Lincoln-Douglas Argument Against Slavery

With the reasoning words of Abraham Lincoln at Peoria, Illinois and his emotional message that slavery was inhumane, Americans were emotionally dedicated to his cause. This speech was just one of the many Lincoln would give in his lifetime and also one of the most seminal. It was Abraham Lincoln’s hatred for slavery and love for the Union that drove him to push his way to the political forefront. This all started with the Kansas- Nebraska Act and the support of Senator Douglas that lead to Lincoln’s opposition. The Lincoln-Douglas debates showcased for the general public the true intentions of the Democrats and how the new Republicans could form together to make a greater chance for the nation.

The Radical and the Republican Abraham Lincoln and Fredrick Douglas were two extremely important men. Lincoln grew up in an anti-slavery home. His parents were anti-slavery and the church they went to was against slavery. Growing up he thought that blacks should have the same rights as the white men. [1] “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

Lincoln always hated slavery, but he was smart enough not to publicly announce it. His public statements on slavery and race have been the cause of controversy throughout the years, as he often seems to almost contradict himself at first glance. However, analyzing the seemingly racist statements he would make shows that they were all part of a bigger plan. Had he simply told the racist audiences that their beliefs were wrong, they would have rejected him outright. Instead, he would use ambiguous language to make it seem as if he shared their beliefs, and then use sound logic to argue in favor of his own point. By doing this, he molded the opinions of his audience in an extremely effective manner.

Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas were engaged in seven different debates across Illinois. At these debates Douglas was bating Lincoln during his speeches with the topic of race, then Lincoln would have to defend himself. A week after these debates Lincoln was welcomed to Dallas City with a banner that read “Equality.” According to Miller, Lincoln was arguing in favor of “Negro Equality,” and was arguing that he saw slavery as a monstrous injustice and a huge moral wrong. He was against slavery in the territories but Douglas did not see slavery to be an evil. A senate seat was at stake for these two men and race was a key focus of debate. Douglas’ main argument was that slavery should be permitted to spread to the territories while Lincoln disagreed. Lincoln was arguing for black humanity, because of his compassion of human beings and natural rights that African Americans should have.

The juxtaposition Eric Foner creates between Stephen A. Douglas’s, popular sovereignty and Lincoln’s absolutist ideology, demonstrations that the issue of slavery will ultimately transform the political atmosphere for years to come. According to Foner, both Lincoln and Douglas disagree on the account of the intentions of the founding fathers right to “local self-government”.

Similarly, the purpose of Lincoln’s speech was to present his opinion on the rising contentions about slavery and provoke the minds of the listeners. Lincoln stated in his speech, “I believe this government cannot endure, per-manently half slave and half free.” With his previous illustration of a house divided, Lincoln intends to make it clear that he believes America cannot continue in division. His opinion is that there must be a resolution, and it must be that America would be all slave,

Both Abraham Lincoln and Stephan Douglas had one thing in common: they both wanted to become the president of the United States. Because each of them represented different political parties, it was just natural that their views were different on things, as well as similar on others. From the beginning of the debate, these two were sure to make their opinions known. Around the time of their debate, however, slavery was one of the most popular topics. In this essay, I will explain both Lincoln’s and Douglas’s opinions on slavery, and how the presidential debate turned out between the two of them going head to head.

From Guezlo’s introduction of “Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation: The end of Slavery in America”, he acknowledged that this is one of the representative of President Lincoln’s writings in the history demonstrating his dedication to free “four million black slaves”. At the end of Guezlo’s introduction, he proposed the idea of how Lincoln would be a white friend to African American due to the power, the position he had that can help him to start deliverance. The author stated, “It would be special pleading to claim that Lincoln was in the end the most perfect friend black Americans have ever had. But it would also be the cheapest and most ignorant of skepticisms to deny that he was the most significant” (359). The president was described as a manumitter who broadens the destinies for the Negroes. Moreover, this is also an opportunity to solve the happening concerns between masters, slaves, and many others involving folks. Additionally, in Guezlo’s pieces of evidence, he suggested that there was always the thought of releasing African American slaves in Lincoln’s mind even from the day when he first had the presidential oath. The president implied the “hatred” he had on slavery, of how it might affect the world, “I hate it because of the monstrous injustice of slavery itself …” (354). Lincoln insisted that having slavery is equal to the violation of the Declaration of Independence as well as the belief of the Republicans of how this issue would influence the whole society.

