The Children of Lincoln: White Paternalism and the Limits of Black Opportunity in Minnesota, 1860-1876

513 Pages·4.124 MB·English

by  William D. Green

WILLIAM D. GREEN
the
CHILDREN

LINCOLN

of
WHITE PATERNALISM AND THE
LIMITS OF BLACK OPPORTUNIT Y
IN MINNESOTA , 1860 -1876

Also by William D. Green
Published by the University of Minnesota Press
A Peculiar Imbalance:
The Fall and Rise of Racial Equality
in Minnesota, 1837– 1869
Degrees of Freedom:
The Origins of Civil Rights
in Minnesota, 1865– 1912
THE
CHILDREN
LINCOLN
OF
WHITE PATERNALISM AND THE
LIMITS OF BLACK OPPORTUNITY
IN MINNESOTA, 1860–1876
WILLIAM D. GREEN
University of Minnesota Press
Minneapolis
London
The University of Minnesota Press gratefully acknowledges
financial assistance provided for the publication of this book
from the Office of the Provost, Augsburg University.
Copyright 2018 by William D. Green
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Published by the University of Minnesota Press
111 Third Avenue South, Suite 290
Minneapolis, MN 55401- 2520
http://www.upress.umn.edu
Printed in the United States of America on acid-f ree paper
The University of Minnesota is an equal-o pportunity educator and employer.
24 23 22 21 20 19 18 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Green, William D. (William Davis), author.
Title: The children of Lincoln : white paternalism and the limits of black opportunity
in Minnesota, 1860–1876 / William D. Green.
Description: Minneapolis, MN : University of Minnesota Press, [2018] | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018001571 (print) | ISBN 978-1-5179-0528-6 (hc/j)
Subjects: LCSH: African Americans—Civil rights—Minnesota—History—19th century.
| Racism—Minnesota—History—19th century. | Wilkinson, Morton S. (Morton Smith),
1819–1894. | Montgomery, Thomas, 1841–1907. | Merrill, Daniel D. (Daniel David),
1834–1896. | Stearns, Sarah B.
Classification: LCC E185.93.M55 G74 2018 (print) | DDC 323.196/07307760904—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018001571
With love, to Judi,
who held my hand
every step of the way
(T.F.M.M., A.)

We fully comprehend the relation ofA braham Lincoln both
to ourselves and to the white people of the United States . . .
The race to which we belong were not the special objects of his
consideration . . . You are the children ofA braham Lincoln.
We are only at best his step- children; children by adoption,
children ofc ircumstances and necessity.
­frederick­douglass­­
“oration­in­memory­of­abraham­lincoln”­­
delivered­at­the­unveiling­of­the­­
freedman’s­monument­in­memory­of­abraham­lincoln­­
lincoln­park,­washington,­d.c.,­april­14,­1876
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi
INTRODUCTION
“We Have Done Our Part” . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
PART I
The Unforgiving Radical
Morton S. Wilkinson, 1860– 1863
1. The Candidate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2. In Defense of the Union . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
3. The Indian’s Guardian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
4. A Wild Panic Prevails . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
5. Lincoln’s Decision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
6. Pike Island . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
PART II
An Officer and a Gentleman
Thomas Montgomery, 1863– 1867
7. The First Lieutenant Takes Command . . . 91
8. Lizzie and the Troubles . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
9. Freedom and Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
10. Masonic Ties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
11. Going Home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
PART III
The Man on the Seal
Morton S. Wilkinson, 1865– 1869
12. By Chicanery and Deception
of a Few Politicians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
13. Willey’s Amendment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
14. A Lesson in Leadership . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
15. “Good Night” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
PART IV
The Man in the Shadows
Daniel D. Merrill, 1864– 1871
16. “Ole Shady” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
17. Called to Serve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
18. A Church Is Born
and a Pastor Is Found . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
19. Under His Steady Hand . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
20. To Be in God’s Favor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
21. Of Other Baptist Interests . . . . . . . . . . . 245
PART V
The Buried Citizen
Sarah Burger Stearns, 1866– 1875
22. Celebration, 1875 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
23. Standing Alone in Minnesota . . . . . . . . . . 258
24. The Lesson of Kansas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267