The Radical and the Republican Essay examples

Even with their different reasons, “by 1858 Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass were saying the same thing, preaching the same antislavery politics. Liberty or Slavery must become law of the Land” (Ibid., p.5)

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).

In conclusion, Frederick Douglass was an African American slave that fought to be free. His vision of being a freeman was inspired by his desire for education and his relationship with God that taught him that God would help those that help themselves. He was one of the greatest leaders of the abolitionist movement, which help fought to end slavery in the United States. Fredrick Douglass I really respect Douglass by stepping out on faith to help the Africans Americans to have freedom as of today. He was a firm believer that trusted God 100

Abraham Lincoln started all that before he was in office, so imagine what he did when he became president of the United States. When Lincoln was elected there was a long series of policy clashes between the South and the North. The clash wasn’t just about slavery. It was a clash of elites. The Northern elite wanted economic expansion. Such as, free land; free labor, free market, and much more. Lincoln had all of this in mind, even the slaves. The slaves saw Lincoln as their ticket to freedom. The South was for slavery, so when they notice Lincoln was trying to abolish slavery they started to secede from the union. Lincoln tried to get some of the states back and more seceded. The confederacy was formed; the civil war was on.

Frederick Douglass was a wise and brave man that grew up in the American slave system. He knows first hand the hardships of being owned by someone and having no way to escape that kind of life. After escaping from slavery he decided to write a book on the hardships of his life. In the book he describes the life of the slave and the many aspects that are not usually learned. These aspects describe the life of a slave in a point of view that is not usually looked at; the point of view of a slave.

Frederick Douglass believed that slavery corrupted slaveholders because it could turn a kind hearted woman into a demon. Frederick was chosen to move to Baltimore and it opened the gateway to all of his subsequent prosperity. When he meet his mistress he

He defends the South’s position on slavery which is a deeply grounded belief. Abraham Lincoln describes this situation as a disagreement on the definition of liberty in his “Address at Sanitary Fair, Baltimore” (1864). He explains that liberty may mean “for each man to do as he pleases with himself, and the product of his labor; while with others the same word may mean for some men to do as they please with other men” (Forner 287). It is easy to see how this disagreement was heading in a catastrophic direction as the South continued to fight for the whole reason they came to America in the first place. The Confederates were willing to fight to death to defend their definition of freedom because the North winning the war equated to the very same thing in their minds; the end of their lives.

In the book, The Radical and the Republican: Fredrick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, and the triumph of Antislavery Politics, written by James Oakes connected the politics and the point of views of both Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass towards the issue of slavery and the emancipation of slaves. Oakes interpretations of both men were very detailed in showing their reason and politics behind their positions they served in society on the topic of slavery. Abraham Lincoln, the republican, and Fredrick Douglass, the radical, two incredibly distinct people, yet both shared similar views towards their hatred on the institution of slavery and their highest hopes for freedom. “How can a relationship so different, yet a like lead to the road to emancipation of the slaves?” Both men had different reasons for their detestation toward slavery, yet both worked to bring the emancipation and fix the injustice regarding the slaves.

Slavery was brought to America in the 1600’s taking millions of Africans from West Africa. But in 1804 the North voted to abolish slavery but the South refused making states escape the union.Slavery in the South had an effect on the economy, but also on the slaves.Frederick Douglass, who was once a slave with his family in Maryland suffered greatly, but still pushed on and finally escaped and became a national leader of the abolition in the south movement.He made a narrative about his life as a slave and stated that the purpose of the narrative is to “throw light” on the American slave system.The goal of this paper is to discuss three aspects his narrative discusses that he “throws light” on, his position against the feelings of defenders of

Lincoln was always against slavery. He never thought of slaves as better than white Americans, but still thought they should be considered as equal to the law. Lincoln agreed with the founding fathers' phrase “All men are created equal,” which he also thought that it should have applied to black and white people. “The Declaration and the Constitution enshrined these rights: the right to ‘life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness’. In essence, to Lincoln this implied the right to be free, to enjoy the fruits of his labour, to have a family and to acquire property.”

Frederick Douglass was born into slavery he learned how to read which was unacceptable for slaves. He escaped into freedom in the north. Soon after his freedom he started to go to antislavery rallies. “I appear this evening as a thief and a robber. I stole this head, these limbs, this body from my master, and ran off with them.’’ said Frederick Douglass in the speech of 1842. By appearing in public, Frederick ran the risk of being caught as he rallied with larger audiences.

He keeps to the subject very well in this book, making the tone of it objective, keeping his personal views out. The book is written in an undeviating fashion, looking at Lincoln’s relationship with slavery from his early childhood to his death and beyond.

Abraham Lincoln's position on slavery was the belief that the expansion of it to Free states and new territories should be ceased and that it eventually be abolished completely throughout the country. He believed simply that

Firstly, Abraham Lincoln was never a person who said that a african american and white person were equal but instead said that they were man like them so they should be allowed to obtain property like theirs. In his personal life Abe had a unique upbringing and adulthood as he lived. His upbringing with a father who had no education, but was successful in life with what he did and a religious family to beat. Nevertheless, his uneducated father found a way to live a prosperous life being one of the most successful farmers in Kentucky. To boot, his family was one with morals and that came with being a family that was religious just like a great majority of southern culture all of them attended church on Sunday. Next, it came to his adulthood later on in his life he was a lawyer and even a statesman before doing anything else. He became a lawyer after studying for only 18 hours and started to practice law immediately; becoming very successful with the way he could use his words in court. While he was a

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).