The freedom of America’s slaves has always been accredited to Abraham Lincoln, but he was not always the complete abolitionist as he is commonly portrayed. The “house divided”, as Lincoln depicts it in his famous ‘House Divided’ speech, of the United States during the Civil War, was not always lead towards the freedom of all mankind, and there is sufficient evidence to support this claim. The sixteenth president is most commonly remembered for inducing the courage and determination to end the Civil War, with the Emancipation Proclamation, although when it more closely studied he did not cross the great divide of enslavement vs. freedom with the submittal of that fabled document. When following the many famous quotes and speeches of Lincoln’s life, it appears that he was against all slavery and bondage. Although when they are more closely examined, the quotes and speeches actually leaned towards his lack of strong opinion on the outcome of slavery. Lincoln is perceived as the most famous revolutionary of American history, but he does not live up to his legacy of being the eradicator of forced servitude.

Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation declared “all persons held as slaves within any State, or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free”. While it continues to be a symbol of equality and social justice, his legacy has generated a century and a half debate that questions if he was the “progressive man” whose death was an “unspeakable calamity” as Frederick Douglass proclaimed or had he done “more to trick Negroes than any other man in history” as  Malcolm X claimed in 1964.

For Lincoln slavery was morally wrong and it was a curse for the country which should never had happened. In his opinion the slavery should be prohibited on the free states’ territories and new territories and eventually it will die out through the whole country and system of gradual emancipation should be adopted in the country. Abraham Lincoln argued that slavery is an institution that destabilizes the political situation in the United States. He made a good argument that slavery jeopardized the country's free word reputation, referring to the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence which was like the Bible for the churchmen, for Americans, as a free willed people this was sympathetic. Lincoln also referred to the Great Fathers who

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).

After reading several historians’ texts regarding Lincoln’s opinions and policies toward slavery, and the unification of a nation as a whole, I distinguished that several authors have contending visions of Lincoln’s actions during his presidency. Some authors (Dirck, Guelzo, Striner) portray Lincoln as the great emancipator in depicting him as a crusader whose main purpose during the Civil War was only to accomplish the abolishment of slavery. In contrast, some authors (Escott, Gates, Foner, and McPherson) maintain a more critical stance on Lincoln’s decision to abolish slavery citing that his main goal was solely to preserve the Union and not out of a personal resentment towards

To demonstrate this characterization, I begin with an explanation of Lincoln’s position on slavery and the abolishment of slavery, focusing on his two main arguments that slavery is not only immoral but a poor reflection of the nation. I continue to discuss the advantages of his position, and note that he does argue against an immoral practice. Finally, I counter with the disadvantages of his position, stating that his position on racial equality still promoted the oppression and suppression of blacks.

Abraham Lincoln disproves American exceptionalism by favoring the white race, instead of showing equality, he tried to blend interests of the government; the white race, and slaves. Slavery was never one of Lincoln's top priorities, even though he publically agreed “that slavery was founded on injustice and bad policy” (Zinn) instead of fighting for what was morally correct he kept did not stand up for his beliefs. When the Fugitive Slave law was passed, Lincoln refused to abolish the law in his heart this law was injustice and had sympathy for the slaves, yet no action was taken. The Fugitive law state that gave any southern slave owner the right to hunt down slaves who had escaped and fled to another state. Instead of completely abolishing slavery, Lincoln's initial solution was to free the slaves, but send them back to Africa; this displayed that Lincoln didn’t rather please the superior race, the whites than allow african-American people the freedom to live in America. Abraham focus was more or becoming president again than being steadfast to his beliefs; depending on who his audience was, he said whatever needed to be said in order to gain votes. During a speech in Southern Illinois, where slavery is permitted he states “I will say, then, that I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races…… I as much as any other man am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race”. Abraham never intended on making the black race an equal race to the whites, in his mind whites would and should always be the dominant race. In Lincoln’s first inauguration speech on March 4, 1961 he states “I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States