The Civil War was obligatory for change, but the purpose was viewed differently by Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. Frederick Douglass, a former slave and abolitionist, believes that the Civil War signified the emancipation of slaves by allowing them to earn their American Citizenship. Abraham Lincoln, President and creator of the Emancipation Proclamation, believes that the Civil War was means to preserve and restore the Union.
Before the Civil War, controversy of slavery and secession arose in the United States. After the Compromise of 1850, abolitionists, such as Frederick Douglass, were a key aspect in keeping slavery a controversial topic (Montoya, et al., 350) . Because of this, the United States started to divide into the Union
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In the Emancipation Proclamation he says, “all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a state, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free,” (Emancipation Proclamation, January 1st, 1863) . His motive to free slaves from slave states is because then they are able to fight in the war with the Union one freed. Lincoln states in the Emancipation Proclamation, “such persons of suitable condition, will be received into the armed service of the United States,” (Emancipation Proclamation, January 1st, 1863) . The reason for the Emancipation Proclamation, to Lincoln, was to get more people to join the Union in their fight in order to win the war. Global Americans says, “186,000 African Americans served in the Union army and another 20,000 in the navy,” (Montoya, et al., 381) . This helped the Union accomplish maintain itself. After the Emancipation Proclamation, activist Frederick Douglas was highly involved in encouraging former slaves to join the fight for the …show more content…
In this book, Jacobs’ describes the living conditions as a slave and her own personal experiences; her descriptions show how violent and poor her living conditions were. Harriet Jacobs wrote, “Various were the punishments resorted to. A favorite one was to tie a rope round a man’s body, and suspend him from the ground. A fire was kindled over him, from which was suspended a piece of fat pork,” (Jacobs 41) . This is one of the many examples of how poorly slaves were treated on plantations and by their owners. Slaves were constantly fighting for their freedom, and abolitionists were fighting for their