Politics In Allen Guelzo's House Divided

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)

Abraham Lincoln is arguably one of the most interesting presidents in the history of the United States. Any research done on Lincoln will show, whether you agree or disagree with his philosophies, that he was, and still is, a fascinating historical figure. There have been numerous discussions regarding Lincoln before the Civil War, during the war as Commander In Chief, or his views on slavery and racial equality; furthermore, vast debates on his views, strategies, and solutions regarding events that helped shape our nation. Abraham Lincoln is such an interesting person that discussions and debates will lead to more questions open to more discussion and debate. What was Lincoln’s view on

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

In sequence with these events, Abraham Lincoln returned to politics in 1854 because of the success of Douglas’ Kansas-Nebraska act, and he quickly became the voice of the newly formed Republican Party. Shortly after he accepted the nomination from his party he said, “A housed divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free.” This quote is very important because Americans became aware that they would soon have to choose either to favor or oppose slavery, there was no middle ground. In Abraham Lincoln’s eyes, freedom meant the opposition to slavery. Unfortunately for the Republican party, Lincoln lost the election of 1858 and Douglas was reelected, but Lincoln would soon be back.

In 1860 Abraham Lincoln was elected President. He won the presidential votes of the Republican Party. Lincoln ran against Stephen Douglas. In one of their campaigns in Hartford, Connecticut, Lincoln spoke on the Democratic bushwhacking (Doc F). Part of their campaign were to talk about the slavery. Though Lincoln, a republican, and Douglas, a democratic, their views on slavery were entirely different. Lincoln argued against the spread of slavery while Douglas argued that each territory should have the right

The danger of politics lead to the principal factor of checks and balances, within the government and Founding Fathers, throughout the “most crucial and consequential [decade] in American history” (27). Politics were also what lead to the quarrel between John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson.

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.

Douglass worked by being a famous orator preached against slavery and eventually joined the Republican Party where he worked with Lincoln and the party to promote and work toward the end of slavery. 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” (Oakes 5) Beyond Garrisonian newspapers, he began to embrace abolitionist politics and the idea that the Constitution supported slave emancipation. “Lincoln saw the Constitution as neither a clarion

The author says that defenders and supporters of Lincoln can always back up his remarks with a redeeming quality. Lincoln admitted his feelings of racial equality; instead he always stated the feeling of white people. He didn’t always carefully construct his answers when speaking about his position of certain topics, although he tried. Lincoln wanted all questions about race removed from all discussion. His strategy to do so was to agree with the Democratic Party that there was no equality between blacks and whites. He used racism strategically to eliminate it. Lincoln did admit that he was in support of colonization because he truthfully believed that blacks and whites could not live together equally. To a man like Frederick Douglass, what Lincoln and the Republicans stood for was disjointed. And to me, while this may have all been a strategy for Lincoln, I feel it necessary to take Douglass’ side of the issue.

Although James McPherson presents Lincoln as having numerous qualities that defined him as a brilliant leader, he wastes no time in revealing what he believes to be Lincoln’s greatest strength. In his Introduction, McPherson states regarding Lincoln’s political leadership: “In a civil war whose origins lay in a political conflict over the future of slavery and a political decision by certain states to secede, policy could never be separated from national strategy…. And neither policy nor national strategy could be separated from military strategy” (McPherson, p.6). Lincoln could not approach the war from a purely martial standpoint—instead, he needed to focus on the issues that caused it. For the catalyst of the war was also the tool for its solution; a war started by differing ideologies could only be resolved through the military application of ideology. This non-objective approach to the waging of the war almost resembles the inspired approach McPherson brings to his examination of Lincoln himself.

From 1861 to 1865, Lincoln and Davis oversaw different perspectives of their nation. We may well wonder how much of Kentucky these men took with them in their very different lives. Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis had a passion for their beliefs. Both men were willing to sacrifice all they had for their respective countries. Abraham fought for what he thought was right and what many other people thought were right, but he did at times override the Constitution when he felt it was necessary. As for Davis could be a cold and demanding leader.

"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

The Lincoln-Douglas debates were a series of debates between Abraham Lincoln and Judge Stephen A. Douglas. The debates started because the two were going head to head as candidates for the Illinois Senatorship. Lincoln, the Republican candidate, believe that slaves deserved basic human rights. Douglas, on the other hand, believed that each state had its own right to choose if it was a slave state or a free state and that negroes should never have the rights a white man does. The race for the senator position was very close and both candidates would do a great job in office, it was just a matter of which candidate had more supporters. The Lincoln-Douglas Debates weren't just for a position in an office, these debates would determine the future of our nation. In the end, the nation would either be divided or united.

Douglas believed that slavery should be settled by popular sovereignty. Lincoln and Douglas are similar because of their early political life, but are also different because of their views on slavery and their political platform. During Lincoln’s early political years, He lived in a town called New Salem, Illinois, and began to study law. In 1834, he was elected to be the legislature as a Whig, where he criticized slavery as “founded on both injustice and bad policy”.

Abraham Lincoln wrote a letter to a friend Joshua Speed in August of 24, 1855. From this letter we can infer Lincoln’s opinion on several topics from slavery, Kansas Nebraska Act, his political party, and his reasons. Also from this letter we know that Lincoln and Speed clearly have different views despite being friends. Speed believes in slavery and on the other hand Lincoln dislikes it. “You know I dislike slavery; and you fully admit the abstract wrong of it” (Lincoln). But let’s be clear Lincoln was not an abolitionist, but an anti-expansionist. We know this because he expressed his feelings about the Wilmot Proviso in this letter. “When I was at Washington I voted for the Wilmot proviso as good as forty times, and I never heard of anyone