen members appointed by the Governor and includes representatives from the state‘s major universities, state agencies, community preservation organizations and interested citizens. The Commission is administratively attached to the Kentucky Heritage Council, with the council providing assistance and program oversight. The Kentucky Heritage Council / State Historic Preservation Office sponsor of the Kentucky African American Heritage Commission are both dedicated to preserving buildings and places important to the history of Kentucky African Americans. Kentucky offers an array of sites that tell the story of slavery, the Underground Railroad, Civil War, education, and civil rights. Many architecturally significant buildings and museums preserve and promote local African American heritage. The Heritage Council has also worked in partnership with organizations across the state to identify remaining Rosenwald Schools in an effort to preserve and rehabilitate them. Table of Contents Members Kentucky African American Heritage Commission ....................................................... 7 “Happy Birthday Mr. Lincoln” Centre College Celebration Kickoff ......................................... 8 Charles Everette Pace .............................................................................................................. 8 Frederick Douglass (1818-1895) ......................................................................................... 9 Part I: Abraham Lincoln, America‘s ―Agent of Change‖ .......................................................... 11 Chapter 1 Introduction Abraham Lincoln: An African American Perspective ........................ 12 Chapter 2 A Commentary: Which Lincoln Do We Celebrate? ................................................. 25 Chapter 3 Lincoln and Emancipation: A Moral, Political and Constitutional Question ........... 28 Part II: ―The Lincolns, Slavery and Opening of the West‖ ......................................................... 33 America‘s First Pathway to the West: ....................................................................................... 34 Cumberland Gap andThe Wilderness Road .............................................................................. 34 Bound for Freedom: The Story of Frontier Slave Monk Estill ................................................. 37 Chapter 4 The Kentucky Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Celebration Hodgenville, KY ......... 38 Chapter 5 African Americans, Migration, and Lincoln‘s Trans-Appalachian World ............... 44 Chapter 6 Abraham Lincoln and African Americans: A View Across the Racial Divide ........ 53 Part III: Kentucky African Americans And the Constitution ..................................................... 58 Chapter 7 A Commentary: Kentucky‘s Place in National Politics ........................................... 59 Chapter 8 Locating Lincoln within African American Myth and History ................................ 64 ―The People‘s Contest‖ ........................................................................................................ 75 Chapter 9 Lincoln‘s Constitutionalism ..................................................................................... 77 Part IV: Kentucky and the Civil War .......................................................................................... 86 South Carolina Declaration of the Causes of Secession ........................................................ 87 Chapter 10 James Fisher Robinson The Struggle for Kentucky‘s Loyalty during the Civil War ................................................................................................................................................... 91 Chapter 11 Camp Nelson: Civil War Emancipation Center for Kentucky ............................... 99 Chapter 12 Lincoln‘s Generals in Kentucky ........................................................................... 106 Chapter 13 Conclusion: African Americans and the Civil War: ―‘63 is the Jubilee‖ ............. 113 Weisiger Theatre Centre College “Happy Birthday Mr. Lincoln” celebration participants left to right: James H. Atkins, Centre College Vice President of Minority Affairs; Frederick Douglass (Charles Everette Pace); Abraham Lincoln (Kevin Lanham); Alicestyne Turley, Director, University of Louisville Underground Railroad Research Institute; Mike Norris, Centre College Director of Communications; and Georgia Tompkins, Communications Coordinator, Centre College Admission Office and Chairperson of Danville/ Boyle County Human Rights Commission Photo courtesy Centre College Members Kentucky African American Heritage Commission Membership: 20 members – 17 members appointed by Governor (four (4 )members for institutions of higher education, one (1) from the preservation community, one (1) from the arts community, and 11 from the public-at-large); three (3) ex officio members (Cabinet Secretary, KSU President, and Executive Director of Kentucky Heritage Council.) Term: Four (4) years Chair & Public-at-Large J. Blaine Hudson, Ph.D. Term Expires: 2/1/2011 Public-at-Large Karen C. McDaniel Vice-Chair & Institute of Higher Education Term Expires: 2/2/2010 Gerald L. Smith, Ph.D. Term Expires: 2/2/2010 Public-at-Large Henry L. Odoms, Jr. Public-at-Large Term Expires: 2/1/2013 Howard E. Bailey Term Expires: 2/1/2012 Public-at-Large Carolyn Sundy Institution of Higher Education Term Expires: 2/1/2012 David S. Benders, Ph.D. Term Expires: 2/1/2013 Arts Community Clestine V. Lanier Public-at-Large Term Expires: 2/1/2012 Jerry E. Cowherd Term Expires: 2/2/2010 Institute of Higher Education William H. Turner, Ph.D. Public-at-Large Term Expires: 2/2/2010 Reverend Richard B. Fowler Term Expires: 2/1/2012 Ex Officio by Position Marcheta Sparrow, Secretary Public-at-Large Designee: Natalie Gibson Tiffany Yeast Term Expires: 2/1/2013 Executive Director, Human Resources Public-at-Large Ex Officio by Position Dorothy L. Gray Mary Evans Sias. President Term Expires: 2/2/2010 Kentucky State University Designee: Public-at-Large Anne S. Butler, Ph.D. (designee for KSU President) Rev. Kilen K. Gray Term Expires: 2/1/2011 Ex Officio by Position Mark Dennen, Executive Director & Preservation Communities State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) John A. Hardin, Ph.D. Kentucky Heritage Council Term Expires: 2/2/2009 Kentucky Heritage Council Staff Public-at-Large Roger Stapleton, Site Identification Program Manager LaWanda K. Hazard Tressa T. Brown, Commission Coordinator 107 Cheyenne Drive, Peggy Guier, Staff Attorney Term Expires: 2/1/2012 Jackie Bradley, Executive Secretary Institution of Higher Education Eric R. Jackson. Ed.D. Term Expires: 2/1/2011 ―Happy Birthday Mr. Lincoln‖ Centre College Celebration Kickoff February 12, 2009 A Chautauqua—Frederick Douglass and Mr. Lincoln By Charles Everette Pace Charles Everette Pace, Great Plains Chautauqua Society Scholar, has undergraduate and graduate degrees from The University of Texas at Austin (B.A., biology) and Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana (M.A., American studies: history and anthropology). As well as being a Program Advisor at the Texas Union, University of Texas at Austin, Charles has taught at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Purdue University, and most recently Kentucky‘s Centre College. His research area is the anthropology of performance, experience and visual communications. He has performed and conducted workshops in hundreds of cities across the United States, as well as in London, England. Pace has conducted performance-based