Abraham Lincoln 's Speech On The Dred Scott Case

First, Abraham Lincoln wasn’t a fan of slavery. He thought that slavery should be abolished. According to document 5 it says “Abraham Lincoln, who had declared “Government cannot endure permanently half slave, half free…”. Lincoln also thought that it should be “Free Speech, Free Homes, and Free Territory”. He thought that blacks should have the right to talk in public and blacks should own their own homes and property. Lincoln wanted all blacks to be free and didn't want racism.

He still did not think blacks should have the right to vote, hold political offices, or marry white people. He also still believed physical differences between the two races would prevent them from living together socially and politically (186). Lincoln was against whites benefitting from slave labor and did feel that blacks should be able to benefit from the fruits of their own labor. According to Dinesh D’Souza in her article “Abraham Lincoln: Tyrant, Hypocrite, or Consummate Statesman”, he was not, however, an abolitionist. Abolitionists wanted an immediate end to slavery and believed the rights of slaves should not be compromised and that they “had a duty to defend freedom, unreservedly, and careless of the consequences” (3).

This clearly shows that Lincoln was not out for the Negro but just to preserve the union. He says in many other debates that he thought the Negro had a physical difference from the white man as well as an intellectual difference (Lincoln-Douglas, n. pag.). Lincoln was considered by many in the south to be a bigot, a white supremacist who wanted segregation and opposed civil and political rights for blacks (Oates 21). Stephen B. Oates talks of many of the theories in his book, like that many southerners concluded that Lincoln was with them in the matters of race (22). Many of these examples show that Lincoln was a hypocrite of some sorts. He would appeal to the southerners by making statements that led them to believe that he was against the Negro. Yet he was writing the emancipation proclamation that was supposed to free all of the slaves. This also is debatable that the proclamation freed any slaves at all. The emancipation proclamation is looked at by some as one of the most far-reaching pronouncements ever issued in the United States (Oates 25). Also it is said that the proclamation freed few if any bondsman (Oates 26).

Does everyone deserve civil rights? John F. Kennedy believed so during the Civil Rights Movement. The Civil Right Movement began around 1950 and ended around 1970. A few of the major leaders were Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and John F. Kennedy. The purpose of the Civil Rights Movement was to end discrimination and prejudice among whites and blacks. Many African Americans did not have the same rights as Caucasians mainly due to their skin being a different color. A famous speech delivered by John F. Kennedy was “The Nation Faces a Moral Crisis Regarding Race” on June 11, 1963 at Washington D.C.. A major theme of John F. Kennedy's speech was racism. In “The Nation Faces a Moral Crisis in Regard to Race”, John F. Kennedy inspires his intended audience during the Civil Rights Movement by using the rhetorical devices of tone and repetition.

Although Abraham Lincoln wanted to free African American slaves and thought slavery was wrong he did not believe they should have the same social and political rights. The mid 1800s was a time that separated the black and white race immensely. The northern states and the southern states of the United States was divided on the issues of slavery among other reasons which led to the civil war. The civil war was the beginning of struggling African American slaves journey to freedom with the help of Abraham Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation. Slavery in the northern states never reached the severity in most plantations that it did in the South, and it was common knowledge that being a slave in the South was, in a way, more harsh than the North, leading to a much larger number of slaves being held captive in southern states. Many people in the southern states used biblical passages to justify slavery and said that if slavery was abolished there would be unquestionable chaos and unemployment. Despite all of the people that did not think that slavery was wrong, one man stood and took the blunt of the judgement by the people named Abraham Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln viewed slavery as wrong, but knew that the nation’s founding fathers struggled with how to address the issue of slavery. There were several ideas on how abolish slavery during the 1800s, including colonization and the Emancipation Proclamation, but these ideas were not introduced into law because the general public

During the early 17th century slavery was being practiced in the South for over 350 years. They were forced to work the production of tobacco, crops, and later cotton. When the cotton grin was evented in 1793 along with the growing demand product in Europe. The slaves had become a use to the South and it formed a foundation for their economy. Going into the late 18th century there were problems with slavery and they are the abolitionist movement, the Missouri Compromise, the Dred Scott Decision, and Abraham Lincoln.

