Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln

Introduction

Abraham Lincoln is a world-renowned figure whose political legacy continues to exert a powerful influence to this day. Protesters against injustice have echoed his famous definition of democracy - “government of the people, by the people, for the people” - around the world: in Hungary in 1956, Tehran in 1979, and Tiananmen Square in 1989. Despite his tremendous stature, little research has been done on international perceptions of Lincoln. This conference therefore focused on the global reception of Lincoln as a politician, thinker, and moral exemplar. (Zall 52)

Discussion

In a paper titled “Lincoln Transfigured: Gandhi and the Politics of Compassion,” Prafulla KAR showed how Lincoln's experiment with ethical politics at a critical juncture of American history became a benchmark for evaluating the success and failure of similar attempts by reformers in other countries. He also addressed the methodological question of how to map a legacy. This is especially important when dealing with Lincoln's influence on Gandhi, since the latter barely mentions Lincoln in his writings. Drawing on F. R. Leavis's concept of “The Great Tradition”, Walter Benjamin's work on translation, and Harold Bloom's notion of an “anxiety of influence,” Kar asserted a conceptual relationship between Ghandi and Lincoln that transcended the historicity of their struggles and the local conditions that determined their actions. Kar pointed out that both Lincoln and Gandhi believed in the cultivation of restraint, both cherished the value of rational debate, and both were pragmatists in politics, although a strong sense of religiosity and faith in a “higher law” are apparent in Lincoln's as well as Gandhi's biography. In the end, each died in pursuit of his ideals. (Barton 10)

Unlike Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru - the architect of modern India and one of the most prominent representatives of the new spirit of Asia in the postwar world - made frequent references to Lincoln in his writings and speeches. As Amrit TANDON noted in his contribution, Nehru even owned a bronze cast of Lincoln's right hand that had been presented to him by Arthur E. Morgan in 1949. Lincoln was a natural role model and influence for Nehru, since both statesmen were confronted with secessionist movements that threatened the very survival of their respective union.

Hasan AL ZAYED described Lincoln's image as a champion of human rights and democratic values not only in India but throughout Asia. Asian leaders often quoted him to improve their own credibility, whereas peoples across the continent invoked Lincoln's speeches on democracy and justice to protest the lack of freedom in their own countries. Asian perceptions of Lincoln are, however, complexly intertwined with attitudes toward the West, international politics, the flow of capital, and the processes of knowledge production, as Al Zayed explained. Thus it was possible for the Tamils in Southern India to regard Lincoln as “one of the Mahatmas of the world” and for Gandhi and Nehru to pursue Lincolnian ideals even as Lincoln's achievements also found admirers among autocrats and dictators. Politicians of communist China, for example, repeatedly invoked Lincoln's legacy to ...