Lincoln, race relations and the 21st Century

Almost any 21st century CEO looking for a little how-to inspiration from a battle-tested leader couldn't go far wrong considering Abraham Lincoln the Great Emancipator. His handling of the mother of all ethical conundrums in American history, race relations, is, viewed from the comfort of hinesight, pure poetry in motion in that he showed himself both practical and visionary.True, freeing the slaves was an enormous gamble. For example, once the Proclamation became final the entire 109th Illinois Infantry Regiment was arrested for mutiny - they were so disgusted that now they were fighting this war not just to preserve the Union but to free the - and then they would use a two-syllable word beginning with an "N" and containing a hard "G" sound in the middle, the word used throughout the country, North as well as South, to describe African Americans. And if that weren't enough, at that same time Governor Oliver Morton of Indiana told the President that he anticipated that Indiana not only might recognize the Confederacy but might secede from the Union as well. Finally, as you might expect, bi-partisan support in Congress all but evaporated, and the Republicans were trounced in the mid-term elections of 1862.
On the other hand, according to the US Ambassador to England, the Emancipation Proclamation "is producing an almost convulsive reaction in our favor" in England - all talk of recognizing the Confederacy disappreared like snow in spring.
Like all great leaders Lincoln showed himself to be both visionary and practical in handling this thorny issue. He was visionary because, although the Emancipation Proclamation didn't actually free any slaves [only slaves in territory NOT held by Union troops!], he set in motion the 13th amendment abolishing slavery forever, and all subsequent amendments and legislation of future administrations dealing with this area of civil rights. The end result is that now we have not only a color-blind constitution but a largely color-blind society as well. In addition, Lincoln Emancipation Proclamation was practical in that he struck at the very core of the Confederacy's strength and reason for existence: in the ensuing months slaves fled to the security of Union lines by the thousands thus depriving the South of much needed man power. Another practical consequence was the enlistment, particularly during the latter part of the Civil War, of approximately 186,000 blacks to the Union cause. In short, what was the South's loss was the North's gain.
Visionary and practical: the point couldn't be better summed up than by the man himself when he said, "In giving freedom to the slave we assure freedom to the free - honorable alike in what we give, and in what we preserve."
A 21st century CEO should be so visionary and practical!