Lincoln came to hate slavery. When Lincoln was 19, his friend and he watched a slave auction in New Orleans. Lincoln's fists, his friend said, were so tightly clinced that his knuckles turned white. Suppose it had been whites who were slaves, not blacks. Suppose you saw your 14-year-old white daughter being ***** right in front of you by your black slave master. Suppose the woman you loved was sold one morning to another black slave owner who took her away from you forever. Suppose you tried to learn how to read the Bible and your black slave master caught you doing that, so he he tied you to a tree trunk and gave you 60 lashes on your bare back. Suppose you thought slavery was morally grotesque, but there was nothing you could do about it, because you had no legal rights of any kind, just like all your forebearers. What a shame you were born white. What a shame that the U. S. Constitution made slavery legal when it was drafted and ratified. Life is, after all, not fair, even if you're white.

TOD HOWARD HAWKS