WASHINGTON – Brian Kilmeade is best known as a co-host on “Fox and Friends.” He also hosts a radio show and is a prolific writer and history buff. Those two loves come together in his latest book about the story of two American greats from the Civil War era.
From George Washington and Thomas Jefferson to Sam Houston, Kilmeade has written about them all and now, in his newest book, he’s diving deep into the lives of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass.
“I thought, what about how they interacted together and how they made the country better? And the incredible obstacles they had to overcome to do what they did?”
And that resulted in The President & the Freedom Fighter: Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, and Their Battle to Save America’s Soul.
Kilmeade tells the little-known story of how these two American heroes moved from fierce disagreement to friendship and along the way changed the course of history.
Both men had to overcome huge adversity, especially Douglass who was born a slave.
“Born a slave and literally sold and then after one failed escape [Douglass] finally gets out and was able to live his life and remarkably within seven years is writing a biography and becomes one of the most respected intellects and speakers in the world.”
Lincoln was born into abject poverty. His parents were illiterate.
“And then you have Lincoln who was basically a self-taught guy,” explained Kilmeade. “They had a lot of similarities. They had a thirst for education. They were going to find a way out somehow some way. They were going to barter, do work for a book, just a chance to read and learn about a story. They were buried in the Bible and great thinkers their entire lives.”
Despite their similarities though, there were also deep differences, most notably, how to approach the most pressing issue of the day – slavery.
Kilmeade writes about how Lincoln wanted to abolish slavery but thought doing it too quickly would devastate the country.
“There’s no doubt about it, Lincoln evolved. He was not really exposed that much to slavery. Only one percent of slaves were in the North, the rest were in the South.”
After the United States won its independence, the South built an economy dependent on slavery. Southerners felt an attack on that would destroy their economy and way of life. The North saw slavery as morally wrong and wanted freedom, although not necessarily equality.
“The minute Lincoln gets elected and seven states leave before he gets to the White House, Frederick Douglas is like, ‘Okay, Emancipation Proclamation, free the slaves, let us fight.'”
But President Lincoln wasn’t ready to move that fast. He knew the North wasn’t ready and risked losing half of his army by rushing the process.
“Frederick Douglas had a newspaper that he started – ‘You let me down. You’re going halfway, this is not what you promised’ and in [Lincoln’s] inaugural, in an effort to get us reunified, he said, ‘Keep your slaves, we’ll work it out. Just come back.’ And [the South) said no. And Frederick Douglas celebrated that. Lincoln knew we were in for war. They thought it would be 90 days and it was four years and it cost between 600-700 thousand lives which is just unthinkable.”
Through time, the men came to respect one another and even form a friendship.
“It was timing and people would be pushing [Lincoln] to do it. He’s like, ‘I’m not ready,” said Kilmeade. “Then he realized, ‘We need a big win. After that big win, I’m not only going to come out with the Emancipation Proclamation, I’m going to allow African Americans to fight for their freedom.'”
Kilmeade writes about the first meeting Lincoln and Douglass were able to have.
“Douglass realized this guy that was frustrating him for the longest time, that he saw so much promise in, was the honest great man he always thought he was. He saw authenticity, kindness, and greatness.”
So is there a lesson in this story for Americans today?
“They wanted to make America better,” he answered. “So they studied the Founding Fathers, they studied where we came from, and they said, Okay, my country is imperfect so let’s make it better, right? Let’s not disparage it. Let’s do it in a way, you know, call it out but make it better.”
It’s the grand Democratic Experiment and together, Lincoln and Douglass did make it better. Not only that, together their grit and determination helped the United States begin to live up to its ideals.
The remainder of this article is available in its entirety at CBN