Correspondence Between Manchester Mill Workers and Abraham Lincoln – Manchester UK - Etched in Stone on Waymarking.com

Left Hand Side of Plinth – letter from the mill workers
Lancashire Cotton Famine 1861-1865
Free Trade Hall public meeting 31 December 1862
Chairman Abel Heywood Extract of address from the working
people of Manchester to His Excellency Abraham Lincoln
President of the United States of America. .......
the vast progress which you have made in the short space
of twenty months fills us all with hope that every stain on your
freedom will shortly be removed,
and that the erasure of that foul blot on
Civilisation and Christianity - chattel slavery - during your
Presidency will cause the name of Abraham Lincoln
to be honoured and revered by posterity.
We are certain that such a glorious consum??ation
will cement Great Britain and the United States in close and enduring regards......

Right hand side of the plinth -The reply from Lincoln
This statue was unveiled by Arthur Mitchell,
Director of the Dance Theatre of Harlem, on 13th November 1986
at the dedication of Lincoln Square.
Estates Director MEPC plc
Chair of the Planning Committee J.L. Tuckey
Councillor Arnold Spencer Sponsored by MEPC plc of Manchester
Abraham Lincoln Born 12th February 1809
Assassinated 15th April 1865
President of the U.S.A 1861-65
American Civil War 15th April 1861 to 9th April 1865
Extract of a letter to the working people of Manchester 19th January 1863
I know and deeply deplore the suffering which the
working people of Manchester and in all Europe
are called to endure in this crisis.
It has been often and studiously represented that
the attempt to overthrow this government was built
on the foundation of human rights, and to substitute for it
one what should rest exclusively on the basis of slavery,
was likely to obtain the favour of Europe.
Through the action of disloyal citizens the working people
of Europe have been subjected to a severe trial
for the purpose of forcing their sanction to that attempt.
Under these circumstances I cannot but regard your
decisive utterances upon the question as an instance
of sublime Christian heroism which has not been
surpassed in any age or in any country.
It is indeed an energetic and re-inspiring assurance
of the inherent truth and of the ultimate and universal
triumph of justice, humanity and freedom.
I hail this interchange of sentiments therefore,
as an augury that whatever else may happen,
whatever misfortune may befall your country or my own,
the peace and friendship which now exists between
two nations will be as it shall be my desire to make them,
perpetual.
Abraham Lincoln

Background to the Letters
So why would Manchester cotton mill workers write to President Lincoln? Manchester and some surrounding towns had many mills that processed cotton and had grown rapidly during the Industrial revolution.

During the American Civil War, many ports were blockaded and exports prevented. This loss of a source of raw cotton was devastating to the Manchester area. Many mills had to close, and many people without work became homeless and destitute.

A large meeting of workers was held on 31st December 1862 over a year after the blockade had started. Despite their hardship the workers agreed to support President Lincoln and sent the first letter above.<br
In return President Lincoln sent the return letter thanking them for their support.

The Statue
At 11 feet high the statue itself is a large than life size sculpture showing Lincoln as he was as an ordinary man rather than a famous statesman.

It is a copy of a statue erected in Cincinnati Ohio, sculpted by George Grey Barnard created to celebrate the centenary of Lincoln’s Birth.

The idea of a copy was originally to celebrate 100 years of peace between the US and United Kingdom and was intended to stand outside the U.K. Houses of parliament. Many people did not like the Barnard statue and so a different one was used instead.

This copy is here in Manchester in remembrance of the Manchester mill workers suffering and their support of Lincoln.

It was originally placed in a public park called Platt Fields some distance from the city centre. In 1986 a small redevelopment project in the centre of Manchester led to the creation of a small public square and it was decided to move the statue to the square and name the square Lincoln Square.

Unfortunately the writing on the plinth is faded and difficult to photograph.

Lincoln’s wording – political correctness gone mad?
When the statue was moved there was another controversy. The local council was already unpopular and regarded as being overly politically correct in all their polices. This opinion was reinforced when the council changed Lincoln’s wording and replaced the phrase ‘ Lancashire Workmen’ with ‘Lancashire working people’.

I’m not always in favour of such changes to language purely for political correctness, but in this case it is more accurate because more than 56% of the work force at the time was in fact women.

Address: Lincoln Square Manchester Greater Manchester United Kingdom M2 5LN Website: [Web Link]

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