The Debates Of Abraham Lincoln And Stephen Douglas

A major difference between Lincoln and Douglass were their views on the Constitution. Douglass changed his views about the Constitution; at one point he believed it was a proslavery document and then he changed his opinion to believe it was an anti-slavery document. Lincoln never changed his opinions about the Constitution. “Lincoln saw the Constitution as neither a clarion call to abolition on a proslavery scandal. It was a compromise. It recognized slavery, but only out of necessity and only three times”. (Ibid., p.63) Lincoln believed in the founding fathers and believed that they had envisioned and end to slavery in the future of the then-fledgling United States. He also believed they had to make concessions to allow for the formation of the Union. “Unlike Frederick Douglass, Lincoln did not claim those concessions had not been made. He accepted them, but that didn’t mean he liked them.” (Ibid., p 63)

The Lincoln Douglas debates were a series of several debates that took place all over the state of Illinois. In these debates, two men argued in order to express their beliefs and standpoints on certain issues, primarily slavery, in an attempt to be elected into a seat in the U.S. Senate. The two men that participated in these debates were

During the time of Reconstruction, which was from 1865-1877, president Abraham Lincoln and abolitionist Frederick Douglass had many goals that they wanted to achieve during the Reconstruction period. They shared a common goal of trying to abolish slavery, however, Douglass and Lincoln did have different goals as well that they believed were priorities. Douglass’s goal was to have equality and equal rights among the races and Lincoln’s main goal was to unify the Union after the destruction caused by the Civil War. The nation did achieve Douglass and Lincoln’s shared goal of abolishing slavery and Lincoln did manage to unify the Union after a lot of hard work but did not achieve Douglass’s dream for

Douglas provides an understanding of the United States that satisfies Kant’s “definitive” criteria for perpetual peace. In the Lincoln and Douglass debate of 1858, Douglass clearly sides with slavery. His discourse was a speech meant to unite the country and to prevent future conflicts over the issue of slavery. Douglas meant to persuade the people to accept slavery as a nationalize institution. This may have seemed morally wrong, however, Douglas understood that slavery was essential towards the country’s economic prosperity. In addition, Douglass understood that Lincoln’s speech in opposition of slavery was going to divide the house and bring war where many people would die. As a result, Douglas made clear that he believed in popular sovereignty, where the people had the right to choose if they wanted slavery or not (Johannsen, p. 24). More specifically, Douglas thought white people had the right to choose if blacks were to be slaves or not. This demonstrates that Douglas speech was also meant to separate politics and morality since his ideals removed the moral condemnation of slavery by its efforts to spread slavery over the new territories of the United States. Therefore, Douglas satisfies Kant’s definitive criteria for perpetual peace. According to Kant, no treaty of peace shall be made if it leaves space for future wars since peace signifies the end of all fighting (Kant, p. 107). In other words, Kant thinks that all actions must be taken in order to prevent war. It

The Lincoln-Douglas Debates were one of the most significant events in American political history. It led to high tensions between the North and the South and it ended up being one of the main causes of the civil war. The Lincoln–Douglas Debates were a series of seven debates between Abraham Lincoln, the Republican candidate for the United States Senate from Illinois, and incumbent Senator Stephen Douglas, the Democratic Party candidate. Lincoln first challenged Douglas to the debates in 1858. It consisted of seven, three hour public debates in total. Both republican and democratic citizens from all over the country came to watch the fascinating discussion between the two. Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas engaged in the prominent Lincoln-Douglas Debates during the election of 1860, for the public debates led to high controversy between Northerners and Southerners.

As a result of the Compromise of 1850, California was admitted as a free state, the territory disputed between Texas and New Mexico was surrendered to New Mexico, the slave trade was abolished in the District of Columbia, the Mexican Cession was open to popular sovereignty, and a stronger Fugitive Slave Law was enacted. In a speech to the Senate on March 7, 1850, Senator Daniel Webster stated his opinion that the North is wrong for not obeying the Fugitive Slave Law and that succession is amiss [Document D].The tone of Webster’s speech is objective as he attempts to see both sides- the North and the South. Webster is unbiased because as a Northern man, he agrees with the South. The peace was only temporary. The Fugitive Slave Law upset Northerners and the Underground Railroad became more active, peaking between 1850 and 1860. Massachusetts went so far as to making it a penal offense for a state official to enforce the act. The act also brought the issue of slavery into the limelight before the entire nation. In fact, by 1858, there was no avoiding the subject of slavery. During the Lincoln-Douglass Debates in a speech at Alton, Illinois on October 15, 1858, Abraham Lincoln stated that slavery was no longer just a political issue [Document G]. Slavery was splitting the nation and during the Second Great Awakening, even churches split over the issue. Lincoln’s speech is

