Julius Caesar and Abraham Lincoln are two great past leaders whose legacy is still felt today. They are regarded as being among history’s greatest statesmen. Although from two radically different eras and locales, they have many similarities as well as differences. This paper will compare the things the great men had in common. Gaius Julius Caesar was born on approximately July 12, 100 BCE in Rome. His aristocratic family claimed lineage from the goddess Venus. Julius’s father Gaius was governor of a Roman province and his maternal grandfather was Consul of the Roman Republic. His father was involved in a bloody power struggle with Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix which led to his early death when Julius was 16. The young Caesar joined the Army …show more content…
He was largely self-educated with little formal education, although his parents were largely illiterate. In March of 1830, his family moved to New Salem Illinois where he tried his hand at a variety of occupations including rail splitting, flatboat man, store keeper, postmaster, and surveyor. Abraham began his political career March 1832. He was a popular orator who could draw large crowds but lacked money, connections, and an education. As expected, he lost the election. Afterwards, he enlisted as a volunteer during the Black Hawk War. Abraham ended his tour as Captain of his company. He began studies on his own to become a lawyer after returning. Lincoln was successful in his second campaign and won election to the state legislature running as a Whig. He was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1836 and moved to Springfield, Illinois to practice law. Abe met and married Mary Todd Lincoln during this point of his life. He joined the new Republican Party in 1856 which led to a series of debates with Stephen Douglas in 1858 over Slavery. This led to national prominence as an anti-slavery politician. Many Southerners were enraged with his 1860 presidential nomination for this