UNION
Union had a meaning almost mystical
for Lincoln, based on data not statistical,
but on the proposition all mankind is equal,
emancipation the inevitable sequel.
Written on the eve of the 200th anniversary of Lincoln’s both, and inspired by a comment made by one of the contributors of a PBS program on Abraham Lincoln directed by Henry Louis Gates in PBS program, in which the speaker pointed out that that Lincoln attempted to provide significance to the mass killings in the Civil War by implying that the concept of union was mystical rather than political. Emancipation which was part of the process of the preservation of the Union inevitably emerged from this mystical definition.
Henry Louis Gates's response to this poem was:
This is lovely. Thank you so much for sharing your poem with me. I'm glad you liked the program so much.
© 2009 Gershon Hepner 2/10/09
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"Civil War under Lincoln's leadership: transformation of the "United States" from a plural noun (a collection of individual states) to a singular noun (a union founded on the goal of a shared idea).
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What large dreams had Lincoln! I think he had a giant heart as well. Very eloquent lines of poetry there, Gershon.