A Study of The Association Between Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln

Introduction

Fredrick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln shared an unusual friendship based on the hardships Fredrick experienced in life and the significant influence Abraham had on the country and slavery as a whole. Both Douglass and Lincoln were determined to see the end of slavery. They had strong influences and ties to the abolition movement, which shaped their perspectives and actions.

Fredrick Douglass's Early Life

Fredrick Douglass had a very difficult life growing up as a slave. He witnessed the beating of other slaves but was never beaten as a child. As a child, he realized that there was no escape from the situation he was in. He had a lot of time to himself, which made him a witness to many brutalities, such as the deaths of fellow adult slaves. “To be accused was to be convicted and to be convicted was to be punished” (Douglass, 1845, p. 18). Mr. Gore, one of Colonel Lloyd’s overseers, used to beat slaves no matter their guilt or innocence. Mr. “Gore was a grave man, and, though a young man, he never told jokes, said no funny words, seldom smiled” (Douglass, 1845, p. 19). This cruelty taught Douglass about the harsh realities and indifference of those who viewed slaves as mere property.

Education and Self-Discovery

After leaving Colonel Lloyd's plantation, Fredrick Douglass was sent to live with Master Hugh’s family. “Mistress, in teaching me the alphabet, had given me the inch, and no precaution could prevent me from taking the ell” (Douglass, 1845, p. 33). While living there, Hugh’s wife taught Douglass his ABCs. As soon as Master Hugh discovered this, he forbade her from teaching him anything further. From then on, Douglass slowly started teaching himself to read. The Hugh family constantly feared he was trying to educate himself whenever he was alone. Growing up around many white friends made him envious and angry that he was destined to be a slave for life. “You will be free as soon as you are twenty-one, but I am a slave for life” (Douglass, 1845, p. 34). He utilized his white friends as teachers, learning more and more. “I often found myself regretting my own existence, and wishing myself dead; and but for the hope of being free, I have no doubt but that I should have killed myself, or done something for which I should have been killed” (Douglass, 1845, p. 36). The thought of lifelong enslavement was crushing him, leading to deep depression. “Frederick Douglass never lost faith in the possibility of humankind’s improvement. He confronted, he argued, he pleaded, he bluffed, he threatened and conned — using whatever tactics might work in a particular situation. No aspect of human oppression escaped his concern or compassion” (Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, n.d.). Through it all, Douglass stood strong and fought for his freedom. He eventually gained his freedom and wrote numerous works about his experiences as a slave, influencing many people, both white and black, to recognize the evil of slavery.

Abraham Lincoln's Opposition to Slavery

Abraham Lincoln was a significant figure in the movement to end slavery. “As a young man, Abraham Lincoln had witnessed the slave system when he twice traveled down the Mississippi River on a raft to New Orleans” (Abraham Lincoln and Slavery, n.d.). Lincoln despised the injustice of slavery from a young age. He had numerous African American friends, and even his barber was African American. Lincoln understood how involuntary servitude felt. It was inherently unfair for someone to labor for another without fair compensation, especially when the laborer’s hard work and effort were exploited for the gain of another. In his Alton debate with Senator Stephen A. Douglass in 1858, Mr. Lincoln said: “That is the real issue. That is the issue that will continue in this country when these poor tongues of Judge Douglass and myself shall be silent. It is the eternal struggle between these two principles – right and wrong – throughout the world. They are the two principles that have stood face to face from the beginning of time; and will ever continue to struggle. The one is the common right of humanity and the other the divine right of kings. It is the same principle in whatever shape it develops itself. It is the same spirit that says, ‘You work and toil and earn bread, and I’ll eat it.’ [Loud applause.] No matter in what shape it comes, whether from the mouth of a king who seeks to bestride the people of his own nation and live by the fruit of their labor, or from one race of men as an apology for enslaving another race, it is the same tyrannical principle” (Abraham Lincoln's Values, n.d.).

Legal Battles and Political Influence

In the 1830s, Lincoln was a young and poor lawyer, but he, alongside Lyman Trumbull and Gustave Koerner, worked to dismantle the legal basis of the Negro indenture system, which amounted to de facto slavery in Illinois (Burlingame, n.d.). He worked diligently against slavery even as a struggling lawyer. Lincoln was deeply committed to the cause, working on many cases, including Cromwell vs. Bailey, a case where he secured freedom for an African American slave girl named Nancy. This historic decision by the Illinois Supreme Court was groundbreaking as it declared that an African American was free and not for sale (Abraham Lincoln and Slavery, n.d.). It took tremendous moral courage and strength for a young lawyer to advocate for the freedom of slaves. Lincoln served a single term in Congress. During that term, he voted for the Wilmot Proviso multiple times (Abraham Lincoln and Slavery, n.d.). The Wilmot Proviso was a proposed law that would prohibit slavery in new U.S. territories.

Civil War and Emancipation

During the Civil War, Lincoln's primary objective was to preserve the Union. Throughout 1862, he offered many southern states compensated emancipation to ease their transition from slave to free states. “President Lincoln took a measured approach to emancipation and set a period of 100 days until he would issue the final Emancipation Proclamation – giving the South a grace period until January 1, 1863, in which to return to the Union” (Abraham Lincoln and Slavery, n.d.). Lincoln's strategy during the war was to focus on preserving the Union while gradually building public support for abolition. Lincoln himself said, “When I issued that proclamation, I was in great doubt about it myself. I did not think that the people had been quite educated up to it, and I feared its effects upon Border States” (Burlingame, n.d.). The South never took advantage of their grace period, and many believed Lincoln wouldn't issue the final emancipation. Many slaves remained unaware of their freedom until years after the war ended.

Conclusion

Both Fredrick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln played crucial roles in ending slavery. They inspired many to join the fight for freedom. Fredrick Douglass's writings were powerful and intense, offering a poignant insight into the hardships he faced as a slave. By the end of the war, over 617,000 Americans had died, and the landscape was devastated. However, the efforts of Douglass and Lincoln laid the groundwork for a new era of freedom and equality.

References

Douglass, F. (1845). Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. Boston: Anti-Slavery Office.

Burlingame, M. (n.d.). Abraham Lincoln's Values and Philosophy. Retrieved from [source URL]

Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. (n.d.). Retrieved from [source URL]

Abraham Lincoln and Slavery. (n.d.). Retrieved from [source URL]