Compare And Contrast Frederick Douglass And Lincoln

Lincoln and Douglass: On the Same Page
In the time of the Abolitionist Movement, there were many different statements and positions the people would take regarding a highly controversial issue. Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln are two significant figures of the nineteenth century during the Antislavery Movement. They come from different backgrounds and one would assume they have different views and arguments on slavery, which make their talks of this issue more significant. The historical significance this specific issue has is a catalyst that helps the freeing of slaves and abolishing the act of slavery. As two significant persons during the time of the antislavery movement, Douglass and Lincoln both use historical American documents …show more content…
In Lincoln’s “Speech in Peoria,” he speaks directly about the Constitution and how, “at the framing and adoption of the constitution, they forbore to so much as mention the word ‘slave’ or ‘slavery’” (Lincoln 268) Lincoln is speaking about the new territories and how the Constitution should be issued and adopted amongst all, even the new territories that are trying to act upon popular sovereignty. Lincoln, without hesitation here, says that since the Constitution, the historical document listing all the rights the people have, does not state the word “slave” or “slavery,” the idea and act of it should not exist in the nation. In the time of his speech in Peoria, "Lincoln condemned the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 for giving slavery a new life” (Roark 372-373). Abraham Lincoln had believed that slavery was "a 'great moral wrong '" because he saw that black had natural rights, and deserved to embrace what was for them (Roark 372). As slavery was being fought against in the North, the Kansas-Nebraska Act only fueled the fire between the North and South even more. This all eventually led to the idea of the South leaving the Union. As Abraham Lincoln, a white man, was against the idea of slavery, there were others, that thought the same as …show more content…
In Douglass’ “The Constitution of the U.S.: Is It Proslavery or Antislavery,” similarly argues, “This is said by the slaveholders in America...but it is not said by the Constitution itself” (Douglass 270). Douglass talks about the Preamble of the Constitution and how the rights and blessings that the Constitution gives to the people. He tries to say that in the Constitution in never stated that slavery was a part of the American culture and the rights given. The people who hold slaves, the rich and powerful whites, are the ones that claim slavery is a given right to them. The same white Southerners were the ones that claimed that the "Northerners had betrayed the Compromise and the Constitution" (Roark 363). This shows how Douglass is correct about the Southern whites claiming that slavery is mandatory in the Constitution and other national acts. As Douglass states, slavery is not a part of the Constitution, but rather it is a part of the mindsets that the people follow more than the law itself. Similar to slavery in the eighteen-hundreds, the two-thousands has its own issue regarding, human trafficking. Human trafficking is the act of controlling another person to engage in commercial sex or soliciting labor against their will and without consent. This act is also known as the modern day slavery. Even though it is a crime and against the law, people