Book Review: The Radical and the Republican by James Oakes
James Oakes, a historian and renowned professor at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, is also the author of the book The Radical and the Republican. His book goes into details depicting the debates and the civil war, which took place in the mid-1800.These debates were focused on Fredericks Douglass’s attitude towards slavery and the emancipation of slaves, as well as the political attitude of Abraham Lincoln. Oakes story is voiced through the lives of these two great spokesmen, going into details about their political and public positions. James Oakes thesis for the book is summed up in this quote, “Lincoln and Douglass were very different men. True, there were …show more content…
Oakes making it obvious when he mentions Douglass and Lincoln’s second meeting, for the record they only meet face to face three times. Lincoln requests Douglass to the White House, so that he can show Douglass his emancipation statement draft, needing his opinion if it should be publicized. Oakes states, “No, Douglas said. It would be misconstrued, by friends and enemies alike, as an indication that Lincoln was not as committed to emancipation as he actually was” (Oakes, 230). Not only did Lincoln bring him there for advice on the draft, in addition he wanting to discuss a further critical issue. This concern being, Lincoln was afraid that if the republicans lost the election there would be no such constitutional amendments to slavery in the United States. The only documentation which would resemble his idea was the Lincoln’s Proclamation. Which enables slaves to be able to run to bordering state lines of the Union, in turn to find freedom. For this reason and agreeable connection Douglass and Lincoln had a new-found respect for one another. Douglass come to the understanding of Lincoln’s pursuit on slavery matters. Displaying so in this example, “a deeper moral conviction against slavery that I have ever seen before in anything spoken or written by him” (Oakes, 232). In addition, Lincoln held Douglass above any African American at the time. “Douglass; there is no man in the country whose opinion I value more than yours” (Oakes,
James Oakes, a historian and renowned professor at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, is also the author of the book The Radical and the Republican. His book goes into details depicting the debates and the civil war, which took place in the mid-1800.These debates were focused on Fredericks Douglass’s attitude towards slavery and the emancipation of slaves, as well as the political attitude of Abraham Lincoln. Oakes story is voiced through the lives of these two great spokesmen, going into details about their political and public positions. James Oakes thesis for the book is summed up in this quote, “Lincoln and Douglass were very different men. True, there were …show more content…
Oakes making it obvious when he mentions Douglass and Lincoln’s second meeting, for the record they only meet face to face three times. Lincoln requests Douglass to the White House, so that he can show Douglass his emancipation statement draft, needing his opinion if it should be publicized. Oakes states, “No, Douglas said. It would be misconstrued, by friends and enemies alike, as an indication that Lincoln was not as committed to emancipation as he actually was” (Oakes, 230). Not only did Lincoln bring him there for advice on the draft, in addition he wanting to discuss a further critical issue. This concern being, Lincoln was afraid that if the republicans lost the election there would be no such constitutional amendments to slavery in the United States. The only documentation which would resemble his idea was the Lincoln’s Proclamation. Which enables slaves to be able to run to bordering state lines of the Union, in turn to find freedom. For this reason and agreeable connection Douglass and Lincoln had a new-found respect for one another. Douglass come to the understanding of Lincoln’s pursuit on slavery matters. Displaying so in this example, “a deeper moral conviction against slavery that I have ever seen before in anything spoken or written by him” (Oakes, 232). In addition, Lincoln held Douglass above any African American at the time. “Douglass; there is no man in the country whose opinion I value more than yours” (Oakes,