Abraham Lincoln And Fredrick Douglass
Adejoke Babalola
Houston Community College
Professor Samuel Hogsette
HIST 1301
March 7, 2022
Abraham Lincoln was an American statesman and a lawyer born in 1809, February 12th. Abraham was born in a low-income family and was self-educated, becoming a lawyer. Lincoln first became a leader in 1854 with the Republican Party, where he reached the national audience against Stephen Douglas in the 1858 debate. Lincoln then ran for the presidency in 1860 and served the United States as the 16th president until he was assassinated in 1865. Abraham Lincoln was believed to be determined to overthrow the constitution and then destroy his beloved south. This belief over Lincoln by a supporter of slavery led to Lincoln being assassinated.
Lincoln is regarded as one of America’s greatest heroes for his role as an emancipator of the enslaved people and savior of America’s political unions. The ability to negotiate, command a room and give a compelling speech made Abraham Lincoln be regarded as one of the greatest presidents of America. Lincoln succeeded in modernizing the economy of the United States, abolishing slavery, reinforcing the federal government, preserving the national union, and leading America through the civil war. Despite Lincoln’s high-quality leadership, he died in 1865, April 15th, after being shot to the head by John Wilkes Booth. (Koehn. et al. 2018)
Frederick Douglas was an African American abolitionist, newspaper publisher, orator, and author. Frederick taught himself reading and writing skills and is famous for his autobiography. While enslaved, Frederick taught the other enslaved people and helped them become literate. In 1838, Anna Murray helped Frederick escape from slavery. After 1838, Frederick became an anti-slavery lecturer and was forced to travel to Britain in fear of re-enslavement. In 1872, Douglas was nominated for vice president but turned the offer down since he was nominated without his consent. Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglas met in 1863.
The abolitionism movement to end slavery gained prominence during the civil war in the United States. Frederick Douglas led this abolitionist movement. Two more publications on autobiographies were made by Douglas and were all considered classic. Anti-slavery newspapers that were too influential were also established under Frederick in 1847, December 3rd. The right for all Africans and Americans to vote was implemented under Douglas in 1870.
Lincoln and Frederick met to protest the discrimination faced by the black soldiers who were serving in the union. In the last autobiography by Frederick Douglas, Douglas stated that Abraham Lincoln regarded him as a friend. Lincoln invited Douglas into the White House three times. Douglas attended the second inauguration of Lincoln in the White House. (Levine. et al. 2018)
References
Koehn, N. (2018). The leadership journey of Abraham Lincoln. McKinsey Quarterly.
Levine, R. S. (2018). Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, and the art of persuasion. Howard Journal of Communications, 29(3), 258-267.
