Essay On The Difference Between Lincoln And African Americans

The nineteenth century in the United States of America was a tumultuous time in the young country’s history. Many major decisions had yet to be made, but the most important decision not yet made was about slavery. It was an issue that, at the time, divided the country. The anti-slavery North was largely industrial, while the pro-slavery south was mainly agricultural. Many abolitionists encouraged slaves (as well as others who were against slavery) to engage and rebellions and revolts throughout the South. But a rebellion would not work: The United States government would not want blacks to be in a position where they could induce change in the nation, because a considerable portion of the country did not see blacks as equals. This was evidenced
A prime member of this school of thought was Abraham Lincoln. He was fiercely against slavery, which was displayed in both his personal writings and statements to the public. Lincoln described slavery as “...founded on injustice and bad policy”, and even proposed a resolution to abolish slavery in Washington D.C. in 1849. He was opposed to spreading it to newly founded territories to the west. Although he was against slavery, Lincoln was not in favor of equality between the races. His solution was one that made the slaves free, but not free Americans: he wanted to send them back to Africa (Zinn 140). Lincoln simply did not see it fit for blacks to live in the same society as whites. He found them to be two totally different races. While campaigning in Charleston, Illinois in 1858 for a seat in the state senate, Lincoln said that he was opposed to any notion of blacks having the same rights as whites, and that he was not in favor of making blacks jurors, politicians, or giving them the right to vote. He doubled down on that opinion by following it with an affirmation that he did in fact see whites as the superior race (Zinn 140). A slave rebellion would not change Lincoln’s opinion on the position of blacks in society. If anything, it would solidify his personal viewpoint. A rebellion would not be effective in ending slavery, because
This was one of the many factors that made slave owners deathly afraid of the resistance of slaves. One such rebellion that was a direct cause of many deaths was the one that occurred in New Orleans in 1811. Hundreds of armed slaves banded together and marched to nearby plantations. As a result, their numbers grew tremendously. That particular rebellion led to the deaths of 82 slaves, most of which were killed on the spot, the others were executed (Zinn 131). Another example of attempted chaos would be Denmark Vesey’s plot to burn down the city of Charleston, South Carolina in 1822. The city was significant because it was a port city, and one of the most populous cities in the entire country at the time.Vesey wanted to burn the city to the ground, and in doing that, incite slaves to resist the tyranny of enslavement. His plan never came to fruition, as one of the slaves involved confessed what was going to happen. Eventually 35 slaves were hanged for conspiring to destroy Charleston. These rebellions were very violent in nature, and many Americans thought so. Hearing of these complicated and bloody revolts, the “African savage” image was likely refreshed in their mind. Numerous people still believed that blacks were an uncivilized people, and these rebellions only validated those untrue, unfounded