House Divided: Source Analysis

The first of the two sources to be examined here is Allen Guelzo's House Divided: Lincoln, Douglas, and the Political Landscape of 1858. This source takes a more technical examination of not just the speeches and overall influence of Lincoln during this time, but also on where politics stood around the middle of the nineteenth century. This allows the book to feel somewhat modern in that it has a comprehensive amount of knowledge on the subject while also feeling historical in the sense that it has a large number of personal reports and information that make the piece feel as if it were more authentic. Therefore, in order to better understand this source as well as the second source which will be examined later, it is necessary to take a closer look at it. To begin with, this source takes a more critical examination at the Lincoln-Douglas race from the perspective of the complex …show more content…
It is no secret that this time period was something of a renaissance, politically speaking, and this led to a number of clashes in the senate as well as in the presidency in general. One could even argue that this was one of the most politically virulent time periods in history. As a result, the source is able to take a look at some of the political betrayals, such as that of Buchanan turning against Douglas, within this world of politics. This is effective both in terms of its historical significance as well as a sort of dramatic tool. Indeed, this source is different from the other in that this source almost seems to emphasize its own narrative. In effect, this means that it is possible for the author to tell a story through the historical events and betrayals that are occurring here. This also means, by extension, that this source will be much easier to digest and properly understand by the layman than the other, primarily because there is an element of drama that most will at least find