Free Custom «Stephen A. Douglas and Abraham Lincoln» Essay Paper

Stephen A. Douglas was an antagonist for Abraham Lincoln especially from 1854-1561. The struggle between the two on public policy and values had a lasting impact on the country. In this essay we will compare and contrast the political attitudes of these two politicians and how it determined the outcome of the 1860 election.Comparisons and contrasts on political attitudes of Douglas and LincolnThe two men, Douglas and Lincoln, were ambitious politically although Douglas was more drawn to money and power than Lincoln. Mr. Lincoln was a deeper thinker who was grounded more in philosophy and ideas while Douglas was a pragmatic professional and bumptious politician.Lincoln attitudes towards slavery was that he never put his antipathy for slavery as he always respected the constitution but for Stephen like most white Illinoisans did not consider free blacks to be their equals. In 1858 when the two took to debating on the role of African-Americans, Douglas insisted that they could remain marginalized all their lives while Lincoln argued that both blacks and whites deserved the fundamental freedoms of life. This fundamental divide contributed to the crisis that led to the Civil War but catapulted Lincoln from obscurity to a favorite presidential candidate. In September1859, Lincoln attacked Douglas' indifference to slavery and this signaled the start of a deteriorating Douglas' political fortunes. When in 1860 the Democratic National Convention met, they disagreed on the issue of slavery and later broke into two camps. This catapulted Lincoln to the 1861 presidential seat as Douglas' democrats were left divided over the issue of slavery.

 

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The two men, Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas, were ambitious presidential candidates in the 1860 elections. But this election was determined by the attitudes of the two towards the issue of slavery. While Douglas did not consider blacks to be their equals, Lincoln argued for equality but respecting the constitution and he always attacked Douglas' stand. This left Douglas' party divided in the run up to elections. This was to catapult Lincoln to the presidential seat in 1861.