Compare And Contrast Lincoln And Jefferson Davis

What defines a good leader? The time period of American Civil War serves as a great time period to examine this question, and can be done so by looking at the two main presidents of both the Union and the Confederacy: Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis. While the two were both skilled in some areas and unskilled in others, history remembers Lincoln as the better leader due to his characteristics of intelligence on the social institutions of the opponent as well as when personal rights were involved. In order for a victor to be determined, a quality leader must know how to suspend the natural rights of a citizen when the fate of the nation is on the line. A good example of this was the suspension of Habeas Corpus by the president. Lincoln

For example, both Lincoln and his Secretary of State William H. Seward were very methodical in their approach to slavery. Emancipation wasn’t on the mind of Lincoln until various Radical Republicans in favor of abolition constantly told Lincoln the benefits emancipation could do for the Union. However, both Seward and Lincoln showed patience by waiting until a Union victory at the Battle of Antietam to unveil the Emancipation Proclamation. It’s here that we see Lincoln the quality leader because while he was hesitant to declare emancipation, the proclamation itself was a major strategic step in using the Confederate strength to its disadvantage: slaves in the Union army. Conversely, Davis was fervently opposed to the notion of including slaves into the Confederate army. But, nearing the end of the war and struggling with mass numbers of desertion, Davis no choice, and, yet, the decision came too late, as the war ended before the Confederacy could free any slaves. All in all, Lincoln comes out as the superior commander here because he used the Confederate advantage well. That being said, the outcome of the war at the mid-point of the four year war could have turned out differently had Davis decided to emancipate or at least include African-Americans in the Confederate army. While the implications would be hard to deal with, foreign intervention might have helped secure a Confederate victory in the