Crimes

Hate crimes and mob violence aren’t anything new, but that fact that hate crimes have gone up almost 60% in 2017 compared to prior years has brought up many questions. Many people think that Donald Trump being in office has given those with radical views more of a platform to carry out hate crimes, especially since they probably feel more comfortable doing so in an environment where the president spews xenophobic and sexist rhetoric. This brings me to the question Lincoln raised in his “Perpetuation of Our Political Institutions” address: What is the greatest threat to the Republic? This speech makes several points on the destruction of America that will come from within due to the rise of unattainable mob violence, and the dictator-like leader that will arise because of it. For this paper, I will be analyzing how the Lyceum Address predicted the current state of the USA and how Donald Trump’s rhetoric enabled wide spread mob violence, which Lincoln said would be the greatest threat to the republic and its institutions, and even result in anarchy.

Lincoln clearly stated that did not fear a foreign attack, “Shall we expect some transatlantic military giant, to step the Ocean, and crush us at a blow? Never! All the armies of Europe, Asia and Africa combined, with all the treasure of the earth in their military chest; with a Bonaparte for a commander, could not by force, take a drink from the Ohio, or make a track on the Blue Ridge, in a trial of a thousand years.” He says that the only danger that America really needed to fear would come from within: “If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide”. He saw a tragic future in the growing disregard for the law in favor of lynch-mobbing. “Accounts of outrages committed by mobs, form the every-day news of the times. They have pervaded the country, from New England to Louisiana, they are neither peculiar to the eternal snows of the former, nor the burning suns of the latter, neither are they confined to the slave-holding, or the non-slave-holding States.”

Later in the speech, Lincoln began to address these crimes that were occuring around the country. For example, he brought up how in Mississippi the mobs started by lynching gamblers although gambling was allowed by law. After that, “negroes, suspected of conspiring to raise an insurrection,” were being hung, even white men who were suspected of collaborating with African Americans were being lynched. It got to the point where the victims of these lynchings were also strangers visiting from other states. This became such a huge problem that Lincoln says,“dead men were seen literally dangling from the boughs of trees upon every road side; and in numbers almost sufficient, to rival the native Spanish moss of the country, as a drapery of the forest”. I think that the spike in hate crimes and mob violence on both sides but particularly the far right have really been a threat to the United States and could possibly lead to what Lincoln feared most, our own destruction. The far left and far right’s “alienation, rather than attachment” to the government and its institutions are what have lead to this extreme mobocratic spirit. Lincoln says that although passion is needed to sustain our liberty, this passion will be an enemy of ours in the future.“That temple (Liberty) must fall, unless we, their descendants, supply their places with other pillars, hewn from the solid quarry of sober reason,” Lincoln says. “Passion has helped us; but can do so no more. It will in future be our enemy. Reason, cold, calculating, unimpassioned reason, must furnish all the materials for our future support and defense.–Let those materials be molded into general intelligence, sound morality, and in particular, a reverence for the constitution and laws: and, that we improved to the last; that we remained free to the last”. This is what it will take to save our nation.

Later in the speech, Lincoln directed his audience to passion as the “enemy” of those who would live by the rule of law. He speaks of “mob law,” the “mobocratic spirit, “the growing disposition to substitute the cold and furious passions” in the place of “sober judgment.” In 2016, I remember how bad this polarization between the two groups got, and I remember seeing that many people on both sides were cutting off friends and even family members due to who they voted for. It did start out with small things like this, but that was just the tip of the iceberg that later ended up with the riot in Charlottesville that left one person dead and then later, the walmart tiki-torch mob. The thing that really leads me to question whether Trump is the voice of the mobocratic spirit are the things he has said at his rallies. I can’t quote everything that’s been said for sake of this assignments page length, but what I’m particularly talking about is Donald Trump’s rampant encouragement of violence at his rallies.

Donald Trump personifies this mobocratic spirit. It was clear at his rallies and during his campaign. Through these rallies and speeches, he really paved the way for a mob to take the law into its own hands, pushing ideas that certain groups (ethnic,race,gender,etc) are the enemy, those who are not with the mob are also the enemy, and let us not forget the hysteria over the “fake news”. This violent rhetoric and the destructiveness from some of his followers are what boost Trump. His support reflects exactly what Lincoln feared in the mobocratic spirit: disenfranchisement, alienation, and division from the government. The peculiar thing about his presidency and success is that everything aimed to ruin his candidacy only gave him more power. This presidency has embodies everything Lincoln warned us about, and there seems to be no means of stopping it.

Abraham Lincoln also warns about the leader that would arise due to the mobocratic spirit, and also feared an “ill omen” due to the growing disregard for the law in favor of lynch-mob vigilantism. “To expect, that some man possessed of the loftiest genius, coupled with ambition sufficient to push it to its utmost stretch, will at some time, spring up amongst us”, and when a leader like this does rise up amongst us, Lincoln warned, “it will require the people to be united with each other, attached to the government and laws, and generally intelligent, to successfully frustrate his designs”. Lincoln predicted if such a figure should arise among us, “Distinction will be his paramount object”, figures who might exploit fame, and this leader will have “nothing left to be done in the way of building up, he would set boldly to the task of pulling down.”. It would be a stretch to call Trump a “loftiest genius.” But he clearly takes the win for pulling down both his relationship with most Americans and his relationship with other nations that have been our friends and allies. He has called the European Union “enemies of America,” and instead of befriending them he has rejected them and has taken favor to dictators (Putin, Kim Jong-un).

