Led by Professor Lucas Morel of Washington and Lee University and drawing upon his book Measuring the Man: The Writings of Frederick Douglass on Abraham Lincoln, this three-day professional development seminar explores the intertwined ideas and writings of two of the nineteenth century’s most consequential voices on slavery, freedom, equality, the Constitution, and American self-government.
Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass shared a profound belief in the principles of the Declaration of Independence and in America’s potential to become a nation dedicated to freedom. Yet they often disagreed over the means and speed that those principles should be translated into political action. Through close examination of their speeches, writings, and public arguments, participants will explore the dynamic relationship between Frederick Douglass, the nation’s foremost Black abolitionist, and Abraham Lincoln, the president charged with preserving the Union amid civil war.
The seminar will examine Lincoln’s evolving views on slavery and abolition, the Constitution, emancipation, Black military service, the prosecution of the Civil War, citizenship, and Reconstruction. Why did Lincoln describe himself as antislavery while distancing himself from abolitionism? How did Douglass’s understanding of the Constitution evolve? Why did Douglass press Lincoln to transform a war for Union into a war for emancipation? What explains Lincoln’s changing policies toward emancipation and Black enlistment? And how did each envision the place of formerly enslaved Americans in the nation after the war?
At the heart of the seminar is a larger question central to Morel’s scholarship: How did Frederick Douglass ultimately “measure” Abraham Lincoln—and what does his judgment reveal about leadership, statesmanship, political prudence, and the pursuit of American ideals?
Participants will engage in scholarly lectures with Professor Morel, facilitated discussions of primary sources by Lincoln and Douglass, first-person historical interpretation of Frederick Douglass, and a Master Teacher lesson demonstration providing classroom-ready strategies for bringing these consequential debates to students.
Speaker:
Dr. Lucas E. Morel, PhD
Dr. Lucas E. Morel is the John K. Boardman, Jr. Professor of Politics, Head of the Politics Department, and Provost Faculty Fellow at Washington and Lee University, where he has taught since 1999. His teaching and scholarship focus on American political thought, Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, Ralph Ellison, race and equality, and the principles of the American Founding. He is also a core faculty member in W&L’s Africana Studies Program. Morel earned his BA from Claremont McKenna College, and an MA PhD from Claremont Graduate University. He has also served as a Garwood Visiting Research Fellow in Princeton University’s James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions. A nationally recognized scholar of Abraham Lincoln and American political thought, Morel is the author of Lincoln and the American Founding and Lincoln’s Sacred Effort: Defining Religion’s Role in American Self-Government. His most recent volume, Measuring the Man: The Writings of Frederick Douglass on Abraham Lincoln, co-edited with historian Jonathan W. White, brings together Douglass’s extensive commentary on Lincoln and illuminates the evolving relationship between two of the nineteenth century’s most consequential voices on slavery, equality, citizenship, and the Constitution. Morel is a former president of the Abraham Lincoln Institute, a trustee of the Supreme Court Historical Society, and a consultant for exhibitions at the Library of Congress and National Archives. He also serves on the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission, charged with commemorating the 250th anniversary of American independence.
The three- and four-day seminar includes historic interpreters, a content-lecture from a scholarly expert, a faculty-led discussion of relevant primary sources, and an appropriate field study of historic sites, archives, and museums.
Founding Forward’s work and mission is made possible through voluntary contributions. We need your support to ensure a future rooted in liberty. Please join our efforts to uphold our democratic system of government with your tax-deductible contribution.
