What Are The Similarities Between Douglass And Abraham Lincoln

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Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas, two hardworking people, actually came from humble beginnings. Abraham Lincoln first was a poor farmer in Kentucky. After his mother’s death, he moved to Indiana. Looking for work, Abraham Lincoln moved to Illinois as a lawyer. There he taught himself law and made his way up to being a very popular lawyer. Knowing his popularity, he decided to run for the legislature. After a failed attempt, he finally made it as a state representative. Next, he was voted 4 times into the Illinois legislature from 1834 to 1840 and later voted into Congress and then senator. Stephen Douglas, on the other hand, was native to Vermont. As a young kid, he received a superior education, and, similar to Abe Lincoln, lost a parent. …show more content…

Abraham Lincoln was one of the people who thought slavery was wrong. Although, Abraham’s ideas on slavery were not that simple. Abraham Lincoln did think that slaves should be free, but he also wanted colonization. This meant that all slaves should be sent to where they came from. “As a young politician in Illinois before the Civil War, Lincoln often voiced his belief that blacks and whites would live best if they lived separately” (Vorenberg, Michael). Stephen Douglas’s views on slavery are also not simple. He can’t be proved slavery or anti slavery. He was thought to be anti slavery because at one point he agreed with Thomas Jefferson that slavery was evil. Although his reasoning were not clear. On the other hand, he was thought to be pro slavery because farmers wanted slaves, so he did not want to demote their ideas. In 1846, he wanted to solve the issue of slavery, so to please the congressmen he suggested popular sovereignty. Although, many thought his ideas were fake because he switch his ideas on slavery frequently. For example, He choose to be pro-slavery in the Lincoln Douglas debates. “In addition to this philosophical support of slavery, Douglas also defended slavery against antislavery attacks throughout his career” (Peck, Graham A.). As a result, the Lincoln's and Douglas’s views on slavery are not that