Lincoln then spoke of our duty to the founding father to maintain this edifice “unprofaned by the foot of an invader… undecayed by the lapse of time, and untorn by usurpation—to the latest generation that fate shall permit the world to know.” He spoke of this as a “task of gratitude to our fathers, justice to ourselves, duty to posterity, and love for our species in general” that “imperatively requires us faithfully to perform”. Lincoln told us, “to expect, that some man possessed of the loftiest genius, coupled with ambition sufficient to push it to its utmost stretch, will at some time, spring up amongst us” . And when such a one does rise up amongst us, Lincoln warned, “it will require the people to be united with each other, attached to the government and laws, and generally intelligent, to successfully frustrate his designs, and that. He then goes further in depth on this ill-omen, and says that “ spoke of “the increasing disregard for law which pervades the country; the growing disposition to substitute the wild and furious passions, in lieu of the sober judgment of the Courts; and the worse than savage mobs, for the executive ministers of justice.”

Lets not forget about how Trump declined the Paris Climate Agreement, making us one of the three countries that aren’t apart of it. On the same topic, the Trump administration has also cut domestic programs that many Americans depend on, particularly the old, the poor, and minorities, and has given up on the environment for the sake of commercial development.

What does Lincoln say the answer to all of this is? First, Lincoln described the coming of a person like Trump as someone whose singular ambition and genius for power so “thirsts and burns for distinction” that he will pursue it at any cost. Lincoln said, there is only one solution. “It will require the people to be united with each other, attached to the government and laws, and generally intelligent, to successfully frustrate his designs”. What Abraham Lincoln is saying is that in order for us to fortify against it (violation of the constitution), every American must find a common ground, get over there differences, and unite to save the republic from such a ruler–but something tells me that we wouldn’t be able to do that, due to how divided the country already is.

By the way things are looking today in terms of the political climate and polarization among people due to their political beliefs, I don’t think that we could unite to prevent a ruler like this. I feel like Donald Trump really ignited the violence we are seeing today. Although I don’t side with the left much, it is more than clear that although there is extremism on the left, the number of hate crimes, violent gatherings and racially motivated killings carried out by the right are at a far more significant amount than politically and racially motivated attacks, riots, and killings of the left. From the “fine people on both sides” Charlottesville riot, to the guy that was sending bombs through the mail to prominent democrats, we have never seen violence on this large of a scale break out, regardless of what party won the presidency. The attack that really stood out to me the most was the newsroom shooting. The Capital Gazette newsroom shooting reminded me a lot of the lynchings that occured. Many people criticized former Breitbart editor and right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos for calling for this attack after a post that said “I can’t wait for the vigilante squads to start gunning journalists down on sight,” two days before the incident happened. When he was asked about this incident, he says it was just a joke in poor taste. This makes me think, how have we gotten to the point that people would be comfortable enough to call for these these civil attacks for thousands of people to see, even if it was just a joke? Ever since Donald Trump’s campaign began, it seems that Trumps literal call for violence is what set all of this off to begin with, this leaves us with the question that if this could actually derail our country. The answer to this is yes.

With the current state of our country and so many people taking the law into their own hands, it makes perfect sense that Lincoln in fact did predict the conditions we are seeing today that would be necessary for all of these things to occur. Before the mob violence, we have to keep in mind what lead so many people to follow Trump. People can say that this criticism of Trump, which I guess could be described as the “character” criticism, is often met with a quick and self-assured rebuttal: that we are ignoring the legitimate roots of the Trump followers’ rage. All three branches of government, have grown very out of touch with everyday Americans and are acting contrary to their interests in various ways. Trump promises to smash this corrupt system. But as important as this point is, and as well as it explains Trump’s followers, it does not justify Donald Trump’s actions. His aims are what they believe is good for the nation. But, if unlawful, the long-term result is slowly destroying what bonds us together.

Lincoln says that a nation of laws holds everyone accountable. If not, the nation eventually self-destructs. A part of the speech reads,“As the patriots of seventy-six (Revolutionary War) did to the support of the Declaration of Independence, so to the support of the Constitution and Laws, let every American pledge his life, his property, and his sacred honor;–let every man remember that to violate the law, is to trample on the blood of his father, and to tear the character of his own, and his children’s liberty. Let reverence for the laws, be breathed by every American mother, to the lisping babe, that prattles on her lap–let it be taught in schools, in seminaries, and in colleges; let it be written in Primers, spelling books, and in Almanacs;–let it be preached from the pulpit, proclaimed in legislative halls, and enforced in courts of justice. And, in short, let it become the political religion of the nation; and let the old and the young, the rich and the poor, the grave and the gay, of all sexes and tongues, and colors and conditions, sacrifice unceasingly upon its altars”. One last thing that Lincoln mentions is, “They (memories of the sacrifices of the American Revolution) were the pillars of the temple of liberty; and now, that they have crumbled away, that temple must fall, unless we, their descendants, supply their places with other pillars, hewn from the solid quarry of sober reason…Let those materials be moulded into general intelligence, sound morality, and in particular, a reverence for the constitution and laws: and, that we improved to the last; that we remained free to the last; that we revered his name to the last; that, during his long sleep, we permitted no hostile foot to pass over or desecrate his resting place; shall be that which to learn the last trump shall awaken our Washington.” This leads me to close this essay with the following question, have we as Americans reached a point where we are willing to disregard the rule of law and allow any leader to trample the Constitution because they cater to our political views?