Thoughts on influences of choices and history

 

While there is no conclusive evidence that John Quincy Adams was one of Lincoln's personal "heroes," Adams was a significant inspiration and philosophical predecessor to Lincoln, particularly in his legal and moral opposition to slavery. 

Key connections and influences include:

• Shared Congressional Service: Lincoln and Adams both served in the House of Representatives during the 30th Congress for three months in late 1847 and early 1848.
• Opposition to Slavery: Both men shared similar political outlooks on the issue of slavery. Adams was a fierce opponent of the "gag rule," which prevented the discussion of anti-slavery petitions in the House, and his legal arguments against slavery, including in the famous Amistad case, were well known and read by the next generation of politicians, including Lincoln.
• Foreshadowing Emancipation: Adams had argued that the "War Powers Act" could be used to end slavery during a time of conflict, a legal theory that Lincoln would later implement with the Emancipation Proclamation.
• Funeral Role: After Adams collapsed on the House floor and died in 1848, Lincoln was named to the committee of arrangements for his funeral and served as an honorary pallbearer. This symbolically represented Lincoln "picking up the torch" of the anti-slavery cause. 

While Henry Clay is often cited as Lincoln's primary political hero, Adams' steadfast opposition to slavery provided a moral and legal framework that profoundly influenced Lincoln's own approach to the issue and the eventual preservation of the Union. 

The thing about history is that unless you were there and experiencing it as it happened, you only know what is recorded.  We can imagine what the emotions and thought processes might have been, but we cannot definitely know because it's all second-hand, third-hand, or more.

When we listen to the stories our grandparents tell us, it is their subjective memory of a time before we lived.  When they were the younger link in history's unending chain.  The feelings about those historical events can be recorded as well, but those of us coming after will always be looking through the window of other older eyes than ours.  Our present, our choices, will leave their historical marks on the path of the future.  The bigger path chosen for us by the leaders we ourselves chose is how our century will be remembered.  Both the negative and the positive; both the fallacies and mistakes, and the triumphs and discoveries that benefit humanity.