Why Did Douglass Change His Mind?

Introduction to a unit on the many challenges of the Reconstruction period (1866-77). "Archetypes: Lessons from the Civil War" created by KC Gleason. Artist statement here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ALe-Hmd_9qdnrgo02x_foCqgOsfl03-f/view?usp=sharing

Transcript

3. “Anchored in 19th-century daguerreotypes, I re- imagined these historical subjects through a modern lens, using the visual language of 20th-century graphic styles and 21st- century digital methods. This multidisciplinary approach bridges eras, offering a modern interpretation of these figures and distilling their identities into forms both iconic and immediate…. Each figure is presented as an archetype essential to the collective effort, inviting the viewer to reconsider the individuals who shaped this pivotal moment and offering a meditation on the enduring relevance of their struggle in today’s cultural and political landscape.” − KC Gleason
6. “Abraham Lincoln, while unsurpassed in his devotion to the welfare of the white race, was also in a sense hitherto without example, emphatically, the black man’s President: the first to show any respect to their rights as men.”
7. “Abraham Lincoln, was not, in the fullest sense of the word, either our man or our model. In his interests, in his habits of thoughts, and in his prejudices, he was a white man. He was preeminently the white man’s President, entirely devoted to the welfare of white men.”
8. Why did Douglass change his mind?
9. 1865 “Abraham Lincoln, while unsurpassed in his devotion to the welfare of the white race, was also in a sense hitherto without example, emphatically, the black man’s President: the first to show any respect to their rights as men.”
10. 1876 “Abraham Lincoln, was not, in the fullest sense of the word, either our man or our model. In his interests, in his habits of thoughts, and in his prejudices, he was a white man. He was preeminently the white man’s President, entirely devoted to the welfare of white men.”
11. Matthew Pinsker from Dickinson College:
12. Black Codes (4:05)