Dec. 21, 2009 issue
Lincoln and COs
By Paul Schrock Harrisonburg, Va.At the Menno Simons Historical Library at Eastern Mennonite University, I have been cataloging Civil War entries from photocopies of original accounts, often from newspapers of 1861 to 1865. Other citations are from more recent books on the Civil War. Recently I was intrigued to encounter mention of President Abraham Lincoln’s attitude toward the peace position of Mennonites.
A 1950 book, Conscientious Objection, from the U.S. Military History Institute at Carlisle, Pa., includes these paragraphs:
“President Lincoln held an understanding attitude toward conscientious objectors. In answer to people who urged him to force Friends [Quakers], Mennonites and Brethren into the Army, he replied substantially as follows:
“ ‘No, I will not do that. These people do not believe in war. People who do not believe in war make poor soldiers. Besides, the attitude of these people has always been against slavery. If all our people held the same views about slavery as these people hold there would be no war.
“ ‘These people are largely a rural people, sturdy and honest. They are excellent farmers. The country needs good farmers fully as much as it needs good soldiers. We will leave them on their farms where they are at home and where they will make contributions better than they would with a gun.’ ”
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