Similarities Between Lincoln And Frederick Douglass

In the past and the present, it is not uncommon to hear about someone who was bullied or persecuted. Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass were both major players who fought against the bullies and persecutors in the history of The United States of America. Lincoln was the president that ended slavery and the civil war; Douglass was a black, civil rights activist who longed for equal rights for all, not only African Americans. These two men had hopes and dreams of making our country a better, safer place for everyone. Both Lincoln and Douglass wanted peace and equal rights for all, however their hopes have not been fulfilled to this date. Lincoln and Douglass’s hope for equal rights for all have not been achieved today; a major part of unequal rights is

Racism is not just common today but was common in the days of Lincoln and Douglass in the form of slavery. In Douglass’s speech, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”, he explains that slavery is one of the worst sins that someone can do. He says, “[E]verything that serves to perpetuate slavery- the greatest sin and shame in America!” (Morrell 290). Although slavery took place in the past; today there are other forms of racism. One of the most commonly discriminated groups of people are the African Americans. They not only were discriminated against in the past with slavery but today are discriminated against in schools and poverty. In Sullivan’s “The Truth about Racism in America,” she talks about how blacks have been discriminated against for a long time. She says, “[The African Americans have been] exposed to a history of oppression, a higher poverty rate, and notoriously poor school systems” (Sullivan para7). Sullivan explains that they have been discriminated