The Relationship Between Abraham Lincoln And James Oakes

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James Oakes gave a brilliant and unique perspective to a relationship between two well known historical figures of their time. Abraham Lincoln is a well-admired president for the United States because as Americans culture teaches that he was an honest and well-respected man. He heard about a young African American man, who had high aspirations for his life and the blossoming United States. This man’s name was Frederick Douglass. James Oakes demonstrates how both Douglass and Lincoln worked towards the abolishment of slavery and effectively producing better outcomes within antislavery politics. Oakes definitely wanted readers to make presumptions about which historical figure was taking on the roles of the Republican and the Radical. While …show more content…

Clay had a unique perspective on the abolishment of slavery. Henry Clay wanted to slavery to be abolished within the early United States, but his motives leaned more towards have these slaves returned to their original countries, thus making them unable to become citizens of the United States. A large number of citizens in the north supported this ideal because they felt it was an effective way to eliminate slavery and remove the possibility of these enslaved men becoming apart of their society. Abraham Lincoln had a strong moral compass that he used to determine decisions on most of the major issues he encountered. He believed slavery to be morally wrong and had difficulty comprehending how people were able to justify its morality. Lincoln was disgusted by the treatment that took place in slavery. He believed that if one to remove the moral obligation within slavery and the mere realization of its cruelty, there are no there reasons to inhibit the expansion of it. At this particular time, slavery was an exceptionally prominent source of income, giving those who owned the most slaves, the most wealth. Because slavery produced such a resource of income, Lincoln knew that if given the opportunity, slavery would only increase.
At the same time in history, the Dred Scott case was taking place. This case was to determine what should be deemed appropriate for the rights of slaves. This case in particular infuriated Lincoln more than anything else did in his career. The ruling in this case was a legal way to insure that anyone that was enslaved was not only unable to become freed, but also that they were unable to be acknowledges as citizens in the United States at

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