Chapter 6 “John Brown and Abraham Lincoln”

The Invisibility of Antiracism

American textbooks underplay racism and neglect racial idealism, or equalitarianism. John brown, an

abolitionist gets very little mention in textbooks, and when he does, the events are very specific and

misrepresented.

Most students don’t even know who John Brown is, and his name is never chosen as a hero

when students are asked this question, even though he helped free a great number of slaves. His

story is as follows:

He makes two appearances in textbooks at Pottawatomie, Kansas, and Harpers Ferry, Virginia.

In Kansas, John Brown led a group of followers on a midnight raid in the proslavery town of Pottawatomie in retaliation to an

attack from them on free-soil Lawrence, Kansas. Both the attack on Lawrence and the attack on Pottawatomie lead to deaths of

the opposing side.

In Harper’s Ferry, Brown and his followers attacked a federal arsenal in an attempt to seize weapons and give them to enslaved

people in the hopes to start a slave uprising. He was defeated by Robert E. Lee and sentenced to hanging after being convicted of

treason.

The Treatment of John Brown in American Textbooks throughout the years:

Crazy Less Crazy**

1890 to 1970: Insane Before 1890: Perfectly sane

2006 to Present: Insane After 1970: Regaining sanity

**”Since Brown himself did not change after his death –except to molder more—his mental health in our textbooks provides an inadvertent index of the level of

white racism in our society.” (p. 173)

A laundry list of terms used to describe John Brown in textbooks:

fanatical, iron-willed, obsessive, brooding, fiendish, dubious,

insane

“Just as textbooks treat slavery without much Racism, they treat abolitionism without much Idealism.”

Chapter 6 “John Brown and Abraham Lincoln”

From the Following Picture, It’s Easy to See Why…

John Brown is described as forcibly freeing slaves and making the reluctant people join his cause. In reality,

these people came willingly and also believed in the same cause. Also in reality, John Brown made abolition,

something that was never spoken of at the time, something less radical by his actions.

Soon after his death, John Brown became a bit of a martyr. Colored Regiments went into battle singing “John

Brown’s Body” and many people made the same commitment to face death to stop slavery as Brown did after

the war.

Conversely, all students know who Abraham Lincoln is. In fact, he is “one of the most venerated

figures in American history.” (p. 182)

Like most whites of the time, Lincoln too sometimes used the language of white supremacy. He also struggled

with racism. Rather than showing these faults and struggles however, textbooks simply pretend they do not exist.

If books were to show these things, they would be very helpful and powerful teaching devices to show growth, critical thinking

and reasoning, and a number of other important characteristics.

Chapter 6 “John Brown and Abraham Lincoln”

There is a difference between how Lincoln acted in is official duty and in his personal belief:

Yet another failing on the part of history textbooks: They merely state three or

four words at a time from one of the best orators the United States has ever seen. Or worse, they excerpt entire

speeches giving no explanation or asking any intelligent questions about them at all.

The result is that very few high school students graduate with having given any thought to the powerful words of Abraham Lincoln.

“Antiracism is one of America’s great gifts to the world.” (p.

203) It has spurred countries throughout the world to rise

up against oppression and to use words from American

abolitionists and civil rights activist. Now, our textbooks

need to present these great heroes in such a way that we

“might again value our own idealism.” (p. 203)

Private Lincoln:

Lincoln was put into

office because of his

“rock-solid

antislavery beliefs.”

(p. 183) He believed

in the basic humanity

of blacks and

understood the

importance of leading

by example. Under

Lincoln’s leadership,

the United States

exchanged diplomats

with Haiti and Liberia.

Lincoln desegregated

the White House, and

opened it up to black

callers.

Presidential Lincoln:

Conversely, Lincoln struggled

with racism as well. Even

though he was personally

opposed to slavery, he asked

his aides to look into the

possibility of deporting (or

more politely, colonizing)

African Americans to Africa

or Latin America. He is also

quoted as morally indifferent

to slavery. Putting an end to

slavery is the selling point to

end the war and keep the

nation united.