Lincoln as well as the other Free Soilers were no "great friend" of the black man, free or enslaved by law and custom. But then again, until the second half of the 20th century, was any US president? Well, Harry Truman did integrate the armed forces in 48, but that was all. LBJ probably did more than any other president, with Bobby Kennedy and Nicholas Katzenbaum prodding the Justice dept and its marshalls into action. Theodore Roosevelt did dine with Booker T. Washington, but he, too, did nothing more than a few token post master appoints. It is really a shame that over one-third of our country have had to wait so long to become officially visible and full citizens, not that has diddly to do with the Civil War, as the governor of Miss. would say, of course. It has to do with hereditary attitudes of xenophobia and irrational fear of "the other."