Thursday, October 22, 2009

Was Honest Abe an animal rights advocate?

Many sources have made the claim that Abraham Lincoln supported animal rights and/or practiced vegetarianism, often citing the following alleged quotation: "I am in favour of animal rights as well as human rights. That is the way of a whole human being."

Environmentalist, animal rights advocate and author Mike Hudak has scoured the evidence on the topic -- it looks like Lincoln may not have been a kindred spirit after all. Shucks.

Abraham Lincoln: Vegetarian and Animal Rights Advocate?—A Review of the Evidence
by Mike Hudak

1 comment:

  1. Disappointing, but then, Abe wasn't even for civil rights and racial equality when it came down to it. On slaves, he wrote, "Free them, and make them politically and socially, our equals? My own feelings will not admit of this; and if mine would, we well know that those of the great mass of white people will not." and... "My paramount object in this struggle, is to save the Union and it not either to save or destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it..."

    http://academic.udayton.edu/race/02rights/slave07.htm

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