“’One section of our country believes slavery is right, and ought to be extended, while the other believes it is wrong, and ought to be restricted. That,’ he said with a touch of irony, ‘is the only substantial dispute’” (Oakes 140). People bickered whether or not Lincoln was doing the right thing by signing the Emancipation

"Douglas basically explained in the Freeport Doctrine his belief that the people in a new territory be able to decide whether or not they would allow slavery."(What Were the Results of the Lincoln-Douglas Debates?) The Freeport Doctrine was the subject Douglas spoke about. It made people uneasy."Lincoln argued that while he wanted to end the extension of slavery into US territories"(What Were the Results of the Lincoln-Douglas Debates?) It was important, and a historical debate time. As Lincoln spoke his famous quotes a nation cannot stand as a divided nation, and everyone had rights through the Declaration Of Independence.The problem also was extension to the different territories for slavery. The Debates were not to fix slavery, but to talk about what would make it better. What laws could change it, or stopping slavery from happening in many other

By using past precedents Lincoln gave some serious weight to his arguments on the nature of the Republican’s stance on slavery and the federal government’s rights to limit slavery in the Territories. Since the opposing party’s argument was that the framers knew more about the issue of slavery and its expansion than they did now. Lincoln turned this argument for the use of the Republicans by explaining the voting records of the majority of the men who signed the Constitution. When the question of slavery in the Northwest Territory became an issue Lincoln sites the fact that of

Douglas being a Democrat and Mr. Lincoln being a Republican, it was inevitable that they would have differing views on how to handle the issue of slavery. Slavery may have been a much deeper issue than those of the ones we have today, but popular sovereignty should still be the way that one sees to be the right choice to solve slavery. Many could say that both men were right in their own ways, however, one should be able to see that Mr. Douglas’s arguments were stronger and better proven to be

Despite the fact that senators were selected by the state parliaments until 1913, Lincoln and Douglas took their contentions straight to the citizens. The time of the operations, the setting of sectional enmity in which it was argued, the slavery issue,

Abraham Lincoln was a man of simplicity, evident in the length of the speech. He sought to keep the speech short, as he saw no reason to speak about topics everyone knew of already. Rather he spoke of the Civil War, and his views, and what he wants for the country as a result.

Each year, senior students are asked to make the huge decision of what the want to do in the near approaching future. While a student is making a big choice between possible universities, there are many aspects for them to consider. Two potential universities such as Nebraska Wesleyan University and University of Nebraska at Lincoln share many similarities such as their location and organizations, but they also differ in price and size. For starters, the two universities are in Lincoln, Nebraska.

In his speech, Abraham Lincoln talked about the issue of slavery and how it affected the unity of the State. Apparently, some influential individuals including judges, politicians and the affluent maintained that slavery could not be prohibited. Some policies were put in place which oppressed the slaves. These acts provided that slaves were not allowed to own property nor to obtain citizenship, including their descendants. Abraham Lincoln insisted that the act of owning another human being is one of the causes of conflict. Some individuals did not want the practice to be abolished while some of them did not care whether the slavery act was voted for or against. He said that he was surprised when one lawmaker indicated that “he cares not whether slavery be voted down or voted up, to be intended by him other than as an apt definition of the policy he would impress upon the public mind.” Lincoln went on to describe the features of the Nebraska law.

There are times when the nation needs someone to be a hero and lead them to a better place. A hero does not necessarily have to have a supernatural power. The only thing that makes heroes heroic is their brave soul and mind. Abraham Lincoln and Nathan Bedford Forrest are also considered heroes in different ways. Nathan Bedford Forrest is a genius, a commander, and a successful businessman. Lincoln is also a genius, a commander, and a man who ended slavery. Both Abraham Lincoln and Nathan Bedford Forrest influenced people in different ways with different morality.