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Title: A fight for rights
The time of Reconstruction is a significant period marked in history of the United States. It lasted from 1865-1877, during which efforts were made to resolve the status of ex-Confederate states and their leaders, coupled with the efforts for freedom as soon as the Civil War ended. Both, Abraham Lincoln, the president of America and the Abolitionist Frederick Douglass had some goals for the nation during the time of Reconstruction. They also shared a common goal to eradicate slavery after the Civil War; however, their priorities also contrasted. Lincoln’s main goal was to unify the nation and bring them back from the destructive impacts of civil war whereas Douglass aimed abolish slavery and have equal rights for all. Both the leaders played a significant role in American history, shared a bond, and worked together to attain their common goal of slavery abolishment (“Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln”). Lincoln succeeded to unify the nation but Douglass’ goal, which was to achieve equality, remained unattainable.
President Abraham Lincoln is known as a leader who preserved the Union after the Civil War. One of the key goals of Lincoln was to unify the nation and to eradicate the conflicts between South and North America. He took the most significant decision to fight to unify the nation. This decision resulted in the loss of many lives and major devastation for the US, however, eventually, it resulted in the US remaining as a single nation rather than two divided countries. At the same time, he devised plans and set different policies that protected America from intervening of other nations in the Civil War (“Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln”). Throughout the war, he remained a resolute commander-in-chief to save the union; and all his efforts in the war aimed at unifying the nation.
The issue of equality and slavery was secondary for the president and he wanted to take any action that could preserve the union. His words describe this very well, "My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or destroy slavery." (Boyer et al.) these words are from his letter to Horace Greeley, an abolitionist. Nonetheless, during the Civil War, he issued Emancipation Proclamation based on the procedure to free slaves and it allowed black soldiers to fight for the nation. He also made slavery illegal in the US and is known as a precursor of the 13th amendment.
Both Lincoln and Douglass involved in politics to attain some goals for their nation. Besides, they shared a close but tumultuous relationship during the time Lincoln was in office (“Lincoln and Douglass Shared Uncommon Bond”). Frederick Douglass himself was a slave and after escaping slavery, he became the leader of the abolitionist movement. After the Civil War, he remained the most active player and fought against slavery. He was a firm advocate of abolishment of slavery and equality for all, whether white, black, immigrants, and females. In order to support his efforts to eradicate slavery in America, he published the anti-slavery newspaper and made a role in politics. To attain his goals of abolishing slavery, he used the power of words and delivered remarkable speeches. The most famous among all is “The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro”. He became a consultant to Lincoln and urged African Americans to take part in the union army. He also fought for the right to vote for all. He attained his goals to some extent in the form of the 15th Amendment and Emancipation Proclamation (Douglass’s Role in the Civil War).
Thus, both Lincoln and Douglass played a vital role in history and attained their mutual goals to end slavery. Douglass was not able to fully attain his goal of equality for all but Lincoln managed to unify the nation.
Works Cited
ADDIN ZOTERO_BIBL {"uncited":[],"omitted":[],"custom":[]} CSL_BIBLIOGRAPHY Boyer, Paul S., et al. The Enduring Vision: A History of the American People, Volume I: To 1877, Concise. Cengage Learning, 2012.
Douglass’s Role in the Civil War. http://www.americaslibrary.gov/aa/douglass/aa_douglass_war_2.html. Accessed 22 Jan. 2020.
“Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln.” WHHA (En-US), https://www.whitehousehistory.org/frederick-douglass-and-abraham-lincoln. Accessed 22 Jan. 2020.
“Lincoln and Douglass Shared Uncommon Bond.” NPR.Org, https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100694897. Accessed 22 Jan. 2020.
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