Compare And Contrast Rosa Parks And Rosa Parks

When comparing two leaders, people tend to look at the characteristics, or leadership, traits that the person has. Even if the two people seem like an unlikely pair, it is the traits that prove the similarities. Courage, confidence and initiative are traits that both Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth President of the United States, and Rosa Parks, a civil rights activist, demonstrated during their time of leadership. Courage can be described as the ability to do something fearful or going against the majority. Abraham Lincoln showed courage throughout his presidency. Lincoln was famous for standing up for people who were repressed; “It took courage to stand up for what he believed in, and make no mistake that what he believed was on target

To help our fellow man, and to live life courageously.” (“Abraham Lincoln a Courageous Man”). Abraham Lincoln stood up for what he believed was right and attempted, with a success, to end slavery. During this time, many people in the South did not agree with him which caused chaos for Lincoln to deal with. Even with the chaos, he never wavered in his decision and continued to push for what he thought was right. Years later Lincoln’s impact was seen during the American civil rights movement. Rosa Parks, an African American women who lived in Alabama, showed major courage on a bus she was riding. “Parks is famous for her refusal on December 1, 1955 to obey bus driver James Blake’s demand that she relinquish her seat to a white man.” (“Rosa Parks Biography”). This showed courage because the other three people that were sitting with her decided to just listen to the bus driver instead of standing up for something that they believe in. She wanted to prove a point to the people even if the resulting factor was her arrest and

Rosa Parks used her confidence when faced with a difficult situation, her interaction with the white bus driver shocked the public. “But when that white driver stepped back toward us, when he waved his hand and ordered us up and out of our seats, I felt a determination cover my body like a quilt on a winter night. (Parks obituary)”(“Parks remembered for her courage, humility”). Her confidence and subsequent movement was inspired by the fact that as an African American she did not have any rights, or at least not as many as white people did at the time. Her strength altered the fates of many people who did not even know her. On the other hand, Abraham Lincoln also showed confidence in what he did as president. “This is a man who ended slavery against overwhelming opposition, kept his country together through a devastating civil war, and delivered one of the most quoted speeches in American History.”(The Abraham Lincoln School of Confidence) . Abraham Lincoln had to keep his country together and if he did not have the confidence in himself, or even his people for that matter, he would not have kept his country together or continued to make sure that slavery was abolished. Parks and Lincoln share this trait because they believed in that they had the confidence to do what was needed to help continue the cause that they were supporting. Confidence