Abraham Lincoln, was born in Kentucky, a Southern state, was against slavery. This was unusual for a Southerner. However, Lincoln had his reasons. “I hate it because it derives our republican example of its just influence in the world…..” (Chadwick, Pg. 55). He believed that whites and blacks had equal rights and that they shouldn’t be treated differently. He

     Lincoln believed that the Declaration of Independence contained rights for freedom and equality, and could not be taken away from anyone. Slavery, Harold Holzer said, “It is the eternal struggle between these two principles---right and wrong---throughout the world” (35). He believed these same principles, and knew that the citizens of the United States had their Constitutional right to own slaves. However, Lincoln wanted to show the people how cruel and evil slavery really is, and had strong morals which were totally against slavery. He stood by these morals throughout his life.

Lincoln sought to balance the party’s belief that slavery was morally wrong and oppose the expansion of it with a promise to protect it in states where it already existed. Lincoln did not advocate political or social equality for blacks but rather their inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. He carefully detailed his views on the limits to racial equality of black and white people. Lincoln knew that the majority of northern voters, while not believing in slavery, considered blacks inferior and wanted nothing to do with them.

Lincoln suggests that the institution of slavery be contained by preventing the spread of it to the new territories and Free states, although he had no interest in interfering with the already entitled slave states. He agrees that it was the right of the state to make its own decisions, not the federal government. Although Lincoln did not favor getting involved with abolishing slavery in the already declared slave states, he did favor total abolition in the distant future. He was first worried about stopping the expansion of slavery and then the next step to be taken would have been the "ultimate extinction" of it throughout the states. Lincoln did believe that every white man had no more equality than another. For this is one of the main reasons why at this time a resolution needed to be found in order to keep this equality in the new territories. Lincoln made a valid point in his speech that if slave holders were to settle in a new territory along with people opposed to slavery, which party has the right to decide what type of territory and future state it will be declared as? As for the rights of slaves, Lincoln agreed with Douglas that slaves did not have the same individual rights as everyone else, but he did believe that the liberties given under the Declaration of Independence involved such slaves. It is obvious that the Republicans of this time find slavery as being a "moral, social, and political wrong",

As a Republican President, Abraham Lincoln opposed slavery. He believed it was unnecessary to everyone-including Negros and Whites. However, with his stand on slavery, he held back by declaring that he had no reason to disrupt slavery where it existed. The constitution had protected states where citizens wanted slavery to exist. Lincoln knew he would not get enough support and that the four slave-holding states in the North would turn against him. As a result, the Civil War began in 1861 with more of a political purpose in keeping the union together rather than a battle for human freedom. Slaveholders could not turn to the Union’s side because slaves were valuable and played a vital role to

In Abraham Lincoln’s Lyceum speech given in 1838, he instructs the audience how perpetuate our political institutions. How do we keep our country united? “The answer is simple. Let every American, every lover of liberty…swear by the blood of the Revolution, never to violate in the least particular, the laws of the country; and never to tolerate their violation by others.” But what about bad or unjust laws? “[I]f they exist, [they]should be repealed as soon as possible, still while they continue in force, for the sake of example, they should be religiously observed.”

Even though he naively believed that white men were the supreme race, he was staunchly against slavery as an institution and felt that the Declaration of Independence included black persons. In the same debate, Lincoln goes on to state that he “[does] not perceive that because the white man is to have the superior position the Negro should be denied every thing” (Lincoln). He believed that ‘the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,’ as outlined in the Declaration of Independence, applies to all men, regardless of their color, ethnicity, or culture. This may be attributed to the fact that he had not had many encounters with Black slaves until when he was in his late teens, where it had a profound impact on him (Foner 8).

President Lincoln’s opinion of slavery changed drastically over the course of his life. He was against slavery but not always for more than the prevention of its spread. Lincoln did not set out originally in his political career to end slavery in the whole of the union, but it slowly evolved to become his main goal. The development of his opinion on slavery is evident in several of his speeches, letters, and other primary sources.

Abraham Lincoln’s first inaugural address was given during a time of crisis. The Southern states feared their newly elected President would soon take their way of life from them, and they would do everything to stop it. The South threatened secession and began electing their own leaders and creating a new constitution. Knowing this would certainly lead to war, in his address Lincoln said, “We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies” (Lincoln). Lincoln knew that war would tear the country apart, and he wanted to prevent that. As he prepared to give the speech, he kept quiet, but others turned around his silence. Many said he was the reason the Union was divided. In preparing for his speech he knew